Auction Update Review
The Market Stirs
For the week ending Saturday
January 14th six auctions were archived; three denominated in
British Pounds and three in dollars.
Three thousand four hundred and nineteen lots were offered and three
thousand and fifty-three sold for a robust 89% sale rate. Helping the sell-through were three auction
houses prepared to sell to the bare walls; Dirk Soulis selling over two days,
the fifth and sixth, the contents of Spivey’s Rare Book Shop in Kansas City,
National Book Auctions of Ithaca, New York selling 449 lots of 450 offered on
the 8th, and Bloomsbury’s Bibliophile Sale in London on the 12th
that achieved an 84% sell-through. Some
weeks the consignors are holding the high cards and you can tell because the
percentage of lots sold drops down into the 60% range. When auction houses set the estimates low the
lots attract much more attention.
The turnover for the week was
small, even microscopic, $686,370 but
the activity brisk, portending continuing strength if estimates are generally
appealing.
For the week only one sale reached
100% of the aggregate high estimate of all lots offered:
Keys Fine Art. Prints on January 6th. The sale brought 107% of the aggregate high
estimate.
For the week ahead three sales are
scheduled:
Thursday January 19th PBA Americana
and California – Cartography (471)
Friday January 20th Christie’s John James Audubon’s The Birds of America The Duke of Portland
Set (2526)
Saturday January 21st Neret – Minet & Tessier. Comic Strips (11894)
The set of Audubon’s Birds is one
of the most desirable printed items in the entire field. It’s purchase potentially adds your name to
this set’s distinguished provenance ensuring that hundreds of years hence your
name will be associated with this copy as it inevitably returns to the rooms.
This is the last quiet week.
Bruce McKinney
AE