Total sales at auction for any given week are going to come in at about $5.5 million dollars.  In the slower months, and January is one of them, weekly sales may come in at $2 million, in the busiest weeks $20 million, even more.  A spectacular sale in January is unusual, even unexpected but we had one – Christie’s one lot sale of the double elephant folio  - Audubon’s birds.  That one lot brought $7.9 million and reminds us that the fabulous does well in every circumstance.  It’s refreshing to see and Christie’s deserves praise.  In a market that is providing to be uneven it is important to see examples of exceptional success.

Heritage and PBA also sold – between them 663 lots – for $142,000.  The market is beginning to gain traction as we move into February.

For the week ahead 15 sales are scheduled:

Wed. January 25^th:    Dominic Winter.  Books, Maps, Egyptology, Bibles (12512)

                                                Christie’s.  Interiors [Prints] (3501)

                                                Tajan.  Posters:  An Important Collection (9700)

                                                Rupert Toovey.  Prints (1010)           

Thurs.   January 26^th: Bloomsbury.  Craigie Aitchison (35875)

                                                Keys Fine Arts.  Books Day 1 (966)

                                                Christie’s.  Interiors [Prints] (3501)

Friday January 27^th: Keys.  Books Day 2 (967)

Sat.  January 28^th: Morton Casa de Sabastas.     Books, Documents and Prints (620)

                                                Neret – Minet & Tessier.       Marine, Travel (11819)

Sunday January 29^th:  Artcurial Briest-Le Fur-Poulain-F. Tajan.     Aeronautics I (18087)

                                                Artcurial Briest-Le Fur-Poulain-F. Tajan.     Aeronautics II

                                                Bonhams.  Books and  Manuscripts (19678)

                                                National Book Auctions. Books and Ephemera – McCarthy, Picasso, Antiques, etc. (01292012)

                                                Bruun Rasmussen     Prints – Online bidstarts 1/23 (1204)

Bruce McKinney

AE

January 22^th, 2012