Auction Update Review

More Basilio than Ali

 

For the week ending Saturday February 15th 28 sales were archived to the AED, 5 in euros, 4 in British pounds, and 19 in US dollars.  Turnover was $4,923,390 as 5,541 lots were offered and 4,209 sold for a 76% success rate. 

<-- Heritage.  Garth Williams [1912-1996].  Lot of Preliminary Cover Designs for Margaret Wise Brown's book.  Realized $687.50

3 auctions saw total sales exceed 100% of the high estimates of all lots offered:

Doyle New York. Prints on February 11th: 112.60%
Bloomsbury Auctions. Bibliophile on February 13th: 105.10%
James D Julia Auctioneers. Winter Antiques, Asian & Fine Art Auction on February 5th: 104.65%

<--Swann Sale 233.  Lot 49.  Dox Thrash [1892-1965].  Realized $10,625

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

Heritage Auctions. Comics -Internet bidstart 2/2 on February 9th: 100.00%
Aspire Auctions. Prints - Internet bidstart 1/30 on February 7th: 100.00%
Doyle New York. Prints on February 11th: 96.43%
Heritage Auctions. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 2/2 on February 9th: 94.02%
John McInnis Auctioneers. The Legends Auction - Session III on November 24th: 89.34%
Bonhams. Fine Books and Manuscripts on February 10th: 87.13%
James D Julia Auctioneers. Winter Antiques, Asian & Fine Art Auction on February 5th: 87.04%
Christies. Post-War and Contemporary Art: Photographs on February 13th: 83.33%
Bruun Rasmussen. Old Master Prints on February 10th: 83.33%
Bonhams. Prints on February 9th: 82.76%
Bloomsbury Auctions. Bibliophile on February 13th: 82.32%
James D Julia Auctioneers. Antiques, Asian and Fine Arts: Prints on February 4th: 82.05%
Skinner. Fine Prints and Photographs - Internet bidstart 2/3 on February 3rd: 81.67%
John McInnis Auctioneers. The Legends Auction - Session I on November 22nd: 80.50%

For the week ahead 22 sales are scheduled:

Mon. Feb. 17th
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Old Master Prints. 3 lots

Tue. Feb. 18th
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Modern and Contemporary Prints. 86 lots
Alexander Autographs. Chesapeake City. Winter Sale - Autographs. 1049 lots

Wed. Feb. 19th
Audap and Mirabaud. PARIS. Ancient and Modern Books. 285 lots
Bonhams. London. Prints, Featuring the St. Ives School. 395 lots
Morton Casa de Subastas. México DF CP 11000. Books and Documents. 254 lots
Old World Auctions. Glen Allen. Antique Maps, Globes, Charts, Atlases & Vintage Graphics. 827 lots
Bonhams. London. Asian Art - Books. 6 lots
Christies. New York. Interiors - Prints. 24 lots
Webbs. Auckland. Art - Prints. 104 lots

Thu. Feb. 20th
Heritage Auctions. New York. Comics. 1211 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 2/13. 387 lots

Fri. Feb. 21st
Holabird Kagin Americana. Reno. Western Americana. 509 lots
Ferraton. Bruxelles. Books - Old and Modern. 1120 lots

Sat. Feb. 22nd
Jeschke van vliet Buch und Kunstauktionen GmbH. Berlin-Schoneberg. Art and Artist's Books. 695 lots
Eldreds. East Dennis,. Antiques and Accessories - Books and Prints. 38 lots
Holabird Kagin Americana. Reno. Western Americana - Day 2. 304 lots
John McInnis Auctioneers. Amesbury. Prints. 37 lots

Sun. Feb. 23rd
Grogan and Company. Dedham. Prints, Books. 50 lots
Bonhams. San Francisco. Period Art and Design - Prints.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics -Internet bidstart 2/16.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 2/16.

The economy is picking up.  Neither the crowds in San Francisco or Pasadena at recent book fairs were particularly remarkable but the trade was strong.  You couldn't sell the unsaleable but you could sell fine, well priced copies.

 

The business seemed to have a refreshing logic - very good copies, reasonable prices and discerning acquirers.

 

Bruce McKinney

AE

  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas