Our October 19th sale featured over 700 lots, with our usual mix of eclectic material ranging from maps and ephemera, to Australiana and juvenile titles. The auction room was a hive of activity, with a record number of online bidders also actively taking part.
The clearance rate was slightly down from our previous sale, with approximately 80% of lots being sold on the day and a further 10% trading in the week that followed. The key areas of interest were exploration, maps, Australian ephemera and rare first editions. Antiquarian books sold strongly, however ‘Books on books’ proved to be less desirable than past auctions.
Select highlights included a near complete set of Oz magazines achieving $2,600 (IBP), a Norman Lindsay pen drawing selling for $2,600 (IBP), a copy of Across Australia reaching $900 (IBP), a first edition Man From Snowy River went under the hammer for $3,600 (IBP) and a Henry Lawson First Edition going for $3,000 (IBP).
The popularity of rare and collectible printed material is on the rise, but as has always been the case, condition is extremely important. A poor copy of a particular rare book will often pass in at less than half the value achieved of the same title in good condition. This is particularly the case with Australian exploration. Also of note is the broadening of our market reach. In this auction we had approximately 20% of items heading overseas to countries ranging from the US and China, to England, Israel, Japan and France. Domestically, Sydney proved the strongest market, closely followed by Melbourne and regional NSW.
Early highlights included a signed first edition of Tarzan achieving $5,000 (ICB), a Sydney Harbour Bridge Contract selling for $7,450 (IBP), a copy of ‘I Me Mine’ by George Harrison reaching $2,050 (IPB) and a Sir Isaac Newton autograph going for $5,520 (IBP). The more contemporary maps were our weakest category overall in terms of percentage of sold lots, however there were strong results for the more collectible ones, including an 1888 Jamaica map achieving $600 (IBP), a 1635 Blaeu Map of India selling for $1,560 (IBP) and an 1872 map of Sydney Harbour going for $400 (IBP).
Once again ephemera proved to be one of the strongest areas. We had a varied range of material, from daybills and tourist brochures to art catalogues and souvenir items. It’s always difficult to value some of these things, as they can be quite obscure, with minimal information regarding previous sales or how many were printed. As a result we are occasionally surprised by some of the prices achieved. Highlights included an album of Tasmanian views selling for $570 (IBP), a lovely Sydney Souvenir album going for $840 (IBP) and an Albert Namatjira Art Catalogue reaching $450 (IBP).
The clearance rate on the day was approximately 85%, with many of the unsold items being sold in the days following. We attracted a record number of online buyers, with many of them coming from outside of Australia. It’s an indication of the increased reach of our auctions and confidence in international buyers to shop online for material that traditionally people preferred to see and handle prior to making a purchase. Our next live sale will once again feature a mix of items and is scheduled for October 19th. We also intend on having an online only sale of maps, posters and prints in the interim.