For the week ending Saturday April 26^th 27 auctions were archived to the AED; 9 denominated in euros, 3 in British pounds, and 15 in US dollars.  Turnover was $18,574,343 as 9,876 lots were offered and 7,419 sold for a 75% success rate.  The average lot brought $2,503.62.  It was a solid week that begins to suggest we’ll see book, manuscript, map and ephemera auctions in a few years reach a billion dollars in annual sales.  

<--- Christies Prints and Multiples on April 23-24.  Lot 60:  Whistler's "The Steps, Amsterdam" realized $125,000 against an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.

3 auctions saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars:

Christies. Prints and Multiples on April 24th: $9,811,375
Bonhams. Prints and Multiples on April 22nd: $2,345,749
Artcurial. Books and Manuscripts on April 16th: $1,337,909

5 auctions saw total sales exceed 100% of the high estimates of all lots offered in the sale:

RR Auction. Rare Manuscript, Document & Autograph - bidstart 3/21 on April 16th: 368.79%
OSENAT. IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF OVER 800 PRINTS ON THE REVOLUTION, THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE on April 19th: 310.53%
Rupert Toovey and Co. Photographs, Autographs and Ephemera on April 22nd: 183.68%
Rupert Toovey and Co. Prints on April 23rd: 126.49%
Swann Galleries. Modernist Posters on April 24th: 102.59%

<--- Sothebys:  Travel, Atlases, Maps and Natural History on April 29th.  Lot 10 Redoute.  Les Liliacees.  First ed., 8 vols., Estimated GBP 70,000 to 100,000

17 sales saw at least 80% of their lots sell:

National Book Auctions. Rare Books and Ephemera on April 6th: 100.00%
Rupert Toovey and Co. Photographs, Autographs and Ephemera on April 22nd: 100.00%
National Book Auctions. Books and Ephemera on February 16th: 99.80%
National Book Auctions. Books and Ephemera - Monument Men, Law, Autographs, etc. on March 9th: 99.60%
Heritage Auctions. Comics -Internet bidstart 4/13 on April 20th: 98.55%
Stair Auctioneers and Appraisers. Prints on April 18th: 96.43%
Heritage Auctions. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 4/13 on April 20th: 96.25%
OSENAT. IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF OVER 800 PRINTS ON THE REVOLUTION, THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE on April 19th: 90.70%
Heritage Auctions. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 4/17 on April 24th: 89.97%
Bloomsbury Auctions. Maps & Atlases incl. a Private Collection of Cartographic on April 25th: 88.87%
Rupert Toovey and Co. Prints on April 23rd: 88.10%
Heritage Auctions. Lomasney Vintage Movie Art Posters Benefiting Lifebeat Monthly Internet Charity on April 24th: 87.50%
Bruun Rasmussen. Modern and Contemporary Prints on April 22nd: 86.96%
Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. Rare and Used Books on April 11th: 86.68%
Christies. Prints and Multiples on April 24th: 84.91%
Bonhams. Prints and Multiples on April 22nd: 83.22%
Bruun Rasmussen. Old Master Prints on April 21st: 80.00%

For the week ahead 24 sales are scheduled:

Mon. Apr. 28th
ALDE. Paris. Letters and Original Manuscripts. 399 lots
Neret Minet and Tessier. Paris. Comic Strips. 371 lots
Dorotheum . Vienna. Prints Before 1900. 95 lots
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Old and Modern Prints. 71 lots

Tue. Apr. 29th
Bonhams. Oxford . Photographs. 108 lots
Sothebys. London. Travel, Atlases, Maps and Natural History. 217 lots
Swann Galleries. New York. Old Master Through Modern Prints. 446 lots
Doyle New York. New York. Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints. 212 lots
Sothebys. London. The Gustav Leonhardt Collection, Property from the Bartolotti House, Amsterdam. 27 lots
Sothebys. Paris. Une famille et l’Empire. 47 lots
Binoche et Giquello. rue La Boetie, Paris. Antiquarian and Modern Books. 326 lots
Cowans Auctions. Cincinnati. Civil War Union Generals' Cartes de Visite. 536 lots

Wed. Apr. 30th
Christies. Paris. Ancient Books, Art Books, and Manuscripts. 226 lots
Grays Auctioneers. Cleveland, . Prints. 71 lots

Thu. May. 1st
Swann Galleries. New York. Early Printed, Medical & Scientific Books. 291 lots
Eldreds. East Dennis,. Asian Art - Books and Prints. 21 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 4/24. 495 lots
Bloomsbury Auctions. London. Affordable Prints and Photographs. 127 lots
Sothebys. New York. Prints. 357 lots

Fri. May. 2nd
Kiefer Buch und Kunstauktionen. 75172 Pforzheim. Old and Rare Books and Manuscripts. 5343 lots

Sun. May. 4th
Bonhams. Los Angeles. Entertainment Memorabilia, Including Animation Art. 93 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 4/27.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics -Internet bidstart 4/27.
Freemans. Philadelphia. Modern and Contemporary Works of Art - Prints. 165 lots

The season advances and the market around the world is increasingly unified.  We are living through the most significant changes in the field in anyone's memory.

Bruce McKinney

AE