Our Perspective

Book auctions are an integral part of the book world. They are also both its most obscure and its most visible component. Book auctions are the spot market but a thin one. If there are 300,000 +/- titles in the Americana world, less than 5% of them are sold at auction in any given year. If no title is sold twice it will take twenty years to see every book in the Americana field come to auction. However the same titles tend to come up repeatedly while many others never make it to the auction floor.

American book auctions typically have about 400 lots, European auctions more. When you get beyond 550 lots it typically becomes a two day sale. An auction lot may contain only a single book or a group of books. Often, when more than one item is included it is because the value of the individual books is lower than the auction house's minimum lot value requirement. There are occasions of course when multiple items are included in a lot and the lot value is very high. Some auction houses expect the minimum lot value to be $100, others $500 and a few more than $2,500. It will also vary from sale to sale for a specific auction house.

Material from a single consignor tends to bring higher prices than material from various consignors. But single consignor sales are relatively rare. When the seller has built a respected collection, the seller's ownership (provenance) may significantly enhance value. Among those admired and respected for their collecting skill and ambition in the Americana field, Thomas W. Streeter and Frank Siebert come to mind.

Among auction houses, there is no consistent standard for cataloguing. Each house has its own style and terms of expression. Similar terms may be employed but not necessarily carry the same meaning. Writing auction descriptions is an art rather than a science and this can make it difficult for the bidder to clearly understand what is offered. Overall, auction houses try hard to be clear because a buyer who feels misled may not buy again.

Most collectors do not buy at auction while many dealers do. To be an auction bidder you need to know what you want, understand the lot description; know how to bid and when to stop. At AE we are committed to supporting the auction process and to help, if not lead, in the creation of standards for lot description that will minimize the risk of misunderstanding. Collectors will consign. Auction houses will sell. Buyers will buy in increasingly large numbers as clear standards for auction description emerge. Ambiguity damages the auction market. Clarity enhances it.

Auction Calendar: We provide a variety of free and paid services for those interested in books at auction. For all members and visitors we provide an auction calendar on the home page to track upcoming sales. Each upcoming sale appears on its scheduled date as a link to its book and ephemera lots. A list of brief lot identifications open into full descriptions.

Auction Records: Once sale results are reported priced records remain available for free examination for 60 days. These same records are simultaneously archived to the AED where they become part of the historical record.

Keyword Search in Live Auctions: Many auction buyers follow all auctions conducted by particular auction houses. Others follow the "material" wherever it shows up - at any of the 80 auctions venues we cover. Keyword Search looks, via a single search, at all upcoming auctions for the term or terms you seek. Results are sequenced in descending date order and the terms you seek are highlighted in the lot descriptions.

Disclosure: We have no financial relationship with any auction house.