For the week ending Saturday January 14^th six auctions were archived; three denominated in British Pounds and three in dollars.  Three thousand four hundred and nineteen lots were offered and three thousand and fifty-three sold for a robust 89% sale rate.  Helping the sell-through were three auction houses prepared to sell to the bare walls; Dirk Soulis selling over two days, the fifth and sixth, the contents of Spivey’s Rare Book Shop in Kansas City, National Book Auctions of Ithaca, New York selling 449 lots of 450 offered on the 8th, and Bloomsbury’s Bibliophile Sale in London on the 12^th that achieved an 84% sell-through.  Some weeks the consignors are holding the high cards and you can tell because the percentage of lots sold drops down into the 60% range.  When auction houses set the estimates low the lots attract much more attention.

The turnover for the week was small, even microscopic,  $686,370 but the activity brisk, portending continuing strength if estimates are generally appealing.

For the week only one sale reached 100% of the aggregate high estimate of all lots offered:

Keys Fine Art.  Prints on January 6^th.  The sale brought 107% of the aggregate high estimate.

For the week ahead three sales are scheduled:

Thursday January 19^th         PBA     Americana and California – Cartography (471)

 Friday January 20^th             Christie’s        John James Audubon’s The Birds of America The Duke of Portland Set (2526)

Saturday January 21^st          Neret – Minet & Tessier.  Comic Strips (11894)

The set of Audubon’s Birds is one of the most desirable printed items in the entire field.  It’s purchase potentially adds your name to this set’s distinguished provenance ensuring that hundreds of years hence your name will be associated with this copy as it inevitably returns to the rooms.

This is the last quiet week.

Bruce McKinney

AE