The master sold by Sotheby’s had been consigned to the firm by the owner, who had inherited it from an aunt. His aunt was a friend of “Bill W.” Both the owner and his aunt were alcoholics themselves. Along with the master “Big Book” were a few other items, including a second edition inscribed by Mr. Wilson to the seller’s aunt. Lauren Gioia of Sotheby’s explained that “it was some time before he (the seller) realized what he had.” Ultimately, it turned out that not even Sotheby’s fully understood. Placing a seemingly high estimate of $300,000-$500,000 on the book, the bids blew by everyone’s expectations, finally closing at $1,576,000, over three to five times the expected price. Asked what happened, Ms. Gioia noted that in setting the estimate, they found no comparable sales of 20th century nonfiction outside of this range. However, there turned out to be four serious bidders. Ms. Gioia noted that it takes only two bidders to drive prices to unexpected levels, but when there are four, the results can go to surprising heights.
Near the end, the bidding dropped to two, and when the last bid was received, the winner was William Shenk of La Jolla, California. Ms. Gioia said that Shenk is a personal collector, but did not want to give out any information beyond his name or be interviewed about his purchase. Evidently Mr. Shenk is a low-key collector, apparently an investor and attorney with ties to the “Big Book’s” native Ohio as well as California. What he intends to do with this book, both short term and long term, remains unknown. One further comment from a recovering alcoholic.
