“The man who buys the stock plate is buying useful articles but not unique ones, whereas he who commissions an original work upon which the craftsman has bestowed his best personal labour is buying a work of art, the money value of which increases with an increase of reputation that may come to the artist”. (Gilbert Leigh Marks speaking in an interview with The London Art Journal in 1898). Gilbert Leigh Marks (1861-1905) is considered by many to have been the most talented English art metalworker of his generation. In a career tragically cut short ... Read the full story

J. P. King Auction Company, the nation’s leading auction marketing firm specializing in high-end properties recently sold the exclusive Texas Red Sky Ranch for more than $3 million. “The new owner of the ranch toured the property during the preview period and was so impressed that he decided to pre-empt the bidding by making an acceptable offer a day prior to the scheduled auction,” said Craig King, president & CEO of J. P. King Auction Company. The new owner of Red Sky Ranch resides in Dallas, Texas. Red Sky Ranch is situated on 96+/- ... Read the full story

Dallas, TX – Significant and classic rarities from all series in American numismatics are available in Heritage’s Platinum Night catalog for the Official Auction of the Baltimore 2008 ANA World’s Fair of Money.® The auction will be held in Baltimore July 30 – Aug. 3, with Platinum Night on July 31, 2008. The auction is now posted by Heritage Auction Galleries on their HA.com website, and all lots are available for inspection and bidding. “The great rarities included in this auction are dazzling,” commented Heritage ... Read the full story

Dallas, TX – Heritage Auction Galleries is excited to announce that Diedre Buchmoyer will direct Heritage’s new affiliated buying and auction consignment office in South Florida. Heritage Galleries of Florida, LLC, is an exclusively tailored office bringing Florida residents state-of-the-art technology, a commitment to professional and friendly service, and knowledgeable collectibles experts. The office, opening in September 2008, is located at 5295 Town Center Road, Suite 301, Boca Raton, FL 33486. Under Managing Director Diedre Buchmoyer, ... Read the full story

Toy collectors around the world are in for a treat with a significant collection of vintage toys set to be auctioned. This Sunday 3 August at 12noon, Bonhams & Goodman will conduct an auction of Collectables in the Melbourne rooms, including the Robert Parson Collection of Antique and Fine Toys, Part I. This collection offers collectors the chance to snap up European, American and Japanese pre-war and post-war clockwork, tinplate, friction, battery operated and diecast toys. Manufacturers include Bing, Marklin, Hornby, Lehmann, Gunthermann, Carette, ... Read the full story

The excitement of Leonard Auction’s recent sale peaked as the 1918 $500 Large Federal Reserve Note came to the block on July 19, 2008. Bidding opened on at $2000 and rapidly increased among heavy competition from floor and phone bidders. Bidding ended with a round of applause as a New Jersey collector on the phone, won the note with a final bid of $16,100 including 15% buyer’s premium.“We were excited to offer this note a mere two months after exciting currency collectors with the $1000 Gold Certificate in May” said John Leonard, ... Read the full story

Over 700 lots of vintage and collectable fishing tackle went under the hammer on July 5th at Mullock’s established Ludlow racecourse venue. Worldwide interest in the Pryce-Tannatt fly collection was strong with bidders in the room, on 4 telephones, using Bid-live and having left commission bids, it was going to be an active sale. Tannatts fly tying materials chest lot 400 sold at £1200; his fly wallet Lot 412 soared to £780. Individual flies were popular with collectors, single and double flies selling up to as much as lot 437 for £500, his own copy ... Read the full story

Artist Who Decorated South Africa House Leads Bonhams Sale A painting of baobab trees by Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (1886-1957) is a powerful illustration of this artist was selected to bring South African Art to London when he decorated South Africa House in Trafalagar Square. Bonhams fourth and largest sale of South African Art, 450 lots divided into two sales, one at Bonhams in Knightsbridge on September 9 and one in Bonhams in Bond Street on September 10 is expected to set new records. The sale features the iconic Pierneef image, The Baobab Tree, which is ... Read the full story

Fall auction features a pair of rare Caribbean ecclesial chests and Elsie de Wolfe commissioned pieces Bonhams & Butterfields is pleased to offer Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts on September 8, 2008 in Los Angeles. The eclectic auction will offer a global array of works, showcasing pieces from the 16th through 20th centuries along with a selection of English, French, Italian, Spanish and German property, including clocks, silver by prominent makers, garden furniture, architectural elements, carvings and offerings for all collecting tastes and ... Read the full story

DALLAS, TEXAS – Heritage Auction Galleries is pleased to announce the addition of veteran vintage sportscard expert Peter Calderon to the staff, who brings with him a wealth of hobby experience and an encyclopedic knowledge of vintage trading cards. “This signing illustrates our continuing dedication to becoming the industry leader in sportscards,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Heritage Sports Collectibles. “Pete will be an integral player in our ascent to the top of the industry.” Calderon has been an active participant on the ... Read the full story

Dallas, TX – Heritage Auction Galleries announced today that comic art expert Todd Hignite has joined the Dallas-based firm as a Consignment Director. “Todd is going to be a ‘triple-threat’ for us,” said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage. “Students of comic art undoubtedly know about Todd’s expertise in that field, but he is also going to play a major role in our Illustration Art auctions, and his knowledge of Contemporary Art will be an asset for Heritage as well.” Hignite is the founder and editor of the ... Read the full story

BEIJING – Counting down the final days to the start of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, PC company Lenovo today is kicking off its final online auction of limited-edition notebook PCs inspired by the Lenovo-designed Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch. Over the past six months, a series of “Cloud of Promise”-themed notebook PCs have been available for bidding at www.lenovohopefundauctions.com throughout 10-day periods. Many of these limited-edition notebook PCs were autographed by Lenovo Champions – athlete ambassadors – offering fans the opportunity to ... Read the full story

DENVER, CO – Exclusive National Hockey League (NHL) memorabilia is now available for online auction benefiting Katie Thomas, a Denver woman fighting Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The auction begins today and includes signed sticks, jerseys, pucks and pictures by current and former all-stars and Hall of Famers including Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, Patrick Roy and Evgeni Malkin. In addition, other sports memorabilia including signed jerseys and helmets from John Elway and Brett Favre are up for auction. All ... Read the full story

LONDON – Work on Beautiful Inside My Head Forever – a major auction of new works by Damien Hirst – has progressed and the full scope of this ground-breaking auction can now be revealed. Including a whole new body of work that covers the complete range of Hirst’s output and more, the auction will run over two days, commencing with an Evening Sale on Monday, 15 September, and continuing throughout the following day (Tuesday, 16 September) with a morning and afternoon session. The two day sale, which will include 223 lots, is expected to realise ... Read the full story

New York, NY – Christie’s New York leads its fall season with the eighth edition of First Open on September 9, which includes over 230 lots of Post-War & Contemporary Art and is expected to realize in excess of $6-8 million. First Open displays another stunning array of works for this highly anticipated and successful sale. Highlights of the sale include an exciting assortment of paintings, sculpture, drawings and photographs from both well-known and emerging artists. With estimates ranging from $1,500 to $500,000, First Open is an exceptional ... Read the full story

A large selection of over 70 vintage and modern Rolex, Piaget, Omega, Longines, and other quality wristwatches are included in the Charterhouse auction of silver, jewellery, watches and antiques on Friday 15th August. “The star of the collection is, without doubt, the gents 1930’s gold Rolex Prince. These rarely come on the open market these days and this is a fine example with the dial, case and movement all properly marked and is estimated at £6,000-8,000.” Commented the Charterhouse watch expert Matthew Whitney. “However, there are also other ... Read the full story

A violin which was expected to sell for just a few hundred pounds sold for £2,300 in the Charterhouse July auction. “We had a good deal of enquiries from dealers and collectors on the telephone and via our web site.” Commented Naomi Grabham. “On the day, it sold to a London specialist who lives in the West Country bidding against a bank of telephone bidders and another dealer in the saleroom.” Also in the sale of nearly 1,000, two cello bows, from a Wiltshire home, sold for £1,500, two Italian gouache paintings which were initially entered as part ... Read the full story

At the Tennants three-day Summer Catalogue Sale the auction house was packed throughout and a record (for a Summer Sale) £1.7million hammer price was realised. Buyers from as far away as Shanghai boosted the international interest in the auction which helped to dispel the fears of a major ‘slow-down’ in consumer spending. The fact that rare objects were making exciting prices and yet many lots were proving you can buy antiques at a price more attractive than modern pieces on the high street, all combined to give confidence to a trade that has had ... Read the full story

A signed Wilf Mannion England Football Cap from 13th October 1946 is one of the sale’s highlights. Wilf Mannion was arguably Middlesbrough’s greatest ever forward and this cap is estimated to sell for £1,300-£1,700. The game, England v Wales, was played at Manchester City’s ground, Main Road and England won 3-0 with Mannion scoring two goals and setting up the third. For collectors, there are also several hundred football programmes some dating back to the 1930’s and some from FA Cup finals. Other sports represented in the sale are cricket, ... Read the full story

BIRMINGHAM, AL – AutoTec, the developer of AuctionACCESS, announced today the launch of a tri-lingual AuctionACCESS.com. The website, including the myACCESS online account management tool, is now available in English, French, and Spanish. “We’re seeing more and more dealers using myACCESS to manage their dealer information,” says Chuck Redden, president of AutoTec.” We felt that if your primary language is French, you should be able to manage your membership in French.” Creating a multi-lingual website involved more than ... Read the full story