Graham Arader on the sell-side at Auction

- by Bruce E. McKinney

55 lots of Natural History Watercolors & Colorplate Books

Lot 80.  The Quadrupeds of North America, original, hand coloured and in parts.  Estimated $25,000 to $30,000

Lot 101.  Still Life with Peaches.  A watercolor on vellum by Pierre-Joseph Redoute.  Estimated $10,000 to $15,000

Lot 167.  A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of Virginia, containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina.  By Peter Jefferson and Joshua Fry.  Estimated $60,000 to $70,000

Lot 224.  The Port of New York.  A Currier & Ives print, after Charles R. Parsons and Lyman W. Atwater.  Estimated $12,000 to $15,000

Lot 227.  A plan of the city of New-York & its Environs to Greenwich, on the North or Hudson River and to Crown Point, on the East or Sound River, Shewing the Several Streets, Publick Buildings, Docks, Fort & Battery, with thee true Form & Course of the Commanding Grounds, With and without the Town…Survey’d in the winter, 1775.  Estimated $60,000 to $70,000.

 “My goal is to sell all of the material.”  It's  tall order.  The full sale carries total low and high estimates of $12.6 and $16.5 million.  The outcomes will depend on the reserves.   Over the past two years the percentage of lots selling in the works on paper category at auction worldwide has been increasing as estimates have come down enough to induce skeptical bidders to buy material priced through competitive bidding.  It’s today a strong trend and Mr. Arader is as determined to change with the market as he was when first selling maps in college.  He was and remains an innovator.  For maps and images his conversion is important because his holdings are massive.  As he moves to market-determined pricing it will force the category to follow suit.

The sale at hand is divided into 8 sections:

1-34.  Audubon prints.  Mainly unreserved

35-59.  Audubon prints selected from the top 50.  Many unreserved

60-79.  Audubon quadrupeds.  XX unreserved

80.  Audubon quadrupeds, the octavo edition in parts

81.  Audubon imperial quadrupeds

82.  Audubon octavo birds