While there were a few unexpected positive surprises in the vernacular portion of Swann’s recent sale (particularly lot 147, selection of images of Texaco gas stations that sold for $25000 against an estimate of $2500-3500), the main section of fine photographs muddled through. With an overall Buy-In rate near 45% and no positive surprises beyond a trio of low priced Muybridge collotypes, the Total Sale Proceeds (for the fine photographs) fell far below the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 243 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $851800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1255750 |
| Total Lots Sold | 135 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 108 |
| Buy In % | 44.44% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $522990 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 230 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 129 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 101 |
| Low Buy In % | 43.91% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $995750 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $445665 |
| Mid Total Lots | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Mid Buy In % | 53.85% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $260000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $77325 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | NA |
The top lot by High estimate is lot 384, Berenice Abbott, Images from Retrospective Portfolio, 1930-1960/1982, estimated at $30000-45000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the photographs portion of the sale was lot 361, Roman Vishniac, The Vanished World (portfolio), 1936-1938/1977, estimated at $25000-35000, sold at $25000 (image in preview post).
73.33% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 293, Eadweard Muybridge, Nude woman spinning with hands on hips, plate 531 from Animal Locomotion, 1887, estimated at $700-1000, sold at $2750 (image above, right, via Swann)
Lot 294, Eadweard Muybridge, Nude men swinging hammers, plate 377 from Animal Locomotion, 1887, estimated at $800-1200, sold at $2750 (image above, middle, via Swann)
Lot 296, Eadweard Muybridge, Nude woman walking, plate 133 from Animal Locomotion, 1887, estimated at $700-1000, sold at $3500 (image above, left, via Swann)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
