Auction Update Review

A Different Kind of Year

For the week ended Saturday 30 December 2017 22 auctions were archived to the Rare Book Hub Transaction Database; 3 in Australian dollars, 11 in euros, 1 in British pounds, 1 in Mexican pesos, and 6 in US dollars.  Turnover was $7,641,342 as 6,684 lots were offered and 4,625 lots sold for a 69% success.

  

It’s been a complicated year.

 

Here’s hoping 2018 is a good year for everyone.

 

1 auction saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars: 

AguttesThe Aristophil Collections - Inaugural Sale on December 20th: $4,511,583 



5 auctions saw total sales exceed 100% of the high estimates of all lots offered: 

AguttesTHE PATRIOTIC ICONOGRAPHY OF THE WAR 14-18 - COLLECTION A. AND H. PARENT DE CURZON on September 26th: 155.25% 
Chiswick AuctionsBooks from the Library of Giancarlo Beltrame including Science, the Occult & Curiosa on December 14th: 134.58% 
Aste BolaffiBooks and Manuscripts on December 13th: 105.96% 
AderOld and Modern Prints on December 14th: 102.54% 
AderOld and Modern Prints on December 13th: 102.21% 


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

Heritage AuctionsSunday Internet Comics - bidstart 12/17 on December 24th: 100.00% 
Forum Auctions in ItalyAntiquarian and Rare Books on December 13th: 100.00% 
Carlsen GalleryHoliday Season Antique Auction on December 3rd: 100.00% 
Chiswick AuctionsBooks from the Library of Giancarlo Beltrame including Science, the Occult & Curiosa on December 14th: 97.19% 
Heritage AuctionsTuesday Internet Currency Auction - Online bidstart 12/19 on December 26th: 97.13% 
Heritage AuctionsHeritage Auctions: Sunday Internet Sports Collectibles - Internet bidstart 11/26 on December 26th: 96.79% 
Heritage AuctionsSunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 12/17 on December 24th: 94.40% 
AguttesTHE PATRIOTIC ICONOGRAPHY OF THE WAR 14-18 - COLLECTION A. AND H. PARENT DE CURZON on September 26th: 91.57% 
MossgreenCollectors’ Cars & Automobilia – Featuring the Ferguson Collection of Motorsport Posters on December 10th: 88.54% 

 

Top 25 Lots Reported This Past Week.
  1. Aguttes MANUSCRIT autographe signé, Ursule Mirouët, [1841] on December 20th Actual price: USD $1,392,300.
  2. Aguttes QUINTE-CURCE, FAIZ ET CONQUESTES D'ALEXANDRE [HISTOIRE D'ALEXANDRE LE GRAND], TRADUCTION DE VASQUE DE LUCÈNE on December 20th Actual price: USD $990,080.
  3. Aguttes * L.A.S. «Bonaparte», Nice 10 germinal [IV (30 mars 1796)], à JOSÉPHINE: «A la citoyenne Bonaparte chez la citoyenne Beauharnois. on December 20th Actual price: USD $381,181.
  4. Aguttes Bonaparte en Egypte en 1798 on December 20th Actual price: USD $123,760.
  5. Aguttes MANUSCRIT autographe signé, Journal des differentes campagnes que j'aÿ fait soit par terre ou par mer,… on December 20th Actual price: USD $123,760.
  6. Aguttes Le couple amoureux on December 20th Actual price: USD $116,025.
  7. Aguttes Collier retenant un pendentif en or jaune 18k ciselé de deux nus féminins de profil, les mains suspendues à la chaine en or, les membres inférieurs se transforment en deux grandes feuilles en émaux plique-à-jour vert clair. on December 20th Actual price: USD $112,931.
  8. Aguttes * MANUSCRIT calligraphié (peut-être par Dumas lui-même), L'Alchimiste, orné de 6 peintures on December 20th Actual price: USD $98,018.
  9. Minerva Auctions Roma Le Antichità Romane on December 14th Actual price: USD $77,350.
  10. Aguttes BARBATRE (PIERRE), RÉCIT DE PÈLERINAGE À JÉRUSALEM on December 20th Actual price: USD $61,880.
  11. Aguttes CORRESPONDANCE à sa fille Agathe, 1906-1945; 164 lettres ou poèmes on December 20th Actual price: USD $57,239.
  12. Aguttes Fenetre ouverte a Cannes, 1942 on December 20th Actual price: USD $57,239.
  13. Minerva Auctions Roma New British Terrestrial Globe / New British Celestial Globe British Terrestrial Globe: Dedicato "To the Honourable Sir Joseph Banks on December 14th Actual price: USD $53,550.
  14. Aguttes Vierge à l'enfant on December 20th Actual price: USD $51,051.
  15. Aguttes * L.A.S. «Bonaparte», Paris 16 germinal [6 avril 1804], à sa soeur PAULINE on December 20th Actual price: USD $43,564.
  16. Aguttes * PORTEFEUILLE À SOUFFLETS EN MAROQUIN À GRAIN LONG FRAPPÉ EN LETTRES D'OR «A SA MAJESTÉ L'EMPEREUR ET ROI». GAZETTES ÉTRANGÈRES on December 20th Actual price: USD $43,564.
  17. Mossgreen A Voyage to Terra Australis, undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 on December 11th Actual price: USD $40,102.
  18. Aguttes Paysage a la tonnelle on December 20th Actual price: USD $38,675.
  19. Heritage Auctions Amazing Fantasy #15 (Marvel, 1962) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Off-white to white pages. on December 24th Actual price: USD $35,850.
  20. Aguttes * MANUSCRIT MUSICAL autographe signé, Fanfare, [1927] on December 20th Actual price: USD $35,395.
  21. Aguttes LETTRE EN PROVENANCE DE SUISSE Pli sans texte, adresse effacée par immersion on December 20th Actual price: USD $30,940.
  22. Aguttes Rogelio Lacouriere, pecheur de cuivre on December 20th Actual price: USD $30,940.
  23. Aguttes La grange,1944 on December 20th Actual price: USD $30,940.
  24. Aguttes * Lettre autographe, [Valence 1785 ?] «10 h. du soir samedy», à Mademoiselle EMMA on December 20th Actual price: USD $29,950.
  25. Aguttes BOULES DE MOULINS, SANS CACHET D'ARRIVÉE - Pli contenant une lettre manuscrite datée Vendredi 30 décembre 1870, sans lieu. on December 20th Actual price: USD $29,393.


22 total sales reported this week:

Alaska Auction. Prints, Books on December 21st: 75.00%
Morton Subastas. Books, Photographs, Prints on December 21st: 9.92%
Chiswick Auctions. Books from the Library of Giancarlo Beltrame including Science, the Occult & Curiosa on December 14th: 97.19%
Aste Bolaffi. Books and Manuscripts on December 13th: 67.40%
Minerva Auctions Roma. Books, Autographs and Prints on December 14th: 48.92%
Minerva Auctions Roma. Books, Autographs and Prints on December 14th: 56.55%
Soler Y Llach. Antiquarian Books and Manuscripts on December 12th: 38.54%
Forum Auctions in Italy. Futurismo on December 14th: 39.00%
Forum Auctions in Italy. Antiquarian and Rare Books on December 13th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Heritage Auctions: Sunday Internet Sports Collectibles - Internet bidstart 11/26 on December 26th: 96.79%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday Internet Currency Auction - Online bidstart 12/19 on December 26th: 97.13%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Comics - bidstart 12/17 on December 24th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 12/17 on December 24th: 94.40%
Carlsen Gallery. Holiday Season Antique Auction on December 3rd: 100.00%
Ader. Old and Modern Prints on December 14th: 69.08%
Ader. Old and Modern Prints on December 13th: 67.12%
Aguttes. THE PATRIOTIC ICONOGRAPHY OF THE WAR 14-18 - COLLECTION A. AND H. PARENT DE CURZON on September 26th: 91.57%
Aguttes. Manuscripts, Ancient and Modern Books, Old Papers on December 5th: 78.53%
Aguttes. The Aristophil Collections - Inaugural Sale on December 20th: 66.84%
Mossgreen. Australian History on December 11th: 53.27%
Mossgreen. Sydney Morning Herald Photography Archive, Part 1 on December 12th: 56.62%
Mossgreen. Collectors’ Cars & Automobilia – Featuring the Ferguson Collection of Motorsport Posters on December 10th: 88.54%

 

For the week ahead 10 sales are scheduled:


Mon. Jan. 1st 
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Prints. 76 lots 
Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books. Franklin. Fine Art - Antique Engravings & Lithographs - Works on Paper. 167 lots 

Wed. Jan. 3rd 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. FUN Currency Signature Auction - Tampa. 2894 lots 

Thu. Jan. 4th 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. FUN World Currency Signature Auction - Tampa - session 1. 662 lots 
Nye & Company Auctioneers. Bloomfield. January Backyard Auction - Books, Prints. 83 lots 

Sat. Jan. 6th 
National Book Auctions. Ithaca. Books and Ephemera
Leland Little Auctions. Hillsborough, NC. New Year's Gallery Auction - Prints, Books. 47 lots 

Sun. Jan. 7th 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Internet Sports Collectibles - Internet bidstart 12/10. 419 lots 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Internet Comics - bidstart 12/31
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 12/31

Best wishes for 2018!

Bruce McKinney

RBH and AE

  • 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.
  • 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