For the week ending July 9^th eleven sales were archived in the AED:  2 in Swiss Francs, 5 in British Pounds, 3 in Euros and 1 in dollars.  Two thousand five hundred and ninety-three lots were offered and 1,590 sold for a relatively weak 61.1% sell-through.  Total turnover was $19,441,528 on robust sales at Christies that accounted for 77% or $15,129,568 of the week’s total.  It is very good to see them performing well.  For the week overall the results were spotty and for the first time since we have been identifying sales that reach or exceed 100% of the total high estimate no sale reached 100%.  However, Christies reached 99% for its sale of old master prints on July 7^th and we’ll round up.

The top lots of the week, not surprisingly, were sold at Christies on July 6^th and 7^th in London.  The Imhof Prayerbook [lot 26], illuminated by Simon Bening, brought $2,606,985 on the 6th.  The next highest realization was made in the same sale:  The Great Hours of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, lot 18, that brought $1,971,945.  Christie’s then completed its win, place and show with its sale of an Albrecht Durer engraving of Adam and Eve that was printed in 1504 [lot 25].  Estimated $400,000 to $600,000 it brought $654,800 in London on the 7^th.

For the week upcoming 5 sales are scheduled:

Tuesday July 12^th.    Bonhams’ Prints;

Thursday July 14^th.  Bloomsbury Auctions:  Travel and Natural History;

Pacific Book Auctions [PBA]:  Americana – Travel & Natural History  - Cartography:  with Material from Calvin P. Otto Collection;

Sotheby’s:  English Literature, History, Children’s Books & Illustrations;

Saturday July 16^th.   Heritage Auctions:  Movie Posters

For those on or going on vacation – bon voyage.  For those who will be in the rooms, bidding by phone or online – best of luck.  In the banked embers of an auction season moving into hiatus there are sometimes some very attractive possibilities.

Bruce McKinney

AE

10 July 2011