Auction Update Review
August Arrives in a Year of Uncertainty
For the week ending Saturday July
30th we have archived 13 sales.
Four of them are past sales that we did not integrate into our results
until last night. For the nine recent
sales all were denominated in dollars.
European houses are off for holiday.
Three thousand one hundred and fifty-two lots were offered and 2,396
sold for a 76% sell-through rate.
Turnover was relatively light and the results somewhat soft. Reported turn over for the recent nine recent
sales was $1,175,676. Most of these
sales took place in the past ten days and were selling under the penumbra of the American budget dispute and prospect of debt default. No doubt outcomes were reduced, none more so
than at JMW Auctions in Kingston that sold, in addition to 500 posters, 100
lots of books that included some very appealing material. The auction house did its job but buyers
hesitated and some important material sold for a fraction of its value. Summer country auctions can be very exciting
but when the national mood is somber prices can go low.
While outcomes overall were below
par Cowan’s of Cincinnati conducted an online auction on July 23rd on
the Western Expansion and did very well:
achieving 192% of the aggregate high estimate. As 100% of the material offered sold it's fair
to assume that reserves were low or non-existent. Cowan’s provides high quality descriptions
and has attracted a wide following.
Four other sales were
archived. One dated back six months and the other three to April. In a few cases we
inadvertently omitted the long since posted results. In two other cases the results were
disappointing to the house and results, until recently, withheld. Every auction houses has some tough
sales. If you do this long enough
everyone has a bad day. We appreciate
that all auction houses we cover have agreed to provide their results, be they
good or difficult. It makes for an
honest if not always comfortable market.
Occasional problems aside the
path forward for auction houses generally looks clear. As one auction house representative mentioned
this past week “we are seeing more consignors expressing their need to raise
money.” This translates into more
consignments and sales.
For the coming week four sales are
scheduled:
Monday August 1st: Cowan’s
Auctions. American History;
Wednesday August 3rd. Swann Galleries. Vintage Posters;
Thursday August 4th. Antiquarian
Auctions. Rare Book Auction;
Saturday August 6th. Morton Case de Subastas. Books, Records and Prints
While the number of sales is at its
lowest level in August the material can be very good. It is worth following.
Bruce McKinney
AE