One of the largest private collections of daguerreotypes came back into the market last week at Christie’s. Methodically assembled by Lynn and Yann Maillet over a period of six decades, the collection (of over 200 lots on offer) featured both well known names and unknown makers, providing collectors a unique opportunity to gather up key rarities from the early years of the medium.
The results from the sale were mixed, in that many of the highest priced lots, particularly works made by John Ruskin, failed to sell. On the flip side, there were plenty of lesser known lots that jumped far above their estimate ranges, a few to 10X and one to nearly 22X its high estimate. The overall Buy-In rate came in under 5% and an impressive 73 positive surprises helped pump the numbers up a bit, but those few high priced passes ultimately dampened the tally to some extent, leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $1.6M) that found the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 265 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1384100 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2088800 |
| Total Lots Sold | 254 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Buy In % | 4.15% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1618722 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 230 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 228 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.87% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $547800 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $988974 |
| Mid Total Lots | 27 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 23 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 14.81% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $631000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $521388 |
| Total High Lots | 8 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 62.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $910000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $108360 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 10, John Ruskin, View Towards Fiesole, Florence, c1846, estimated at $150000-250000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 123, Robert Cornelius, Portrait of a woman, c1840-1841, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $60480 (image above, via Christie’s.)
64.57% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 73 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate). Of those, 31 had proceeds above $10000, as listed below (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 3, Josiah W. Thompson, Portrait of a Woman with Gold Hoop Earrings, c1852, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $11970
Lot 9, Unknown maker, Portrait of A.W. Fagins, the “Millionaire Miller” of St Louis, Missouri, c1850, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $15120
Lot 29, Unknown maker, An Eclipse in Four Exposures, c1845, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $20160
Lot 30, Unknown maker, Schooner at Dock with Men on Rigging, Great Lakes, 1854, estimated at $2000–3000, sold at $25200
Lot 39, Francisco de Leygonier, Portrait of a Matador, from Real Life, and Daguerreotype of a Painting of Marie-Louise-Ferdinande de Bourbon, duchesse de Montpensier by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, c1848, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $23940
Lot 43, Unknown maker, Group Lot of Two Views of the Port of Bastia, Corsica, c1845, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $25200
Lot 52, G.M. Howe, Nanny with Child (Possibly Post-Mortem), n.d., estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $15120
Lot 56, possibly Platt D. Babbitt, Terrapin Point Tower, Niagara Falls, c1850, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $13860
Lot 63, Unknown maker, Country House, c1850, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $16380
Lot 64, G.M. Howe, Ship in Dry Dock, c1856, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $17640
Lot 66, Unknown maker, Locomotive “Dunkirk” in Station with Engineer in Cab, c1850, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $16380
Lot 67, Unknown maker, Locomotive and Engineer on Board, c1850, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $11970
Lot 72, Unknown maker, Man and Woman Playing Chess, c1850, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10080
Lot 74, Unknown maker, Group Lot of Two Views of the Brandon Female Academy, Mississippi, 1855, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $15120
Lot 76, Jeremiah Gurney, Tutor with Two Boys, c1850, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $18900
Lot 77, Unknown maker, Nanny and Child, c1850, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $10710
Lot 83, Unknown maker, Well Dressed Woman in a Headdress, c1850, estimated at $2000-2500, sold at $13860
Lot 84, Unknown maker, Maungwudaus (George Henry 1811-1888), n.d., estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $21420
Lot 85, Unknown maker, Miccosukee Man, Florida, c1850, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $12600
Lot 87, Unknown maker, Western Exploration, c1850, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $32760
Lot 88, Unknown maker, St. Anthony’s Falls, Mississippi River, Minneapolis, Minnesota, c1850, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $13860
Lot 97, Unknown maker, California Gold Mining Camp and Operations, c1850, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $30240
Lot 105, Unknown maker, Use of Hydraulics at a California Gold Mine, c1851, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $44100
Lot 116, Unknown maker, Northern California Boomtown Under Construction, c1850, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $10710
Lot 122, Robert Cornelius, Portrait of a Youth, c1839, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $30240
Lot 123, Robert Cornelius, Portrait of a woman, c1840-1841, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $60480
Lot 124, Robert Cornelius, Untitled, c1840-41, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $13860
Lot 146, Southworth & Hawes, Portrait of Alice Hawes, Photographer’s Daughter, c1850, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $15120
Lot 186, Unknown maker, Man in Bonnet with Parasol, c1850, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $10710
Lot 198, Unknown maker, The Dentist, c1850, estimated at $1200-1800, sold at $21420
Lot 210, Unknown maker, Narrative Pair: Daguerreotypist with Coloring Kit and a Finished Daguerreotype, c1850, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $10710
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
