------ Forwarded Message > From: Andreas <catalau...@yahoo.com> > Reply-To: <c...@yahoogroups.com> > Date: Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:02:58 -0000 > To: <c...@yahoogroups.com> > Subject: [ctrl] Yale society's skull-turned-ballot box to be sold > > http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/yale-society-s-skull-turned-ballo > t-box-to-be-sold-309716.php > > Yale society's skull-turned-ballot box to be sold > ULA ILNYTZKY, Associated Press Writer > Published: 12:01 p.m., Tuesday, January 5, 2010 > Comments (0) > Larger | Smaller Georgia (default) > Verdana > Times New Roman > Arial > > Font > Printable Version > Gallery > .View Larger Items > > Related Stories.Clinton foundation draws eclectic donor list01.02.2010 11:28 > a.m. > Mom fights to be buried with soldier son12.28.2009 01:54 p.m. > Sen. John Kerry undergoes 2nd hip replacement01.04.2010 08:09 a.m. > Cable TV standoffs threaten viewing costs, choices01.02.2010 06:21 p.m. > Senate 'Liberal Lion' remembered in health debate12.24.2009 09:31 a.m. > NEW YORK (AP) A human skull that apparently was turned into a ballot box for > Yale's mysterious Skull and Bones society is going on the auction block. > > Christie's estimates the skull will sell for $10,000 to $20,000 when it is > auctioned on Jan. 22. Fittingly, the auction house has agreed to keep the > seller's name a secret. On Monday, it described the person only as a European > art collector. > > The skull is fitted with a hinged flap and is believed to have been used > during voting at the famous society's meetings. The auction house said it also > may have been displayed at the society's tomblike headquarters on Yale's > campus in New Haven, Conn., during the late 1800s. > > Skull and Bones, an elite society founded in 1832, has closely guarded its > members' names and its activities since the early 1970s. Prior to that time, > the group published an annual roster. > > Publicly known members, known as Bonesmen, include President William Howard > Taft, both presidents Bush, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, businessman and > diplomat Averell Harriman, publisher Henry Luce and author and commentator > William F. Buckley Jr. > > "I think it's a macabre artifact," Margot Rosenberg, head of Christie's > American decorative arts department, said Tuesday. "It's an intriguing story > tied to America, tied to Yale. I think it will generate interest for people > who are former Bonesmen, people who collect Americana, people who are > interested in history." > > The skull is believed to have been owned by Edward T. Owen, who graduated Yale > in 1872 and went to become professor of French and linguistics at the > University of Wisconsin. The word THOR is etched into the skull; it may have > been the nickname given to Owen or another society member. > > The skull is being sold with a black book, inscribed with Owen's name, the > year 1872 and the numeral 322, a reference to the society's year of inception > and to the death of the orator Demosthenes in 322 B.C. It contains the names > and photographs of about 50 Bonesmen, including Taft, who became the 27th > president of the United States; Morrison Remick Waite, who became U.S. chief > justice in 1874; and William Maxwell Evarts, who served as U.S. secretary of > state and U.S. attorney general. > > Skull and Bones invites 15 Yale seniors to join each year. Bonesmen swear an > oath of secrecy about the group and its strange rituals, which include > initiation rites such as confessing sexual secrets and kissing a skull. > > On Tuesday, the society's secrecy remained intact. Efforts to reach a society > member or a representative of its business arm, the Russell Trust Association, > through a Yale spokesman were unsuccessful. The Ivy League school, which is > not affiliated with the society, did not return a reporter's call. > > ___ > > On the Net: > > http://www.christies.com > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > www.ctrl.org > DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER > ========== > ctrl is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic > screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid > matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis-directions and > outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor > effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. > That being said, ctrl gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and > always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. ctrl gives no credence > to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. > > There are two list running, c...@yahoogroups and c...@listserv.aol.com, > c...@yahoogroups has unlimited posting and is more for discussion. > c...@listserv.aol.com is more for informational exchange and has limited > posting abilities. > > Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. > > Omimited posting abilities. > > Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. > > OmYahoo! Groups Links > > > ------ End of Forwarded Message