A Very Silent Auction

A Very Silent Auction

In celebration of what would have been Jim Mirrlees' 90th birthday, we invite you to participate in an auction of art, memorabilia, and books signed by Jim from his personal library, generously donated by the Mirrlees family and artist Yu Ji. All the proceeds will go towards establishing a fund in Jim's memory for scholarships and/or distinguished academic visitors to Nuffield College.*

How the bidding works

No one will know whether you have bid, or what you have bid on. The only exception is that Lottie Madden in the Development Office will know who has won what objects, and the prices they have to pay.

Rules: You can make as many bids as you like, which will represent the maximum amounts you would be willing to pay, of any or all of the<br>following kinds:

Simple bids: You can make one or more bids for a single object each. For<br>example, you might bid £100 for the soap statue, and independently bid £150 for<br>the bronze statue--you might then win both.

"OR" bids: You can also make bids of the form "I will pay £X for object A,<br>or £Y for object B, or £Z for object C, or ...". In this case, at most one of<br>these offers will be successful. For example, one OR bid might offer £200 for<br>the soap statue or £300 for the bronze statue; it could win either statue,<br>but not both. Similarly, an OR bid across several of Jim's books expresses your preferences across them while winning at most one of those books. Separate bids that cover overlapping objects, however, may each win one object.

"Any book" bids: "Any book" is a convenient shorthand for an OR bid that<br>places the same value on every book in the auction. If you bid £40 for "Any<br>book", the auction may allocate you any one book at a price up to £40, but<br>this bid will never win more than one book. You can also combine "Any book"<br>with named books in the same OR bid: for example, you might bid £40 for "Any book"<br>but £75 for a particular book you especially want. The bid remains an OR bid,<br>so it can still win at most one book.

All bids must be in by 1.30pm BST (8.30am ET) on Saturday 4 July 2026.

Outcome: The auction computes competitive-equilibrium prices and allocations,<br>specifically the unique lowest prices that balance supply and demand. You will be<br>contacted by<br>Lottie Madden<br>about your winnings. Packaging and shipping costs<br>will be covered by Nuffield College.

For more background and why "truthful" bidding is generally the best strategy,<br>see below.<br>Edwin Lock<br>and<br>Paul Klemperer<br>will be happy to answer any questions.

Start bidding

Items on offer

General items

Artwork

A sketch of Jim Mirrlees by artist Yu Ji, donated by the artist himself. Yu Ji was commissioned to paint a portrait of Jim in celebration of Jim's 70th birthday, now displayed in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Bronze statue

A l’ombra (In the Shade), 1990, after the life-size bronze sculpture by Ramon Oms (b.1951). The original sculpture is situated in the Plana de l’Om in Manresa and depicts a woman seated on a bench in the shade of the elm tree.

This bronze miniature from Jim's private collection depicts the seated woman on a bench and is mounted on a polished stone base. It was presented to Jim by Caixa Manresa, the savings bank, while he was attending a congress in Manresa in 1997.

Approximate dimensions: 2 × 2 × 4 inches<br>(5 × 5 × 10 cm)

Oxford University Academic gown

Jim's Oxford University academic gown, with his name inked on the label. Generously donated by Patricia Mirrlees.

Soap statue of Jim

A beautifully carved soap statue of Jim, created in China during one of his visits. The statue presents Mirrlees in a dark business suit, rendered in a distinctive caricature style with an oversized, highly detailed head and expressive facial features. It is mounted on a rectangular plinth inscribed with his name in Chinese and English. The work is a good likeness. Artist and date unknown.

Approximate dimensions: 5 × 2 × 8 inches (13 × 5 × 20 cm)

Books

Leviathan

or, the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiasticall and Civil

By Thomas Hobbes (1960). From Jim's library, signed by Jim.

Hobbes's Leviathan is one of the defining works of political philosophy, arguing for sovereign authority as the answer to disorder and civil conflict. Its account of human nature, obligation, and the state remains a touchstone for political theory.

The Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo Vol. 1

Principles of Political Economy and Taxation

Edited by Piero Sraffa (with M.H. Dobb) (1962). From Jim's library, signed by Jim.

This volume contains Ricardo's Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, one of the central works of classical political economy. Sraffa's edition is renowned for its scholarly care and for placing Ricardo's arguments in their broader intellectual context.

Elements of Pure Economics

or, The Theory of Social Wealth

By Léon Walras (1954). From Jim's library, signed by Jim.

Walras's classic work sets out...