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A Rare Working Manuscript of the ‘Big Book’ of Alcoholics Anonymous Tagged Up To $2 M. Heads to Auction at Christie’s from Jim Irsay Estate

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A rare working copy of Alcoholics Anonymous , the basic text of the 12-step program, also known as “the Big Book,” is coming to auction at Christies New York on July 1 at its Rockefeller Center salesroom. It comes from the collection of the late billionaire Jim Irsay. Bearing extensive handwritten notations and edits by the authors, it is estimated to sell for between $1 and $2 million. The proceeds will go to philanthropic causes that were important to Irsay. The manuscript has sold for various prices over the years; the next buyer may get it at a discount relative to its last outing. Irsay bought the manuscript in 2018 from auction house Profiles in History for $2.4 million, per ESPN ; it had previously come to auction twice at Sotheby’s, ESPN reports: in 2004, when it went for $1.6 million, and in 2007, when it fetched $992,000. “Our dad understood the struggles countless people everywhere face every day and wanted so badly to bring hope and relief to ...
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Reserve Grade heating up as OBU teams meet for the Ruru Shield this Saturday

By Steven White Almost half of all first round Premier Swindale Shield club rugby matches have an interclub trophy on the line, many involving Old Boys University, such as this Saturday’s Jack Lamason Trophy match against Marist St Pat’s. The OBU club social teams have also contested the Ruru Shield amongst each other continuously since...
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Memphis Art Museum Announces Opening Date for New Herzog & de Meuron–Designed Home

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The American South will have a new and expanded museum to visit come December 6, when Tennessee’s Memphis Art Museum (formerly the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art) reopens. The 123,500-square-foot cultural campus, designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architects Herzog & de Meuron, expands the institution’s gallery space by half and, per the museum, offers “six times more art-filled free public space.”  The new facility was initially tagged at $180 million, reported a local news outlet in November, adding that the actual cost is expected to be higher. The City of Memphis contributed $30 million, while the State of Tennessee gave $12 million toward the expansion. Residents of Shelby County, which includes Memphis, will receive free admission.  The two-acre campus is structured around a reconstructed bluff on the Mississippi River, known locally as the promenade. It will offer a 10,000-square-foot courtyard, a 50,000-square-foot rooftop art garden, an outdoo...
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Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 130: Cam Stewart

Cam Stewart was Marist’s first-five and playmaker and vice-captain of the side that won or shared the Jubilee Cup in 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He also played for the Wellington representative team over several seasons and played in many of their big matches at the time. He later played for Manawatu after moving to...
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D.C. Preservationists Sue to Halt Trump’s Sculpture ‘Garden of American Heroes’

President Donald Trump’s proposed “National Garden of American Heroes” has hit another setback as a coalition of Washington-era preservation and cultural groups sues to halt its construction. The lawsuit, filed Monday, argues that the statuary garden—featuring roughly 250 Americans and planned for West Potomac Park—cannot proceed without congressional approval. The filing seeks to halt the project, which is already underway on a tract connected to the National Mall, as statues are commissioned and funding is secured. The sculpture garden was first mentioned by Trump in July 2020, during his first term. “Congress put clear laws in place to safeguard the National Mall from new construction and to ensure the public has a meaningful voice in decisions about landscapes that belong to them, as space open to all,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, president and CEO for the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement, as first reported by the Washington Post ...
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Art Basel’s Vincenzo De Bellis on ‘Basel Exclusive,’ Price Freezes, and Why the Fair Is Getting Even More Global 

Art Basel opens its doors in Switzerland this week in an art market that has had an intriguing first half of 2026. The fair company hosted a successful first edition of Art Basel Qatar in February, and last November’s strong auction seasons, led by the blockbuster sales of trophy works, continued into May. What’s becoming clearer is that the current market looks increasingly bifurcated: the highest strata is performing well, as are safer categories like Old Masters and Impressionism, even as contemporary art’s middle and emerging markets continue to struggle. That gap was underlined earlier this month when the mega-gallery Pace announced that it was laying off 50 staff members and cutting 50 artists from its roster, and CEO Marc Glimcher said galleries need a “model correction.” Against that backdrop, Art Basel has spent the last year retooling both its in-person fair experience and instituting support measures for its exhibitors. ...
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Matchday Scoring Highlights: Upper Hutt Rams (33) v Wainuiomata (32)

As the one-point margin of victory suggests, this fixture contained several twists and turns before eventually being settled in the 76th minute with a try to replacement halfback Kaide McCashin, burrowing over from a ruck after a concerted crescendo of phase play in front of the line. This wasn’t the end of it though. Replacement...
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