Auction Update Review: Everything but the fireworks | The Week ending June 23 ,2012 « Rare Book Hub - Rare Books, Book Auctions, Antiquarian Book Collecting

Auction Update Review

Everything but the fireworks

For the week ending Saturday June 23^rd 29 auctions were archived; 6 in British pounds, 9 in euros, 1 in Mexican pesos and 13 in US dollars. Ten thousand one hundred and fifty-six lots were offered and 6,963 sold for a 68.6% success rate. A single lot, George Washington’s personally annotated copy of the [US] Constitution, Bill of Rights and other key acts of the first Congress in 1789 brought $9,826,500 at Christie’s against its high estimate of $3,000,000. Sales for all lots totaled $20,864,959, 112% of the high estimate of all lots offered. It was, on its face, a good week that also provided evidence of broad weakness.

The following auctions exceeded 100% of the total of their high estimates:

Christie’s. George Washington’s Personal Copy of the first Acts of Congress in 1789 on
June 22^nd: 328%

Osenat. The French Empire at Fontainbleau on June 10th: 236%

Henri Godts Books & Prints. Books from the 16^th to 20^th Centuries on June 16th: 219%

Ader. Letters and Manuscripts, Autographs, Collection of E. H. and diverses on June 14th: 218%

Rupert Toovey. Prints on June 13^th: 171%

Gonelli Casa d’Aste. Prints on June 14^th: 138%

Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Children’s & Illustrated Books, Antique Toys and Games on June 21^st: 132%

Christie’s. Books on June 19^th: 107%

Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Printed Books, Maps and Documents on June 20^th: 101%

The following auctions realized more than $1,000,000 in total sales:

Christie’s. George Washington’s Personal Copy of the first Acts of Congress in 1789 on June 22^nd: $9,826,500

Christie’s. Books and Manuscripts on June 22^nd: $1,961,725

Christie’s. Books on June 19^th: $1,161,699

Swann Galleries. American Art / Contemporary Art on June 14^th: $1,076,559

The following sales sold at least 80% of their lots:

Christie’s. George Washington’s Personal Copy of the first Acts of Congress in 1789 on June 22^nd: 100%

Heritage Auctions. Rare Books – Internet auctioned June 21^st: 97%

Clars Auction Gallery. Art and German Literature Books on June 16^th: 94%

Ader. Letters and Manuscripts, Autographs, Collection of E. H. and diverses on June 14th: 93%

Swann Galleries. 19^th & 20^th Century Literature on June 21^st: 89%

Pierre Berge & Associates. Archeology on June 1^st: 88%

Rupert Toovey. Prints on May 16^th: 86%

Osenat. The French Empire at Fontainbleau on June 10th: 84%

Swann Galleries. American Art / Contemporary Art on June 14^th: 84%

For the week ahead 19 sales are scheduled:

Tuesday June 26^th Bonhams. Books [20138]. 738 lots

Robert A. Siegel. Rarities of the World [1025]. 5 selected lots

Wed. June 27^th Gray’s Auctioneers. Decorative Arts [58]. 43 lots

Heritage Auctions. Illustration Art [5087]. 878 lots

Thursday June 28^th Ader. Letters, Manuscripts, Autographs [19473]. 393 lots.

Aguttes. Books, Ancient Documents and Stamps [18567]. 209 lots

Aguttes. Books [19337]. 39 lots

Bloomsbury Auctions. Modern and Contemporary Prints [35934]. 422 lots

Cowan’s Auctions. American History – Internet bidstart 6/21 [263]. 355 lots

Eldred’s. Fine and Decorative Arts [750]. 51 lots

Heritage Auctions. Illustration Art [5087]. 878 lots

Heritage Auctions. Rare Books. Internet bidstart 6/21. 433 lots

Neret – Minet & Tessier. Militaria [13402]. 36 items

Swann Galleries. Discovery Sale [2283]. 333 lots

Friday June 29^th Eldred’s. Fine and Decorative Arts [750]. 51 lots

Saturday June 30^th Dirk Soulis. Important Railroadiana [53987]. 61 lots

Neal Auction Company. Prints [63012]. 56 lots.

Sunday July 1^st Amsterdam Book Auctions. Curios, Books, Comics, Art [19]. 696 lots

Neal Auction Company. Prints [63012]. 56 lots.

With summer now underway and the auctions still in full advance we are experiencing a rare auction season, a busy and solid flow of sales that will run through July. At this point there are 48 events on the July calendar and inevitably more to be scheduled.

Bruce McKinney
AE
June 24th, 2012

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Dr. Seuss, pen, ink & watercolor, calendar illustration, Thomas D. Murphy Company, 1937. $10,000 to $15,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Georges Lepape, Sur la Terrasse, gouache & pencil, cover for Vogue, 1930. $8,000 to $12,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Charles Dana Gibson, The Coming Game, Yale vs. Vassar, pen & ink, for Life magazine, 1895. $2,000 to $3,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: H.A. Rey, color pencil, charcoal, watercolor & gouache, for Rafi et les 9 singes, 1939. $10,000 to $15,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Ernest H. Shepard, pen & ink, for Kenneth Grahame’s Bertie’s Escapade, 1949. $10,000 to $15,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Charles Schulz, The Biggest Star Measured So Far, ink & wash, original Peanuts cartoon, published 1961. $8,000 to $12,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Saul Steinberg, 12 Biographies, A to B, pen & ink with collage, final illustration in his book The Labyrinth, 1960. $12,000 to $18,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Jo Mielziner, A Streetcar Named Desire, watercolor, graphite & gouache, first color study for the award-winning 1947 production. $7,000 to $10,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Charles Addams, Nevermore, watercolor & ink, for The New Yorker, 1973. $12,000 to $18,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: James Montgomery Flagg, I Should Worry, watercolor, gouache & graphite, cover for Judge magazine, 1914. $5,000 to $7,500.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Edward Gorey, Swan Lake, Hunters/Siegfried, Van Rothbart, watercolor, pen & ink, costume designs, 1975. $8,000 to $12,000.

Swann Auction Galleries Dec 10: Ludwig Bemelmans, Sketch for Madeline, gouache & ink. $6,000 to $9,000.
<center>Ketterer Rare Books Auction on November 25th

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: Fust-Schöffer-Bibel from Gutenberg-Press, 1462. Est: € 1,000,000

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: J. W. Weinmann, Phytanthoza-Iconographia, 1735-45. Est: € 60,000

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: O. Kokoschka, Die träumenden Knaben, 1917. Est: € 10,000

<center>Ketterer Rare Books Auction on November 25th

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: Z. Lilius, Orbis breviarium, 1493. Est: € 10,000

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: Gazette du Bon Ton, 1912-22. Est: € 14,000

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: M. Chagall, Daphnis & Chloé, 1961. Est: € 100,000

<center>Ketterer Rare Books Auction on November 25th

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: C. Ptolemaeus, Geographie, 1513. Est: € 100,000

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: E. L. Kirchner, Umbra vitae, 1924. Est: € 6,000

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: J. Miró, Midi le trèfle blanc, 1968. Est: € 2,000

<center>Ketterer Rare Books Auction on November 25th

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: Clemens V., Constitutiones, 1471. Est: € 14,000

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: C. Gesner, Tierbuch, Vogelbuch, Fischbuch, 1563-81. Est: € 5,000

Ketterer Rare Books, November 25: J. Itten, Utopia, 1921. Est: € 2,000
Christie’s London, Nov. 27: [Peter I, Tsar]. Simboly i emblemata ukazom i blagopovedenii imperatora Petra Alekseevicha [Symbola et emblemata jussu atque auspiciis Petri Alexeidis]. Amsterdam, 1705. £30,000 to £40,000

Christie’s London, Nov. 27: Charlemagne, Adolf. Benefice d'Adieu de Madame Naptal. [St Petersburg: 16th February 1873]. £30,000 to £40,000

Christie’s London, Nov. 27: [Military. Album.] [An album of drawings of weapons and their accessories, drawn from nature by the Second Cadets Corps.] St Petersburg, 1800. £100,000 to £150,000

Christie’s London, Nov. 27: Pushkin, Alexander. Evgenii Onegin. St Petersburg: Dep. of Public Education, 1825-1832. £100,000 to £150,000

Christie’s London, Nov. 27: Sumarokov, Pavel. Dosugi krymskogo sud’i ili vtoroe puteshestvie v Tavridu. [The Leisure of a Crimean Judge or a Second Tour to Tauris]. St Petersburg: Imperial Press, 1803-5. £50,000 to £80,000
Bonhams, Dec. 5: SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM. Macbeth: A Tragedy. London, 1673. FIRST SEPARATE AND FIRST QUARTO EDITION. THE CHARLTON HESTON COPY. $80,000 to $120,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 5: HEMINGWAY, ERNEST. In Our Time. Paris, 1924. FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY. $20,000 to $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 5: HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL. Fanshawe, A Tale. Boston, 1828. FIRST EDITION OF AUTHOR'S FIRST BOOK. $20,000 to $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 5: THOREAU, HENRY DAVID. Walden; Or, Life in the Woods. Boston, 1854. FINE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION. $10,000 to $15,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 5: SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM. Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. London, 1685. THE FOURTH FOLIO, Brewster/Bentley issue. $20,000 to $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 5: STEIG, WILLIAM. Original maquette and 58 finished drawings for The Agony in the Kindergarten, one of Steig's most important books. $10,000 to $15,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 5: VERNE, JULES. A Journey to the Centre of the Earth. New York & London, 1872. FIRST EDITION, RARE AMERICAN ISSUE, with Scribner & Welford cancel title. $5,000 to $8,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 5: KING, STEPHEN. Carrie. New York, 1974. INSCRIBED FIRST EDITION, OF AUTHOR'S FIRST BOOK. $1,200 to $1,800.

Bonhams, Dec. 4: APPLE MACINTOSH PROTOTYPE. 1983. The earliest known Macintosh with "Twiggy" drive, one of only two known working machines. $120,000 to $180,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 4: PLATO. Timaeus [AND] Critias [from Ficini's 1484 Opera]. A LANDMARK OF SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT. $80,000 to $120,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 4: LOVELACE, AUGUSTA ADA. Sketch of the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage Esq. London, 1843. FIRST EDITION, JOURNAL ISSUE, MOST IMPORTANT PAPER IN EARLY DIGITAL COMPUTING. $15,000 to $20,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 4: APPLE-1 COMPUTER. Signed by Steve Wozniak, used in development of Apple II. $200,000 to $300,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 4: DARWIN, CHARLES. 1809-1882. On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection. London, 1859. FIRST EDITION. $80,000 to $120,000.