Auction Update Review

Auctions: we are now getting serious

For the week ended Saturday October 26th 38 auctions were archived to the AED; 14 denominated in euros, 3 in British pounds, and 21 in US dollars.  Turnover was $29,195,196 as 19,983 lots were offered and 12,557 sold for a 63% success rate.

9 auctions saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars: 

<---- Swann Galleries:  Old Master Through Modern Prints in New York on October 29th.  Click on the image to view the entire sale.


Christies. Prints and Multiples on October 23rd: $8,138,463
Heritage Auctions. Illustration Art on October 16th: $2,730,848
Profiles in History. Hollywood Auction - Day 3 on October 19th: $2,694,824
Bonhams. Prints and Multiples on October 21st: $2,247,249
Profiles in History. Hollywood Auction - Day 2 on October 18th: $1,752,083
Swann Galleries. Fine Photographs on October 17th: $1,457,990
Bonhams. History of Science on October 22nd: $1,457,870
Arader Galleries. Mid-Hudson auction of Audubon Bird Prints, and others on October 11th: $1,426,033
Kiefer Buch und Kunstauktionen. Books, Graphics modern and ancient Arts, Antiques on October 18th: $1,120,096

<---- One of a Kind Collectibles:  Rare Signatures.  Online bidding ends October 29th.  Lot 3:  Account of the British Quit Rents Collected for the Province of New York for His Majesty, for the Year of September 29, 1766 to September 29, 1767.  Current bid $2,225.  Click on the image to view the entire sale.


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

Dorotheum . Automobilia on October 18th: 248.61%
Profiles in History. Hollywood Auction - Day 1 on October 17th: 223.53%
Bonhams. Autumn Stafford Sale - Automobilia on October 19th: 182.83%
PBA Galleries. Fine Literature with Literature Manuscripts and Archives on October 23rd: 175.40%
Swann Galleries. Early Printed, Medical & Scientific Books on October 21st: 108.41%
Profiles in History. Hollywood Auction - Day 3 on October 19th: 100.40%

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

National Book Auctions. Signed, Cruikshank, Magazines, etc. on April 27th: 100.00%
Bonhams. Autumn Stafford Sale - Automobilia on October 19th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Doodle for Hunger Illustration Art Auction Benefiting St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelter - online on October 21st: 100.00%
National Book Auctions. Books, etc. on October 12th: 99.79%
Heritage Auctions. Comics - Internet bidstart 1012 on October 19th: 99.61%
Heritage Auctions. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 10/12 on October 19th: 97.77%
Swann Galleries. Early Printed, Medical & Scientific Books on October 21st: 93.33%
Dorotheum . Automobilia on October 18th: 91.50%
Heritage Auctions. Illustration Art on October 16th: 89.27%
Bruun Rasmussen. Modern and Contemporary Prints on October 21st: 88.37%
Arader Galleries. Mid-Hudson auction of Audubon Bird Prints, and others on October 11th: 85.03%
Bonhams. Prints and Multiples on October 21st: 83.77%
Christies. Prints and Multiples on October 23rd: 80.56%
Cowans Auctions. A.C. Daum Firearms Collection: on October 21st: 80.00%


38 total sales reported this week:

Cowans Auctions. A.C. Daum Firearms Collection: on October 21st: 80.00%
Heritage Auctions. Doodle for Hunger Illustration Art Auction Benefiting St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelter - online on October 21st: 100.00%
Rossini. Prints on October 21st: 44.07%
PBA Galleries. Fine Literature with Literature Manuscripts and Archives on October 23rd: 64.17%
Bloomsbury Auctions. 20th Century Books and Manuscripts on October 23rd: 71.17%
PIASA. PERFORMING ART FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION on October 21st: 34.43%
Christies. Prints and Multiples on October 23rd: 80.56%
Ader. Books on October 17th: 56.25%
Bonhams. History of Science on October 22nd: 48.26%
Swann Galleries. Early Printed, Medical & Scientific Books on October 21st: 93.33%
Heritage Auctions. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 10/16 on October 23rd: 79.50%
Profiles in History. Hollywood Auction - Day 3 on October 19th: 73.40%
Profiles in History. Hollywood Auction - Day 2 on October 18th: 74.97%
Profiles in History. Hollywood Auction - Day 1 on October 17th: 74.80%
Bonhams. Prints and Multiples on October 21st: 83.77%
Bloomsbury Auctions. Interiors,Day 1: Prints on October 21st: 46.73%
Kiefer Buch und Kunstauktionen. Books, Graphics modern and ancient Arts, Antiques on October 18th: 45.13%
Old World Auctions. Antique Maps, Globes, Charts, Atlases & Vintage Graphics - online bidstart 9/3 on September 17th: 77.65%
Bruun Rasmussen. Modern and Contemporary Prints on October 21st: 88.37%
Potomack Company. Fine Books and Prints on October 18th: 77.42%
Dorotheum . Automobilia on October 18th: 91.50%
Jeschke van vliet Buch und Kunstauktionen GmbH. Books, Prints, Photographs on October 18th: 47.85%
Vermot de Pas. Books on October 17th: 37.03%
RR Auction. Rare Manuscript, Document & Autograph - bidstart 9/26 on October 15th: 63.75%
Galerie Bassenge. Modern Literature on October 18th: 48.29%
Galerie Bassenge. Literature (17th - 19th Century) on October 17th: 53.45%
Galerie Bassenge. Autographs on October 16th: 54.74%
Galerie Bassenge. Incunabula / 16th Century / Theology / Architecture and Arts on October 16th: 50.26%
Galerie Bassenge. Rare Books, Varia on October 16th: 45.48%
Galerie Bassenge. History, Geography and Travel Books on October 15th: 48.48%
Heritage Auctions. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 10/12 on October 19th: 97.77%
Bonhams. Autumn Stafford Sale - Automobilia on October 19th: 100.00%
National Book Auctions. Signed, Cruikshank, Magazines, etc. on April 27th: 100.00%
National Book Auctions. Books, etc. on October 12th: 99.79%
Swann Galleries. Fine Photographs on October 17th: 66.77%
Heritage Auctions. Comics - Internet bidstart 1012 on October 19th: 99.61%
Heritage Auctions. Illustration Art on October 16th: 89.27%
Arader Galleries. Mid-Hudson auction of Audubon Bird Prints, and others on October 11th: 85.03%

For the week ahead 20 sales are scheduled:

Mon. Oct. 27th
Doyle New York. New York. Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints. 217 lots
PIASA. Paris. Protest! Art and Design. 293 lots
Dorotheum . Vienna. Books and Decorative Prints. 329 lots

Tue. Oct. 28th
Artcurial. Paris. Posters. 332 lots
Bonhams. New York. Photographs. 137 lots
Sothebys. London. Collections - Prints. 10 lots
Bonhams. New York. THE GEMINI COLLECTION OF MODERN PRINTS AND ILLUSTRATED BOOKS. 166 lots

Wed. Oct. 29th
Swann Galleries. New York. Old Master Through Modern Prints. 521 lots
Christies. Paris. COLLECTION WILLEM PEPPLER - Prints and Photographs. 194 lots
Binoche et Giquello. rue La Boetie, Paris. Modern Books. 283 lots
Kedem Auction. Jerusalem . Jewish and Israeli History and Culture, Israeli and International Art. 463 lots
One Of Kind Collictibles. Coral Gables. Rare Collectibles - Internet bidstart 10/19. 272 lots

Thu. Oct. 30th
Sothebys. New York. Prints. 437 lots
Morton Casa de Subastas. México DF CP 11000. Books and Ancient Documents. 368 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 10/23. 383 lots

Fri. Oct. 31st
Bonhams. London. London to Brighton Run - Automobilia. 55 lots

Sat. Nov. 1st
Aspire Auctions. Cleveland. Prints - Internet bidstart 10/17.

Sun. Nov. 2nd
Artcurial. Paris. Automobilia. 53 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics - Internet bidstart 10/26.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 10/26.

The dollar volume this week was substantial:  $29,195,196.  So too the number of lots offered:  12,557.  The percentage of lots sold was down a bit at 63%.  It's too early to say if the weakness is a function of economic issues in Europe or the unsettled financial markets in the United States.  It could also reflect the upcoming US elections.  In any event the best material is enthusiastically selling when the estimates are inviting.

 

Bruce McKinney

AE

  • 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
  • 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