There was really only one memorably positive event in the recent single collector photography sale at Sotheby’s in Paris – the rare Anna Atkins British Algae Vol. III photobook sold, and did so above its high estimate, for €219000. Aside from that one outcome, the rest of the sale performed rather dismally, with an overall Buy-In rate near 60%. In the end, the Atkins brought in nearly half the Total Sale Proceeds, which not surprisingly missed the low end of the pre-sale range by a wide percentage.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 79 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €736000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €1068000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 32 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 47 |
| Buy In % | 59.49% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €453500 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 39 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 22 |
| Low Buy In % | 56.41% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €183000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €67000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 34 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 20 |
| Mid Buy In % | 58.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €435000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €167500 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 83.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €450000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €219000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 15, Anna Atkins, British Algae Vol. III (album with 102 cyanotypes), 1843-1853, estimated at €120000-180000 (image in preview post). It was also the top outcome of the sale at €219000.
90.27% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 6 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 30, Alice Lex-Nerlinger, Autorennfahrer, Berlin, 1926, estimated at €7000-9000, sold at €18750
Lot 57, Danny Lyon, Showers, 1966, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4000
Lot 72, Lotte Jacobi, Original Photogenic, 1949, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €6875
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
