Auction Update Review

The Market Mid-stride

For the week ending Saturday May 10th 5,758 lots were offered and 4,565 sold for a robust 79.28% success rate.  Turnover was $9,942,553.  The average lot brought $2,178.

<--- Skinners on May 16th.  American & European Prints & Photography.  Lot 16:  Thomas Hart Benton.  Homestead estimated $1,500 to $2,000

4 auctions saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars:

Heritage Auctions. Pin-up, Pulp, and Illustration Art on May 7th: $2,104,774
Sothebys. Photographs on May 7th: $1,851,575
Freemans. Modern and Contemporary Works of Art - Prints on May 4th: $1,521,633
Peter Arnold. Rare Books, Maps, Prints and Manuscripts on March 25th: $1,439,411

<--- RR Auction.  Monthly Sale ending on May 14th.  Lot 1:  George Washington framed material.  Starting bid $500

4 auctions saw total sales exceed 100% of the high estimates of all lots offered in the sale:

Eldreds. Asian Art - Books and Prints on May 2nd: 122.46%
Lyon and Turnbull. Rare Books, Maps and Manuscripts on May 7th: 114.57%
Dirk Soulis Auctions. Fine Art - Prints and Photography on April 25th: 100.26%
Peter Arnold. Rare Books, Maps, Prints and Manuscripts on March 25th: 100.14%

12 sales saw at least 80% of their lots sell:

Cowans Auctions. Civil War Union Generals' Cartes de Visite on April 30th: 99.07%
Heritage Auctions. Comics -Internet bidstart 4/27 on May 4th: 99.03%
Heritage Auctions. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 4/27 on May 4th: 95.83%
Eldreds. Asian Art - Books and Prints on May 2nd: 95.24%
Dirk Soulis Auctions. Fine Art - Prints and Photography on April 25th: 94.81%
Heritage Auctions. Pin-up, Pulp, and Illustration Art on May 7th: 91.48%
Heritage Auctions. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 5/1 on May 8th: 91.22%
Swann Galleries. Art, Press & Illustrated Books on May 7th: 89.25%
Blacksparrow. Monterpalooza Charity Auction - Memorabilia on March 29th: 86.79%
Freemans. Modern and Contemporary Works of Art - Prints on May 4th: 86.06%
Lyon and Turnbull. Rare Books, Maps and Manuscripts on May 7th: 86.03%
Grays Auctioneers. Prints on April 30th: 80.28%

For the week ahead 40 sales are scheduled:

Mon. May. 12th
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Old Master Prints. 7 lots
Artcurial. Paris. MIDDLE EAST & ISLAMIC ARTS-FOUR PRIVATE COLLECTIONS - Manuscripts. 86 lots

Tue. May. 13th
Burgersdijk and Niermans. Leiden. New and Antiquarian Books. 1167 lots
Bolaffi Ambassador Auctions. Milan. Antiquarian Books and Autographs. 762 lots
Swann Galleries. New York. Contemporary Art - Prints. 293 lots
Artcurial. Paris. Books and Manuscripts. 451 lots
Artcurial. Paris. Orientalism - Books. 2 lots
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Modern and Contemporary Prints. 61 lots

Wed. May. 14th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Space. 345 lots
ALDE. Paris. Ancient Books and the XIXth Century. 320 lots
Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Gloucestershire. PRINTED BOOKS & MAPS, TRAVEL & POLAR EXPLORATION, NATURAL HISTORY & SCIENCE. 551 lots
RR Auction. Amherst. Rare Manuscript, Document & Autograph - bidstart 4/25. 1180 lots
Binoche et Giquello. rue La Boetie, Paris. Dada Surrealism - Books, Manuscripts, Photographs.... 299 lots
Kedem Auction. Jerusalem . Jewish and Israeli History and Culture, Israeli and International Art. 431 lots
Robert Siegel Galleries. New York. Worldwide Postal History. 26 lots

Thu. May. 15th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics. 1471 lots
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Chicago. Fine Prints. 329 lots
Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Gloucestershire. THE COLLECTORS SALE: Day One - HISTORIC AVIATION & TRANSPORT MODELS, MEMORABILIA & EPHEMERA. 164 lots
Sothebys. New York. Contemporary Art - Prints. 54 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 5/8. 497 lots
Aguttes. Neuilly-sur-Seine . Ancient Books and Documents. 296 lots
Binoche et Giquello. rue La Boetie, Paris. Dada Surrealism - Books, Manuscripts, Photographs..., Day II. 294 lots

Fri. May. 16th
Romantic Agony Book and Print Auctions. Brussels. Books. 1071 lots
Pierre Berge and Associes. Paris. Books. 423 lots
Gonnelli Casa DAste. Firenze. Books, Manuscripts, Prints. 400 lots
Skinner. Boston. American and European Prints and Photography. 188 lots
Keys Fine Arts Auctioneers. Norwich. Pictures and Prints. 114 lots
Hauff and Auvermann. Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Spring Auction - Part I: Old and rare Books. Autographs.. 645 lots
Hauff and Auvermann. Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Spring Auction - Part II. Old and rare Books. Engravings.. 692 lots
Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Gloucestershire. THE COLLECTORS SALE: Day Two - STAMPS & COINS MEDALS, ARMS & MILITARIA. 53 lots
Beaussant Lefevre. Paris. Prints. 8 lots

Sat. May. 17th
Clars Auction Gallery. Oakland. Prints and Photographs. 160 lots
Gonnelli Casa DAste. Firenze. Musical works, Autographs and signed books. 147 lots
Profiles in History. Calabasas Hills. DEBBIE REYNOLDS – THE AUCTION FINALE - Ephemera. 230 lots
Hauff and Auvermann. Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Spring Auction - Part III: Modern books. Posters. Photography.. 526 lots
Hauff and Auvermann. Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Spring Sale - Part IV: Modern and contemporary Art.. 245 lots

Sun. May. 18th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 5/11.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics -Internet bidstart 5/11.
Bonhams. Los Angeles. Period Art and Design - Prints. 54 lots
Clars Auction Gallery. Oakland. Prints and Photographs, Day 2. 108 lots
National Book Auctions. Ithaca. Books and Ephemera - Civil War, Am. West, Exploration, etc.by.

 

Forty sales in a single week.  It's simply stunning if no longer unexpected.

 

Bruce McKinney

AE

  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.