Rare Book Monthly
New York State Considers (Weakened) Auction Regulations
Assemblyman Richard Brodsky submitted New York's auction reform bill.
By Michael Stillman
A significant piece of legislation designed to regulate auctions is working its way through the New York State legislature. While what happens in one out of 50 states in one out of a couple of hundred countries in the world may not sound that important, New York is the auction capital of the United States if not the world. Changes in New York do matter.
The bill, sponsored by Westchester County (just north of New York City) Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who has been sponsoring consumer-oriented legislation for two decades, is designed to make the auction process more transparent to bidders. While some parts of this bill may be a bit burdensome for auction houses, other parts should be beneficial to bidders. Though we don't know whether the auction houses agree with the provisions, one key area appears to have been sufficiently watered down to perhaps make it palatable to them.
Assemblyman Brodsky's bill, "An act to amend the general business law, in relation to auction requirements," was passed by the New York State Assembly on a vote of 142-1. It seems unlikely, considering the margin, that the New York State Senate would defeat it, the greater risk being it gets bottled up and dies in committee. This has happened before.
In a prior version, the most controversial section of this legislation was one designed to throw light on hidden reserves, and what some call "sham," "phantom," or "chandelier" bidding. This is a process where an auction house starts the bidding at a number below an unannounced reserve price (the reserve being the minimum price at which the auction house will sell the item). If a bidder makes an offer below the reserve, the auction house may then make a higher bid. It's referred to as a "sham" bid as the bidder (the house) has no intention of actually buying the object. The purpose is to drive the bids up to the reserve price or higher. If the bidder thinks he or she is bidding against another real buyer, or just gets caught up in the frenzy, he may place a higher bid than he would if he realized the competing bids were "shams."
The current bill provides several provisions to limit or throw light on this practice, but it does not prohibit it, and a strong transparency provision from the earlier version has been eliminated. Brodsky's legislation requires that auction houses disclose whether an item is subject to a reserve price, though the reserve price need not be disclosed. Once the reserve price has been met, an auctioneer may no longer bid on behalf of a consignor, nor may auctioneer or consignor bid on their own behalf without revealing their status. In other words, no undisclosed "sham" bids once the reserve has been reached. Meanwhile, the reserve price may not be any higher than the minimum estimated price (if there is one).
The piece that was removed from an earlier proposal was a requirement that so-called "sham" bids be identified by the auctioneer as being "for the consignor." This would have prevented undisclosed "sham" bids below the reserve as well as above it. Other bidders would know the price was being pushed up by the auction house, not another true bidder. Under the revised legislation, bids made by the auctioneer below the reserve would not be so identified. Buyers would know that this was a possibility by the announcement that items were subject to a reserve (provided they understood the implications), but would have no way of knowing, on any individual item, whether the bidding was real or "sham" since the "for the consignor" requirement was stripped from the bill.
When the original bill was filed several years ago, it included the following "justification" to require disclosure of all "sham" bidding: "Acceptance of a sham bid by an auctioneer on behalf of an auction house is essentially a deceptive practice. There is no justifiable reason to permit the taking of fake bids without disclosure of this practice to the public. The theatrical benefits created by this practice are far outweighed by the public's right to be informed of the acceptance of such bids during the auction process. This theatrical game playing is akin to pulling the wool over the consumer's eyes. Identification of the acceptance of such bids with the phrase 'for the consignor' would put an end to the chicanery being perpetrated by the auction houses." This wording is no longer mentioned in the current bill. By implication, the current bill continues to allow a certain amount of "chicanery."
Rare Book Monthly
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Sotheby’s
Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone
25 June – July 7Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000. -
Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000 -
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