Auction Update Review
Far from the Madding Crowd
For the week ended Saturday July 6th
6 auctions were archived to the AED. In
America it’s been the week of July 4th, in France it’s soon to be
Bastille Day and in England it’s been all things Wimbledon. No wonder the rooms have been quiet. Nevertheless the auctions queue, material is
hoisted and bidders’ paddles fly.
There’s no stopping what has become a 24/7/365 auction experience. For the week 345 lots were offered and 219
sold.
Sotheby’s sale of Western
Manuscripts and Literature on July 2nd was the only event to reach a
million dollars: $2,802,690, the only
sale that saw its total sales exceed 100% of the total of its high estimates
and the only sale to see more than 80% of its lots sell.
For the week ahead 16 events are
scheduled:
Tues. July 9th Neret – Minet &
Tessier. Vintage Posters [16872]. 540 lots
Wed. July 10th Morton Casa
de Subastas. Books, Historical
Documents, Prints and Photographs [676].
266 lots
Rupert
Toovey and Co. Prints [1139]. 63 lots
Sothebys. The Joseph Conrad Collection from the Library
of the late Stanley J. Seeger
– Part I [L13415]. 193 lots
Sothebys. English Literature; Children’s Books and
Illustrations [L13404]. 180 lots
Thurs. July 11th Heritage Auctions
[HA.com]. Rare Books internet bidding
ending today [201328]. 241 lots
Bloomsbury
Auctions. Books, Maps,, Works on Paper;
including Travel and Natural
History [36064].
658 lots
PBA
Galleries. Rare Americana [510]. 100 lots
Fri. July 12th Jeschke – van vliet
Book and Art Auctions Ltd. Rare Books
[93]. 824 lots
Bloomsbury
Auctions. Books, Maps,, Works on Paper;
including Travel and Natural
History [36064].
658 lots
Keys
Fine Arts Auctioneers. Selected Quality
Pictures – Prints [1127]. 38 lots
Skinner,
Inc. Prints [2663B]. 16 lots
Sat. July 13th Clars Auction
Gallery. Prints, Photographs [71313]. 147 lots
Neal
Auction Company. Prints [71313]. 82 lots
Sun. July 14th Clars Auction
Gallery. Prints, Photographs [71313]. 147 lots
Neal
Auction Company. Prints [71313]. 82 lots
It was a quiet week but not so if
you consigned or were bidding. I
recently bid on a manuscript map at Bonhams in New York. I bid $12,000 on a lot that was estimated
$3,000 to $5,000 and not only did not win, I wasn’t even the under bidder. The lot brought $20,000 plus commission. When the material is compelling there are
fewer sleepers these days.
Bruce McKinney
AE