Auctions serve countless purposes, but they are most fascinating when history goes on sale. The Duchess of Windsor's jewelry. Elvis Presley's jumpsuits.

And this weekend, at a Hart Davis Hart Wine Company auction in Chicago, Steve Verlin's wines.

Verlin, who died in his sleep last year, was the Diamond Jim Brady of my generation. He ate and drank like nobody else I've known, surpassing even the trencherman I most admire, the eminent wine critic Robert Parker.

Here's what a friend e-mailed me after watching Parker and Verlin go at it in France, at the Restaurant Greuze:

"Verlin vs. Parker. Steve nudged ahead with the fourth serving of foie gras. And quenelles preceded the foie gras."

Only once did I dine with Verlin, and that was at a wine lunch that featured, as I recall, more than 20 different bottles, including a Champagne that was at least 70 years old. I'm lucky to remember that much. I barely remembered my own name, let alone what was served.

Diamond Jim Brady lived and ate, not necessarily in that order, from the mid-19th century until early in the 20th. He died at age 60. The owner of one of the restaurants he regularly patronized supposedly called him "the best 25 customers I ever had."

Verlin reigned from the mid-20th century until 2006, when he passed away at age 58. He was a less predictable eater than Brady, who tended toward lobster, crabs, oysters, and beef.

For Brady, it was the Gilded Age. For Verlin, it was more like the Guilden Age.

Parker, in a website tribute, described a number of extraordinary dining experiences with Verlin, including the time they ate at the home of the famous Rhone winemaker Gerard Chave. As Parker recalled, Verlin was "just off the plane from his beloved Jersey…has at least 20 lbs of Sabrett hot dogs…kosher mustard…and special rolls…all hand-carried on the plane to show Chave what a great American hot dog was all about."

Verlin dined gloriously, of course, but he also liked to shock guests with such pairings as truffle-laced popcorn (with Cristal Champagne), his beloved Sabretts (with Vega Sicilia Unico), and Krispy Kreme doughnuts (with Chateau d'Yquem).

I was looking through the catalogue of the May 4-5 sale and noticed that one of my favorite Italian wines, the 1993 Soldera Case Basse Brunello di Montalcino, lot 1766, is estimated at $1200-1800 for a lot of 12. It's a bargain.

If anybody who obtains it would be kind enough to invite me over, I'll bring the mustard and dogs.