The following is a news release from Live Auctioneers of New York. They had a good year. While they handle much more than books, manuscripts, maps, and ephemera they are now a principal source in the paper field. Invaluable is also important and many of the individual auction houses are building auction juggernauts.
NEW YORK –LiveAuctioneers, the world’s leading online marketplace for exceptional fine art, antiques and vintage collectibles, has released its 2019 Annual Report confirming not only another year of record results that outperformed competitors, but also a continued year-over-year pattern of growth that remains unrivaled in the industry.
Phil Michaelson, CEO of LiveAuctioneers, commented: “LiveAuctioneers empowers auction-house partners to realize the highest hammer prices on arts and collectibles with the least amount of pre-auction and post-auction effort. In 2019, LiveAuctioneers delivered the winners on more than 800,000 lots as well as the valuable underbidders on millions more lots. Our industry-leading mobile apps -- with personalized algorithms and nearly 5 of 5 stars on the App Store -- attracted 76% more traffic than any other live-bidding platform. Additionally, as compared to 2018, there was 40% growth in the adoption of LiveAuctioneers Payments solutions, which help auctioneers collect funds faster from winners, thus simplifying operations. Between the industry’s premier online-only timed auction technology, highly rated bidding apps, award-winning client support team, free consignment-sourcing solutions, and unparalleled marketing services, there’s a powerful synergy at work for our auction-house partners, 24 hours a day.”
The number of new visitors to LiveAuctioneers exceeded 18.5 million, and the number of items sold through the company’s platform grew by 31%, nearly twice the rate of growth seen by other providers in the market. Also, mobile bidding continued its nonstop upward run, with a 31% increase in the number of bids placed via LiveAuctioneers’ mobile apps, a further testament to the commitment LiveAuctioneers made to app technology in 2009 with the introduction of an app for iOS (Apple) devices and the first live-auction bidding app for Android.
In 2019, LiveAuctioneers continued to deliver:
47% lift in bids placed in LiveAuctioneers’ timed auctions
91,251,420 personalized notifications sent to bidders
9,541 consignors funneled to auction-house partners free of charge
76% growth in bids placed in auctions with live streaming
21% growth in auction registrations through LiveAuctioneers-supported white label sites
LiveAuctioneers continued to win important awards last year, being named for the fourth consecutive year as “One of the Best Places to Work in New York City” in an annual competition conducted by Crain’s New York Business. Also in 2019, LiveAuctioneers’ Client Support team won a prestigious Stevie® Award in the category “Support Department of the Year.”
“In 2020, more auction house partners will have the opportunity to grow their sales with new services like Online-Only Timed Auctions, LiveAuctioneers Payments, Custom Auction Websites, and more. I’m delighted that Jared Green, former VP of Heritage Auctions, joined LiveAuctioneers in late 2019 to help us bring these exciting new services to clients,” Michaelson said.
Click here to view LiveAuctioneers’ Annual Report containing additional information about the company’s growth and highlights of the past year.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
