On a Saturday in February, bidders raised their paddles in the basement of Sloans & Kenyon’s auction house to purchase the late Councilmember Jim Graham’s possessions. A prolific collector, Graham amassed a sizable supply of banks, art, bookends, pottery, furniture, erotica, ephemera, and “unusualia” over the course of his life. Over the rhythmic speech of an auctioneer, people remembered Jim Graham—an advocate for the poor and D.C.’s LGBTQ community, a collector, and a friend—and tried to win something to remember him by. Sloans & Kenyon will host a second auction of Graham’s estate on March 10th.

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Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere, used under the Creative Commons license. Additional music by Will Warren.