Abstract: A method for automatic development of an art index from repeat sales information and single sales information comprising the steps of: exploring and identifying comparables for individual artists, ensuring that said comparables are of acceptable level of homogeneity, especially regarding tests by art analyst and statistical homogeneity, determining sets of said comparables from information about the artist and/or his/her works, wherein said comparable sets are a group of comparable art objects produced by one artist that have similarities in various attributes, such as year of work, medium, genre, size and/or valuation, correcting of price variations, aberrations and/or outliers of valuation judgements within the comparable sets by using auction catalogues and/or other external sources, reports on provenance, exhibition catalogues, news releases and/or scholarly literature concerning the specific artists and objects, reanalyzing said comparable sets by carrying out an inconsistency check visually and/or in me

Abstract: A load lowering or rescue device for lowering a load or person from an elevated location, has a drum rotatably mounted on a frame. One end of a rope or cable is secured at the elevated location. The other end of the rope or cable is secured to the drum and a portion of the rope or cable is wound around the drum. A spring biased drum brake cooperates with the drum for controlling the lowering speed or for stopping the drum rotation. First and second brake action control members permit controlling the brake action in opposite directions, for example, one control member permits reducing the brake force for accelerating the lowering speed, while the other control member permits selectively increasing the brake force and stopping the lowering.