I have recently bought about a thousand Auction catalogues from past Christies and Sothebys Sales, and they fall into two classes.
Special
Sales.
These are
sales of Collections of Fine Atr and objects, such as the P.Mellon Collection,
or the Hirsh Collection, or they are sales of the contents of great English
country houses, all or part of the contents. Some of these catalogues are
in the form of slipcased hard-back volumes, sometimes up to 4 volumes for
one sale. Others are simply thick paperbacks, full of pictures, and
most have the prices actually realised in the sale as well as the estimates.
Clock And Watch Sales
These are
a fantastic resource for prices and pictures of the worlds most expensive,
and some of the most interesting, ( not the same thing at all) Watches.
The best
are the very well illustrated catalogues from the 1980s and early 1990s.
The descriptions
are usually comprehensive and the prices realised are in most cases, with
the catalogues.
So What?
Well, what
do I do with them. I believe there may be people out there who would like
to have a chance to buy some of these, and I have considered adding some
to my ebay list, but the weight of the bigger ones would make postage a
bit expensive, so it may not be an economical proposition. If anybody has
any ideas, drop me an e-mail
