Rescue David Letterman’s Late Show set from the garbage heap of history

But as Gothamist notes, the real score is Letterman’s other Late Show set—the one from his earliest days at CBS—where most of the faux-skyline that once overlooked Dave’s desk is going for the starting bid of $10,000. According to the listing, these three large pieces—the biggest tops out at 12 feet tall—were also found in New York some 20 years ago, no doubt tossed into those very same dumpsters near the Ed Sullivan Theater, by workers whose lives are nearing their own indifferent dismantling. Like those workers, the lights are still flickering inside. But for how long? How long?

Oddly enough, the set was found by Mike Bonanno, also known as Igor Vamos of culture-jamming group The Yes Men, whose agitprop pranks often involve impersonating corporations and government groups as a means of satirizing them. In his pitch video, where he says he’s selling the set to raise funds for his latest movie, The Yes Men Are Revolting, Bonanno suggests that anyone who buys it could become “the people’s Letterman”—presumably, asking celebrities about their latest projects for a larger, greater good. And then some future tomorrow, after your good works are done, they’ll be tossing you out with the garbage.