August is the doldrums of the book, manuscript, map and ephemera field, or so it used to be. But not so much anymore.
This August 51 sales are scheduled, up from 46 in 2013. Less than 10 years ago the number of August sales AE covered was in the single digits. The auction market is growing and bidders understand the lights never go out anymore on the opportunities to bid.
The August auctions include both the usual and some unusual opportunities. This is the time of year for some experimentation. Look the list over:
Fri. Aug. 1st
Keys Fine Arts Auctioneers. Norwich. Books - Day 2. 242 lots
Grogan and Company. Dedham. The Estate of Celia Thaxter Hubbard - Prints, Photos, Ephemera.
Sat. Aug. 2nd
Northeast Auctions. Portsmouth. ANNUAL SUMMER AMERICANA AUCTION. 36 lots
Sun. Aug. 3rd
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics -Internet bidstart 7/27.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 7/27.
Tue. Aug. 5th
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Modern and Contemporary Prints. 48 lots
Wed. Aug. 6th
Grays Auctioneers. Cleveland, Prints. 71 lots
Swann Galleries. New York. Vintage Posters. 500 lots
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Chicago. Fine Books and Manuscripts. 416 lots
Doyle New York. New York. End of Summer Sale - Prints.
Thu. Aug. 7th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics. 1695 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 7/31.
Fri. Aug. 8th
Keys Fine Arts Auctioneers. Norwich. Pictures and Prints. 6 lots
Sat. Aug. 9th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Entertainment.
Clars Auction Gallery. Oakland. Books and Prints.
Sun. Aug. 10th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics -Internet bidstart 8/3.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 8/3.
Skinner. Marlborough. August Americana - Prints. 2 lots
Mon. Aug. 11th
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Old Master Prints. 6 lots
Skinner. Marlborough. August Online - Internet Bidstart 8/4. 11 lots
Tue. Aug. 12th
Rupert Toovey and Co. West Sussex. Photographs, Autographs, Printed and Manuscript Ephemera.
Eldreds. East Dennis,. Japanese Art - Prints. 229 lots
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Danish antiquarian bookshop with 20-25.000 book titles.. 1 lots
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Modern and Contemporary Prints. 49 lots
Wed. Aug. 13th
Rupert Toovey and Co. West Sussex. Prints.
RR Auction. Amherst. Rare Manuscript, Document & Autograph - bidstart 7/25. 1105 lots
Thu. Aug. 14th
PBA Galleries. San Francisco. Fine Americana with Cartography.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 8/7.
Eldreds. East Dennis,. Asian Art - Books and Prints.
Lyon and Turnbull. Edinburgh. Contemporary and Post-War Art - Prints.
Fri. Aug. 15th
Stair Auctioneers and Appraisers. Hudson. Prints.
Sun. Aug. 17th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics -Internet bidstart 8/10.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 8/10.
National Book Auctions. Ithaca. Books, Art, Ephemera, and Collectible.
Tue. Aug. 19th
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Modern and Contemporary Prints.
James D Julia Auctioneers. Fairfield. Fine Art, Asian and Antiques.
Thu. Aug. 21st
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 8/14.
RR Auction. Amherst. Animation Auction - Online bidstart 8/14. 497 lots
Sat. Aug. 23rd
Addison and Sarova. Macon. Rare Books in All Fields. 131 lots
Sun. Aug. 24th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics - Internet bidstart 8/17.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 8/17.
Mon. Aug. 25th
Cowans Auctions. Cincinnati. World at War - Ephemera - Internet bidstart 8/14.
Tue. Aug. 26th
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Modern and Contemporary Prints.
Wed. Aug. 27th
AntiquarianAuctions.com. Cape Town. Antiquarian Books - Internet bidstart 8/21.
Morton Casa de Subastas. México DF CP 11000. Documents, Prints and Books.
Thu. Aug. 28th
Bloomsbury Auctions. London. Bibliophile.
PBA Galleries. San Francisco. Fine Books in All Fields.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Rare Books - Internet bidstart 8/21.
Fri. Aug. 29th
Skinner. Marlborough. Discovery - Online Auction - Prints Bidstart 8/21.
Sun. Aug. 31st
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Comics -Internet bidstart 8/24.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Movie Posters - Internet bidstart 8/24.
As to what 51 suggests about the November peak in the fall sales the ratio is usually 3 to 1. If this holds we’ll see 150 sales in November or a new sale starting every 4.8 hours. So get some sleep.
Here is a link to the AE Auction Section.