Monday, June 20, 2005

Arthur James Balfour vs George Henry Ruth

This month the contract that sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees went on sale at Sotheby's. Six days later a trove of Balfour's documents were auctioned, among them a draft of the Balfour Declaration, which helped to make a reality the modern state of Israel.

Guess which item attracted the larger sum?

Final score: Ruth $996,000; Balfour $884,000.