Return to Bonhams
Those of you who read the blog regularly know that last fall Anna and I were involved in researching and writing the catalogue for a big sale of of about three hundred lots, comprising four hundred pens, mostly modern, ultra high-end, limited edition pens that took place in Los Angeles in February. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend as I was just starting the semester in England. But the sale was a big success, especially in these difficult economic times.
Well, to cut the long story short, what we offered was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. We still have another six hundred or more pens, including a number of the Chinese lacquer and very limited edition pens from large makers and small.
And, the sale was enough of a success that we are now planning and working on a sale to be held in New York in the fall.
So I thought that folks might like to see what we do to prepare for the sale and how we do it, basically following the process along from start to finish. I won’t be blogging the work every week, but will post entries as the process moves along. So here is the start:
The rear entrance to the building where we work
My colleague Ivan Briggs gave a far better name to what we formerly just called "the pen room." I'm not sure, though, who is in purgatory, us or the pens.
Pens
and more pens
Even after the first sale there are more than six hundred pens waiting
Tradition notwithstanding, we both work on laptops using print catalogues and books and online sources to create first the sales lists that will become databases that will form the core of our own catalogue for the second sale to be held in the fall in New York.
Here Anna examines a pen before including it in the first cut.
Well, to cut the long story short, what we offered was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. We still have another six hundred or more pens, including a number of the Chinese lacquer and very limited edition pens from large makers and small.
And, the sale was enough of a success that we are now planning and working on a sale to be held in New York in the fall.
So I thought that folks might like to see what we do to prepare for the sale and how we do it, basically following the process along from start to finish. I won’t be blogging the work every week, but will post entries as the process moves along. So here is the start:
The rear entrance to the building where we work
My colleague Ivan Briggs gave a far better name to what we formerly just called "the pen room." I'm not sure, though, who is in purgatory, us or the pens.
Pens
and more pens
Even after the first sale there are more than six hundred pens waiting
Tradition notwithstanding, we both work on laptops using print catalogues and books and online sources to create first the sales lists that will become databases that will form the core of our own catalogue for the second sale to be held in the fall in New York.Here Anna examines a pen before including it in the first cut.
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