Where you can find upcoming auctions, you can find up to the minute dealer catalogues
The Internet made it possible for auction houses to attract bids worldwide. With that ability, they invested in cataloging, photography and promotion, expecting they could encourage bidding interest. And they have. Auction sales in the collectible paper category reached $1.371 billion dollars last year. They have been extraordinarily successful.
The dealer model, composed of printed and eCatalogues, listing sites, and shows has also been effective to connect with their audience but has been losing market share to auctions. With our eCatalogues platform visible on our pages under News & Reports, it’s now easier for our sell-side members to post their catalogues, and for our 23,000 free and paid members to follow the increasing flow of offers. It’s important.
The market is mindful that auctions sell 80% of their lots within 20 days from first public posting to hammering down the last lot. For our non-auction sell-side members who use our eCatalogues they will now be limited to 50 days. With 50 days to work with, dealers and other sellers (collectors and institutions) are encouraged to be competitive enough to draw offers and commitments before their catalogue’s 50-day sundown.
In time I expect some dealers will post their outcomes to Transactions+. If we mutually agree, we can make them a searchable source. Their motivations will vary widely. A few will be clear and frank about their pricing experience, to help the field. Auction houses were once fearful too that transparency would damage them. It turned out that buyers wanted market derived pricing. Now they live in the fast lane. I have no doubt retail buyers will encourage dealers to do the same.
Our message simply is there’s room for dealer eCatalogues to transform their model. We will listen and adjust.
Buyers appreciate the dealers. They respect their experience. Give it a try. It’s the future.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The Director's copy of the first edition of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, inscribed by Beckett. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: Don McLean's personal test pressing of American Pie before mass production, gifted in 1971. $8,000 to $12,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The important and extensive archive of original fashion photographs of model Dorothy Rice, 1945-58. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: A Charles Adams theater advertisement. $8,000 to $12,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: A Small Patinated Bronze Bust of Marlene Dietrich. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, Nov. 5: Marlene Dietrich Studio Photograph. $100 to $200.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The very large and uncommon British Quad for Hitchcock's The Birds. $500 to $800.
Doyle, Nov. 5: An Original Crystal "Sputnik" from the 1966 Met Opera Chandelier. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The rare poster from the first American performances of Endgame, 1958. $1,000 to $1,500.
Doyle, Nov. 5: The original Coconut Grove Playhouse poster for Waiting for Godot, possibly unique. $3,000 to $5,000.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Temple Shakespeare. Housed in Custom Bookcase. $6,365.
Sotheby’s: Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845. $14,000.
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. London: William Heinemann, 1915. $2,900.
Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. First Edition Set, Including This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and others. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1920 – 1941. $24,180.
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], John Tenniel. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland First Edition. Macmillan & Co., 1866. $15,000.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 93: Autograph album containing 29 autograph letters signed by each president from Washington to Coolidge, 1785-1945.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 166: Franz Schubert, Autograph Musical Manuscript, fragment from Die Taucher, 1813.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 111: Thomas Jefferson, holograph plat drawing: map of field near Monticello, 1790s.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 208: George Sand, Autograph Manuscript Signed, draft of her one-act play, Francia, ca. 1872.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 218: Walt Whitman, Manuscript Signed, draft of three complete poems from Leaves of Grass, 1891.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 8: James Dean, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, still from Giant, 1955.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 20: John Lennon, Typescript Signed, interview discussing Paul, Linda, and Yoko, 1971.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 215: Mark Twain, engraved portrait Signed, "Mark Twain / SL. Clemens," 1890s.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 81: Vaslav Nijinsky, reproduction of an artwork by Léon Bakst Inscribed and Signed, 1916.
Swann Autographs November 6, 2025
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 73: Malcolm X, The Harvard Crimson Signed and Inscribed: his street address and phone number, 1961.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 11: Lou Gehrig, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, ca. 1939.
Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 153: George Gershwin, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, portrait by Renato Toppo.
![<b>Sotheby’s:</b> Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], John Tenniel. <i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> First Edition. Macmillan & Co., 1866. $15,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/cc3f4f98-f195-4049-aca6-329c27fdd27c.png "<b>Sotheby’s:</b> Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], John Tenniel. <i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> First Edition. Macmillan & Co., 1866. $15,000.")
