There was just enough softness in the high priced lots at Swann Galleries’ recent photography and photobook sale to dampen the overall results. With an overall Buy-In rate of roughly 30% and plenty of positive surprises, the sale had a chance to hit its marks, but when the numbers were tallied up, the Total Sale Proceeds fell just a touch below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 409 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1562550 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2314150 |
| Total Lots Sold | 285 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 124 |
| Buy In % | 30.32% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1468364 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 379 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 263 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 116 |
| Low Buy In % | 30.61% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $1565150 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $1075889 |
| Mid Total Lots | 27 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 21 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 22.22% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $509000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $347475 |
| Total High Lots | 3 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 66.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $240000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $45000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 103, Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941/1965, estimated at $80000-120000 (image in preview post); it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 11, John Thomson, Album of 67 photographs of China, Singapore, and Borneo, c1862-1872, estimated at $40000-60000, sold at $45000 (image above, via Swann).
76.49% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 14 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate). These can be divided into several groups including vernacular imagery (lot 323, Eberhard Faber Pencil Co., lot 327 Firefighters, lot 339 Beverly Hills Businesses, lot 354, Beecher Ogden, lot 360 Eisenhower-Nixon Bandwagon, and lot 376 Warner Brothers’ Backdrops) and 19th and early 20th century works by anonymous makers (lot 21, Civil War, and lot 34, Japan). The positive surprises in fine photographs and photobooks were as follows (images above, via Swann):
Lot 2, Edward Curtis, Flathead Camp on the Jocko, 1910, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $20000
Lot 5, Edward Curtis, The Potter, Hopi, 1906, estimated at $5000-7500, sold at $25000
Lot 8, Frank A. Rinehart, Geronimo (Guiyatle), Apache * Chief American Horse, Sioux * Chief Red Cloud, 1898-1900, estimated at $3000-4500, sold at $9100
Lot 32, Samuel Bourne, A pair of albums from India with a total of 100 photographs, 1863-1870, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $6250
Lot 235, W. Eugene Smith, Pride Street, 1955-1956/after 1963, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6760
Lot 281, Saul Leiter, Waiter, Paris, 1959/1990s, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $25000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
