The auction season moves into high gear this month with 61 scheduled events and a few more yet to be posted.   It has been a complicated year with the tone of the market certain to be confirmed over the next sixty days.  Auctions are typically scheduled well in advance because the preparation of descriptions, issuance of catalogues and waging of promotional campaigns take a minimum of three months to organize and can take a year.  Hence the recent stock market boom and bust cycles and the Perils of Pauline saga of Greece and the EU are not reflected in the estimates but will be reflected in the outcomes.  By month’s end we’ll know much more.

A distinct note of optimism is reflected in the steady increase in the median lot realization, that bottomed in April [ending a three year decline and drop of 27%], and has since recovered from $350 to $360.  Further increases seem likely.

Whether an active participant or armchair observer the auctions this month will provide excitement, opportunity and ultimately clarity.

The auctions in November:

November 1^st Bonhams.  Photographs (19225)

                                    Rupert Toovey and Co.  Ephemera (994)

November 2^nd Christie’s.  Photographs (3695)

November 3^rd Hauff and Auvermann.  Rare Books, Autographs and Engravings (65a)

                                    PBA Galleries.  Natural History – Medicine – Cartography (446)

                                    Swann Galleries.  Autographs (2259)

November 4^th Hauff and Auvermann.  Rare Books, Autographs and Engravings (65b)

                                    Librairie Loeb-Laroque.  Antique Maps – Old Books – Travel – Atlases (110411)