With the launch of The Basics (everyday necessities delivered on a schedule) we’re reminded of the old Burma Shave ads spaced alongside the empty highways of America that provided simple entertainment and words of caution to the male motorist. 

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The MV Agusta Collection: 71 Bikes, 1 Marque, 1 Lot.  This very brave statement and effort is the vision and life’s work of friend Gary Kohs, the world’s foremost steward of MV Agusta history.

What is MV Agusta, you ask? Only the most titled, championship-ladened motorcycle in Italian history – the one that carried Giacomo Agostini to his status as the most accomplished grand prix racer of all time (only recently eclipsed by fellow Italian Valentino Rossi), and the motorcycle for which Ferrari developed the F4 motor.

In California in August, Kohs will auction his entire collection – the best and most complete in the world – as one lot. That means one bid for everything, something that is unprecedented. Whether it’s foolish or brilliant remains to be seen. Whatever the result, it is bold, just like the man himself.

Kohs recently sent us this auction catalog, which comes enclosed in a hard protective case and is...

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There’s no denying the genius and magnetic appeal of sculptors like Frederic Remington, the American master, and Rembrandt Bugatti, the Italian prodigy (brother to Ettore, another prodigy), but what about French couple Francois-Xavier and Claude Lalanne?

The husband and wife duo produced their most prolific work during the 1960s and ‘70s when sculpture wasn’t, well, as refined or regarded as it was at the turn of the 20th Century. Considered silly and obtuse (and plain ugly) by many, their art has withstood the test of time to prove just what virtuosos the pair really was. Perhaps more interesting is their relationship as a couple – meeting young at a gallery exhibition, intertwining their lives forever through marriage and art, working jointly but independently (Francois-Xavier preferred sculpting fauna while Claude preferred flora) and never tiring of each other’s inspiration.

Different parts Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Surrealism, glimpses of Mucha, Erté...

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"Never was so much owed by so many to so few." – Winston Churchill *

If America symbolizes one word, it’s freedom. And we’ve all heard it before: Freedom isn’t free. So this Independence Day we tip – no, remove – our hats to those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice. From those valiant ‘rebels’ that first served under George Washington to the millions of families that have made untold sacrifice over two and a quarter centuries, we thank you.

We also salute those men (and women) of character that have contributed in so many other ways to make this country better and more interesting, whether it be exploration, science, politics, business, culture or anything else. From Davy Crockett to Andy Warhol, from Mark Twain to Martin Luther King, from Elvis Presley to Steve Jobs, the...

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