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By now we agree that an opera is no real way to honor the legacies of either Brokeback Mountain or Heath Ledger, but at least an alternative arrived quickly. Or sort of, anyway — and only if you have a spare $1,500 (at least) to "invest": Amid Marilyn Monroe's pencil cup, fishnet stockings and other dustbin diamonds, an auction next week at Bonhams offers up Ledger's director's chair from the Brokeback set, bittersweetly redolent of oak, denim and, we hear, Canada.

Follow the jump for an enlarged photo and all-too-brief description of the year's most macabrely marked-up memorabilia to date.

A taller-than-average one with the black canvas backrest having the star's name on the back and the Brokeback Mountain logo on the front, both in white lettering. Included is a 'certificate of authenticity' from Paramount Pictures and Focus Features indicating that Ledger used this chair during the film's production.

As mentioned, this single Ledger item towers above the belongings of icons before him, upsetting the delicate balance of marketplace power not just among A-list tchotchkes, but also among the burgeoning Brokeback auction subculture that previously foisted Jack Twist's shirt and even his pick-up truck on an unwitting auction scene. It's no accident those James Dean lifemasks are bringing up the rear at $400-$600 — this is Heath's world now, glorified dorm-room furniture and all.