Champlain first edition sails past $200K at Freeman’s

A page from Samuel de Champlain’s ‘Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain …,’ first edition. Sold for $201,600. Freeman’s image

PHILADELPHIA – Freeman’s Books and Manuscripts auction on Feb. 18 realized over $445,000. With spirited bidding throughout the sale from bidders both online and on the telephone, the 166-lot auction achieved an impressive 91% sell-through rate and surpassed its presale high estimate. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Swann Galleries’ poster auction achieves record prices

Manuel Orazi, ‘La Maison Moderne,’ 1900. Sold for $37,500. Swann Galleries image

NEW YORK – Swann Galleries’ winter offering of Vintage Posters saw the highest recent sell-through rate of the house’s large biannual sale in the category. The Feb. 18 sale covered a variety of different collecting areas – Art Nouveau, ski, travel, food and beverage, and set records on a number of different posters across the genres offered. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Picasso pottery vase sells for record $100K at Moran’s

‘Lampe Femme,’ Pablo Picasso’s Madoura Pottery vase, 1955, A.R. 295. Sold for $100,000. Moran’s image

MONROVIA, Calif. – John Moran’s Winter Modern and Contemporary Sale on Feb. 23 consisted of 66 lots that were a carefully curated selection of prints, paintings and sculptures from a variety of artists including household names such as Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg and Picasso. A Madoura Pottery vase by Picasso led the way, selling for a record $100,000. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Hake’s smashes house record with $2.9M collectibles auction

Hand-painted, hand-stitched 1860 Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin parade banner used by youthful political activists known as the ‘Wide Awakes.’ Fresh to the market after 30 years in a private collection, it sold for $143,104, the highest auction price ever achieved for a Lincoln textile.

YORK, Pa. – Hake’s Auctions, specialists in Americana and collectibles since 1967, set a new house record when their February 24-25 Premier Auction #231 cashed out at $2,888,163. Not only did the auction set a new monetary record for Hake’s, it also achieved new highs for sell-through rate (98%), bidder volume, and the number of bids placed.

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Palm Beach Modern’s Feb. 6 auction notes uptick in online buying

Hank Murta (American, b. 1956-), ‘Piece of Cake,’ glass and metal, 1999. Sold for $2,600. LiveAuctioneers/PBMA image

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Now that everything from toothpaste to sofas is purchased online, the idea of bidding at auction has lost some of its intimidation factor and the auction industry has gained an influx of buyers shopping for their own homes. That observation comes from Palm Beach Modern Auctions (PBMA), a leading specialist in the sale of modern and contemporary art.
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Carl Moll painting sells for record $4.7M at Freeman’s

Carl Moll (Austrian, 1861-1945), ‘Weißes Interieur’ (White Interior). Sold for $4,756,000. Freeman’s image

PHILADELPHIA – Freeman’s European Art & Old Masters auction on Feb. 23 surpassed $6.4 million – the best fine art sale total that Freeman’s has ever recorded. With spirited bidding throughout the sale from bidders both online and on the telephone, the 67-lot auction achieved an impressive 90% sell-through rate and nearly quadrupled its presale high estimate. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

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‘Sky is the limit’ at Christie’s $4.4M meteorite auction

Extraterrestrial crystal ball – Seymchan meteorite sphere pallasite – PMG Magadan District, Russia, 69mm in diameter (2.75in) and 861.8g (2 pounds). Sold for $325,000. Christie’s image

NEW YORK – Christie’s Deep Impact: Martian Lunar and Other Rare Meteorites, an online-only sale of rare meteorites, shattered records totaling $4,351,750, with 100% of the lots sold. Seventy-two of the 75 lots offered today sold for more than their high estimate. A record number of bidders participated in the category from 23 countries across five continents. View the fully illustrated catalog on LiveAuctioneers.

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Tiffany lamps lead Fontaine’s $2M doubleheader

A top lot was a circa 1905-10 Tiffany Studios Dragonfly table lamp that fetched $87,725. Fontaine’s image

PITTSFIELD, MASS. – Boasting a curated selection of fine leaded glass lamps, vases, silver and sculpture, Fontaine’s Auction Gallery started off the new year on a high note. The two-part auction that ran on Jan. 23 and 30 grossed over $2 million. It saw two Tiffany Studios lamps tie for top-lot status at $87,725 with a total of nearly 40 items performing above the $10,000 mark. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Julien’s finds heated market for Cold War spy gadgets

Soviet KGB spy purse designed to hold a concealed FED model camera. Sold for $32,000. Julien’s Auctions image

LOS ANGELES – Julien’s Auctions held its Cold War Relics Auction Featuring the KGB Espionage Museum Collection on Feb. 13. The event offered nearly 500 of the rarest and most important artifacts from the U.S., Soviet Union and Cuba during the Cold War-era ever to be assembled and offered at auction. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

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