Technological evolution and the history of the book are deeply interconnected: without books, innovation would have remained limited; without tools, ideas would have had no impact. Bringing these worlds together celebrates human progress, offering a unique experience for scholars, collectors, and institutions.
- Stefania Pandakovic (Head of the Books and Manuscripts Department)
There is a profound connection between the ideas that have revolutionised the world and the objects that have preserved their legacy. Out of this interplay comes Discovery&Tech, the new department launched by Il Ponte Auction House, in collaboration with the Millon Auction Group, dedicated to icons of innovation and symbolic objects of technological progress.
Motorola DynaTAC 8000x.
At the helm is Stefania Pandakovic, head of the Books and Manuscripts Department who, together with her team, opens up a new perspective on collecting.
After years of success that have made the department a reference point for bibliophiles and scholars, Pandakovic is now extending the scope of her research to include the objects that have marked the technical and cultural evolution of contemporary society. It is a story that begins with books—especially scientific treatises—and today expands to include prototypes and devices that have turned theories into tangible reality. Radios, telephones, computers, typewriters, industrial patents: Discovery&Tech narrates this shift from writing to action, from vision to object.
Polaroid Land Camera Model 95.
This approach fits within the field of contemporary archaeology, a discipline that confers new significance on the industrial and digital production of the 20th and 21st centuries. Discovery&Tech transforms what was once familiar into heritage, enhancing the symbolic, social, and historical dimensions of artefacts of innovation.
Apple
1977 - 1993 "APPLE II" computer.
For the first time in Italy, a new collecting trend, already achieving international success, is being explored. Pioneers in a land that has long given rise to fundamental scientific discoveries and an intellectual heritage that has shaped the course of human history. The genius of Guglielmo Marconi, the discoveries of Alessandro Volta, and Olivetti’s groundbreaking innovations are just some examples of a legacy that this department not only celebrates but carries forward into contemporary collecting, with an eye to the future.
Apple
1983 - 1983, "Apple Lisa" Computer.
Discovery&Tech embraces the digital revolution and the industrial production of our time, responding to the needs of a new generation of collectors who see technological and scientific objects as true cultural artefacts—artefacts from an era in which science is not just knowledge, but imagination made tangible, a fragment of a revolutionary legacy that has changed the course of our lives.
Gameboy nintendo anno 1989.
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For more information:
discovery.tech@ponteonline.com
+39 02 8631477 | +39 02 8631474