Old World Auctions has moved to Richmond, Virginia under the new leadership of Eliane and Jon Dotson. For the last 15 years, Curt and Marti Griggs had been growing the business until they decided in 2010 to ease into retirement . For the past six months the Dotsons have been working side by side with the Griggs and the next sale, scheduled for August 31, is the Dotson‘s third.
The firm is a specialist in cartographic material.
Auction houses are easy to start and difficult to build. Old World Auctions began operations in 1977 as a mail auction firm. After the Griggs purchased the company in the mid-1990’s, they transformed it into an online auction house and grew it into one of the larger specialist auctions in the United States. From the beginning the Griggs’ approach was to develop both a community and an efficient online process. In this they succeeded very well, in time routinely achieving a 70 to 80% sale rate, a somewhat better overall sale rate than the field consistently produces. All the more remarkable, the Griggs did this in the fully electronic manner that has proven difficult for other houses. Traditional auctions employ a hybrid approach with active salerooms, an auctioneer to call the event and hammer down the lots, and an online bidding system that feeds bids to the floor. The Griggs employed a different approach. Material could be inspected prior to sale as is the custom with traditional auctions but all bidding was then electronic and subject to an interesting policy, that in the final hours of the auction, no sale was final until 10 minutes after the last bid. Therefore so long as bids continued to be made the sale was extended. This prevented auction sniping and allowed bidders a few minutes to consider, an attractive option given that collectors often need time to assess strategy. It was and remains an innovative approach and the Dotsens are committed to it.
Eliane and Jon are part of the next generation of auction houses. They are in their late 30s, both have MBAs and come to maps and related materials with an eye to the process. Together they bring expertise in marketing, research and foreign language skills to the business. Eliane’s father, Duncan Payne, is an experienced map collector with extensive knowledge and an understanding of how the current collecting generation approaches their craft. In this undertaking they are all involved.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
