Auction Update Review
Some Early Strength
For the week ending Saturday
January 19th 7 auctions were archived to the AED; 3 in US dollars, 2
in British pounds and 2 in euros. Total
turnover was $1,642,742. The total of
the high estimates of all lots was $2,140,511.
Two thousand one hundred and fourteen lots were offered and 1,620 sold
for a 77% success rate. The recent trend
has been for reserves to be modest and it’s helping to clear materials
accumulating to sell. It’s a healthy
trend although too early to say what it portends for the important spring
season.
One indicator is clear; the number
of sales posted in the January auction calendar. That number in 2012 was 32,
this January 51.
Only one sale saw total sales
exceed 100% of the total of their high estimates:
Lyons and Turnbull. Rare Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Photography
on January 16th: 111%
Their runner up was Bloomsbury
Auctions’ Bibliophile Books on January 17th: 93%
Three sales saw at least 80% of
their lots sell:
Heritage Auctions. Rare Books Internet sale ended January 17th: 91%
Bloomsbury Auctions. Bibliophile Books on January 17th: 88%
Lyon and Turnbull. Rare Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Photographs
on January 16th: 82%.
For the week ahead 18 sales are
scheduled:
Mon. Jan. 21st Bruun Rasmussen. Old Prints [1304a]. 23 lots
Copley
Fine Art. Sporting Prints, Books
[12113]. 48 lots
Tues. Jan 22nd Bruun Rasmussen. Modern Prints [1304b]. 49 lots
Wed. Jan. 23rd Rupert Toovey and
Co. Prints [1098]. 37 lots
Thurs. Jan. 24th Bloomsbury Auctions. Antiquarian Books [12413]. 202 lots
Keys
Fine Arts Auctioneers. Books, Day 1
[1071]. 730 lots
PBA
Galleries. Americana – Asian-American
History – Travel – Maps and Views [498].
434 lots
Swann
Galleries. 20th Century
Illustration Original Art / Books, Featuring Maurice Sendak [2300]. 281 lots
Heritage
Auctions. Rare Books. Internet bidding ends today [201304]. 201 lots
Rossini. Posters [20990] 299 lots
Friday Jan. 25th Christies. American Prints [2670]. 14 lots
Sothebys. Audubon Prints [N08950]. 39 lots
Saturday Jan. 26th Robert C. Eldred, Inc. Prints, Books [778]. 50 lots
Morton
Casa de Subastas. Maps [660]. 202 lots
Sotheby’s. Prints [N08950]. 39 lots
Neret
– Minet & Tessier/ Marine – Voyages
[15190].
Sun. Jan 27th National Book Auctions. Books and Ephemera – Americana, Antique,
Firsts, Nautical, etc. [01272013]
Here is a link to the RecentAuctions Spreadsheet. It’s still being
tweaked but is already useful.
It’s much too early to see any
pattern other than the rising volume present all through continues into 2013.
Bruce McKinney
AE
20 January 2013