Auction Update Review

A Different Kind of Year

For the week ended Saturday 30 December 2017 22 auctions were archived to the Rare Book Hub Transaction Database; 3 in Australian dollars, 11 in euros, 1 in British pounds, 1 in Mexican pesos, and 6 in US dollars.  Turnover was $7,641,342 as 6,684 lots were offered and 4,625 lots sold for a 69% success.

  

It’s been a complicated year.

 

Here’s hoping 2018 is a good year for everyone.

 

1 auction saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars: 

Aguttes. The Aristophil Collections - Inaugural Sale on December 20th: $4,511,583 



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

Aguttes. THE PATRIOTIC ICONOGRAPHY OF THE WAR 14-18 - COLLECTION A. AND H. PARENT DE CURZON on September 26th: 155.25% 
Chiswick Auctions. Books from the Library of Giancarlo Beltrame including Science, the Occult & Curiosa on December 14th: 134.58% 
Aste Bolaffi. Books and Manuscripts on December 13th: 105.96% 
Ader. Old and Modern Prints on December 14th: 102.54% 
Ader. Old and Modern Prints on December 13th: 102.21% 


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

Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Comics - bidstart 12/17 on December 24th: 100.00% 
Forum Auctions in Italy. Antiquarian and Rare Books on December 13th: 100.00% 
Carlsen Gallery. Holiday Season Antique Auction on December 3rd: 100.00% 
Chiswick Auctions. Books from the Library of Giancarlo Beltrame including Science, the Occult & Curiosa on December 14th: 97.19% 
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday Internet Currency Auction - Online bidstart 12/19 on December 26th: 97.13% 
Heritage Auctions. Heritage Auctions: Sunday Internet Sports Collectibles - Internet bidstart 11/26 on December 26th: 96.79% 
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 12/17 on December 24th: 94.40% 
Aguttes. THE PATRIOTIC ICONOGRAPHY OF THE WAR 14-18 - COLLECTION A. AND H. PARENT DE CURZON on September 26th: 91.57% 
Mossgreen. Collectors’ Cars & Automobilia – Featuring the Ferguson Collection of Motorsport Posters on December 10th: 88.54% 

 

Top 25 Lots Reported This Past Week.
  1. Aguttes MANUSCRIT autographe signé, Ursule Mirouët, [1841] on December 20th Actual price: USD $1,392,300.
  2. Aguttes QUINTE-CURCE, FAIZ ET CONQUESTES D'ALEXANDRE [HISTOIRE D'ALEXANDRE LE GRAND], TRADUCTION DE VASQUE DE LUCÈNE on December 20th Actual price: USD $990,080.
  3. Aguttes * L.A.S. «Bonaparte», Nice 10 germinal [IV (30 mars 1796)], à JOSÉPHINE: «A la citoyenne Bonaparte chez la citoyenne Beauharnois. on December 20th Actual price: USD $381,181.
  4. Aguttes Bonaparte en Egypte en 1798 on December 20th Actual price: USD $123,760.
  5. Aguttes MANUSCRIT autographe signé, Journal des differentes campagnes que j'aÿ fait soit par terre ou par mer,… on December 20th Actual price: USD $123,760.
  6. Aguttes Le couple amoureux on December 20th Actual price: USD $116,025.
  7. Aguttes Collier retenant un pendentif en or jaune 18k ciselé de deux nus féminins de profil, les mains suspendues à la chaine en or, les membres inférieurs se transforment en deux grandes feuilles en émaux plique-à-jour vert clair. on December 20th Actual price: USD $112,931.
  8. Aguttes * MANUSCRIT calligraphié (peut-être par Dumas lui-même), L'Alchimiste, orné de 6 peintures on December 20th Actual price: USD $98,018.
  9. Minerva Auctions Roma Le Antichità Romane on December 14th Actual price: USD $77,350.
  10. Aguttes BARBATRE (PIERRE), RÉCIT DE PÈLERINAGE À JÉRUSALEM on December 20th Actual price: USD $61,880.
  11. Aguttes CORRESPONDANCE à sa fille Agathe, 1906-1945; 164 lettres ou poèmes on December 20th Actual price: USD $57,239.
  12. Aguttes Fenetre ouverte a Cannes, 1942 on December 20th Actual price: USD $57,239.
  13. Minerva Auctions Roma New British Terrestrial Globe / New British Celestial Globe British Terrestrial Globe: Dedicato "To the Honourable Sir Joseph Banks on December 14th Actual price: USD $53,550.
  14. Aguttes Vierge à l'enfant on December 20th Actual price: USD $51,051.
  15. Aguttes * L.A.S. «Bonaparte», Paris 16 germinal [6 avril 1804], à sa soeur PAULINE on December 20th Actual price: USD $43,564.
  16. Aguttes * PORTEFEUILLE À SOUFFLETS EN MAROQUIN À GRAIN LONG FRAPPÉ EN LETTRES D'OR «A SA MAJESTÉ L'EMPEREUR ET ROI». GAZETTES ÉTRANGÈRES on December 20th Actual price: USD $43,564.
  17. Mossgreen A Voyage to Terra Australis, undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 on December 11th Actual price: USD $40,102.
  18. Aguttes Paysage a la tonnelle on December 20th Actual price: USD $38,675.
  19. Heritage Auctions Amazing Fantasy #15 (Marvel, 1962) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Off-white to white pages. on December 24th Actual price: USD $35,850.
  20. Aguttes * MANUSCRIT MUSICAL autographe signé, Fanfare, [1927] on December 20th Actual price: USD $35,395.
  21. Aguttes LETTRE EN PROVENANCE DE SUISSE Pli sans texte, adresse effacée par immersion on December 20th Actual price: USD $30,940.
  22. Aguttes Rogelio Lacouriere, pecheur de cuivre on December 20th Actual price: USD $30,940.
  23. Aguttes La grange,1944 on December 20th Actual price: USD $30,940.
  24. Aguttes * Lettre autographe, [Valence 1785 ?] «10 h. du soir samedy», à Mademoiselle EMMA on December 20th Actual price: USD $29,950.
  25. Aguttes BOULES DE MOULINS, SANS CACHET D'ARRIVÉE - Pli contenant une lettre manuscrite datée Vendredi 30 décembre 1870, sans lieu. on December 20th Actual price: USD $29,393.


22 total sales reported this week:

Alaska Auction. Prints, Books on December 21st: 75.00%
Morton Subastas. Books, Photographs, Prints on December 21st: 9.92%
Chiswick Auctions. Books from the Library of Giancarlo Beltrame including Science, the Occult & Curiosa on December 14th: 97.19%
Aste Bolaffi. Books and Manuscripts on December 13th: 67.40%
Minerva Auctions Roma. Books, Autographs and Prints on December 14th: 48.92%
Minerva Auctions Roma. Books, Autographs and Prints on December 14th: 56.55%
Soler Y Llach. Antiquarian Books and Manuscripts on December 12th: 38.54%
Forum Auctions in Italy. Futurismo on December 14th: 39.00%
Forum Auctions in Italy. Antiquarian and Rare Books on December 13th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Heritage Auctions: Sunday Internet Sports Collectibles - Internet bidstart 11/26 on December 26th: 96.79%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday Internet Currency Auction - Online bidstart 12/19 on December 26th: 97.13%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Comics - bidstart 12/17 on December 24th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 12/17 on December 24th: 94.40%
Carlsen Gallery. Holiday Season Antique Auction on December 3rd: 100.00%
Ader. Old and Modern Prints on December 14th: 69.08%
Ader. Old and Modern Prints on December 13th: 67.12%
Aguttes. THE PATRIOTIC ICONOGRAPHY OF THE WAR 14-18 - COLLECTION A. AND H. PARENT DE CURZON on September 26th: 91.57%
Aguttes. Manuscripts, Ancient and Modern Books, Old Papers on December 5th: 78.53%
Aguttes. The Aristophil Collections - Inaugural Sale on December 20th: 66.84%
Mossgreen. Australian History on December 11th: 53.27%
Mossgreen. Sydney Morning Herald Photography Archive, Part 1 on December 12th: 56.62%
Mossgreen. Collectors’ Cars & Automobilia – Featuring the Ferguson Collection of Motorsport Posters on December 10th: 88.54%

 

For the week ahead 10 sales are scheduled:


Mon. Jan. 1st 
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Prints. 76 lots 
Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books. Franklin. Fine Art - Antique Engravings & Lithographs - Works on Paper. 167 lots 

Wed. Jan. 3rd 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. FUN Currency Signature Auction - Tampa. 2894 lots 

Thu. Jan. 4th 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. FUN World Currency Signature Auction - Tampa - session 1. 662 lots 
Nye & Company Auctioneers. Bloomfield. January Backyard Auction - Books, Prints. 83 lots 

Sat. Jan. 6th 
National Book Auctions. Ithaca. Books and Ephemera. 
Leland Little Auctions. Hillsborough, NC. New Year's Gallery Auction - Prints, Books. 47 lots 

Sun. Jan. 7th 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Internet Sports Collectibles - Internet bidstart 12/10. 419 lots 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Internet Comics - bidstart 12/31. 
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 12/31. 

Best wishes for 2018!

Bruce McKinney

RBH and AE

  • Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026
    Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026
    Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026
  • Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: The ‘Saxe-Meiningen Psalter’, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [northern France or adjacent southern Netherlands, second half of the thirteenth century]. £30,000 - £50,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Crescenzi (Bartolomeo). Nautica mediterranea, 2 parts in 1, second edition, with rare engraved folding map, Rome, Bartolomeo Bonfadino, 1607. £15,000 - £20,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Aristotle. [The Works], 10 vol.,, translated by Thomas Taylor, Printed for the Translator... by Robert Wilks, 1807-12. £6,000-8,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Turing (Alan).- Alan Turing's Slide Rule, engraved initials "A.M.T. Noli Hoc Furari", alongside other ephemera, housed in early 20th-century letter box, [mid.1920s-40s]. £6,000-8,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Vitruvius Pollio (Marcus). I Dieci Libri dell'Architettura, translated by Daniele Barbaro, Venice, Francesco Marcolini, 1556. £7,000-10,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Rowling (J.K.) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first edition, hardback issue, first printing, Bloomsbury, 1997. £50,000-70,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings, later impressions, each vol. signed by the author, London, George Allen & Unwin, 1957-58. £15,000-20,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Gould (John). The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, [1862]-73; plus a presentation copy of Gould's Introduction to the Birds of Great Britain (6). £35,000-45,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Galilei (Galileo). Istoria e Dimostrazioni intorno alle Macchie Solari e loro accidenti, comprese in tre lettere scritte all’illustrissimo signor Marco Velseri Linceo, first edition, Rome, 1613. £15,000-20,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Gersdorff (Hans von). Feldtbuch der Wund-Arzney, enlarged edition, Strassburg, Hans Schotten, 1540. £20,000-30,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Kitchin (Thomas). A New Universal Atlas, first edition with maps in full original hand-colouring, Printed and Published by Robert Laurie and James Whittle, 1796. £8,000-12,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Cassas (Louis François). Voyage Pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phenicie, de la Palestine, et de la Basse Egypte, 2 vol., first edition, [Paris], 1799. £10,000-15,000
  • Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 41. Rare First State of the First Printed Map Devoted to the Arctic (1595) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 63. The Largest of the Strada "Leo Belgicus" Editions (1632) Est. $3,250 - $4,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 71. Blaeu's Stunning Carte-a-Figures Map of the Americas (1640) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 8. Mariette's Rare and Decorative Map of the World Based on the Work of Hondius (1642) Est. $4,750 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 172. 1775 Edition of the Landmark Fry-Jefferson Map of Virginia and Maryland (1775) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 46. Doppelmayr's Fine Celestial Chart (1742) Est. $800 - $950
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 212. First Edition Ski Country Map by Pioneer Hal Shelton (1965) Est. $500 - $700
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 732. Ruscelli's Complete Atlas with 69 Maps and Updated Maps of the Continents (1599) Est. $8,000 - $9,500
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 329. Ortelius' Map of Iceland Surrounded by Sea Monsters (1585) Est. $11,000 - $13,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 600. Heinrich Bunting's Rare Map of Asia in the Form of a Pegasus (1581) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 716. Bible Leaf with Hand-Colored Image of the Adoration of the Magi (1490) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: L. Feininger, Collection of autograph letters to Alois J. Schardt, 1920-1955. Est: € 150,000-250,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Flemish book of hours, Ghent-Bruges School around 1480-1500. Est: € 40,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: F. de Wit, Atlas maior, um 1700. Est: € 50,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: A. Stieglitz, Camera Work, 48 volumes, 1903-1914. Est: € 60,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. Merian & M. Zeiller, Sämtliche Topographien, 21 volumes, 1642-1736. Est: € 50,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: R. Indiana and R. Creely, Numbers, 1968. Est: € 4,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Salerno Breviarium, Latin manuscript on vellum, North Italy around 1470-1476. Est: € 40,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. S. Merian, Surinaamsche (&) europische Insecten, 1730. Est: € 30,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. Beckmann, Jahrmarkt, Portfolio of 10 signed etchings, 1922. Est: € 25,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Justinianus, Infortiatum, 1475. Est: € 10,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: B. Besler, Hortus Eystettensis, um 1750. Est: € 28,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: J. Gris and P. Reverdy, Au soleil du plafond, 1955. Est: € 3,000
  • Heritage, Nov. 18: Orson Welles. Signed Third Revised Final Draft for Citizen Kane (RKO, 1941). July 16, 1940.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Bob Dylan. Autograph manuscript working lyrics to "Man on the Street."
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Ernest Hemingway. Death in the Afternoon. Inscribed by the author to the daughter of the Spanish Ambassador.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Jack London. The Call of the Wild. Inscribed by the author.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: John Steinbeck. East of Eden. Inscribed by 27 members of the movie cast and crew, including James Dean and Elia Kazan.