By next spring the third and final segment of material, the general stock of his shop, will have been sold or consigned, the curtain come down, the bookkeeping of an exceptional career balanced and his ledgers found to contain a deep surplus of good will.
In the mean time it falls to Christie’s and Ken’s brethren in the trade to bring his career back to public view for an encore, the evening sale on the 10th the logical catalyst. For both the serious and novice collector it is an important opportunity to observe how far intelligence, skill and integrity can take you, in this case all the way from Chicago, over and back to Europe many times and finally, after sixty years, to New York for a fabled evening sale. In observing this a few acquirers, well on their way to building major collections, will gauge their progress and use the sale to add to their collections while others, new to the game, may find inspiration to try the same climb. In this Mr. Nebenzahl, game codger that he is, has instructed Christies to set the estimates and reserves low. “I have always enjoyed a good sale and I intend to provide one.”
To provide opportunities for collectors of every stripe and budget to buy the sale is salted with items estimated $1,000 to $3,000, they set among some of the giants of book collecting that will run into the six and seven figures.
It turns out Mr. Nebenzahl departs as he arrived, with an undimmed appreciation and enthusiasm for great maps and books.
