Auction Results: Fine Photographs, February 26, 2013 @Swann

The results of Swann's various owner photographs sale earlier this week were quietly respectable, with the Total Sale Proceeds falling in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range. With an overall Buy-In rate under 25% and a handful of positive surprises, it was a solid outcome for an early season sale.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 138
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $926500
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $1360000
Total Lots Sold: 104
Total Lots Bought In: 34
Buy In %: 24.64%
Total Sale Proceeds: $1006365

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 104
Low Sold: 81
Low Bought In: 23
Buy In %: 22.12%
Total Low Estimate: $650000
Total Low Sold: $575340

Mid Total Lots: 32
Mid Sold: 22
Mid Bought In: 10
Buy In %: 31.25%
Total Mid Estimate: $535000
Total Mid Sold: $353025

High Total Lots: 2
High Sold: 1
High Bought In: 1
Buy In %: 50.00%
Total High Estimate: $175000
Total High Sold: $78000

The top lot by High estimate was lot 22, Edward Curtis, The North American Indian, Portfolio #1, 1907, at $70000-100000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $78000.

78.85% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 6 surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 8, (China), Collection of carte-de-viste portraits, 1860s-1870s, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $60000 (image at right, top, via Swann)
Lot 9, (China), Group of 14 prints, 1875-1876, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $28800
Lot 11, (Korea), Album, 1899, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $20400 (image at right, middle, via Swann)
Lot 29, (Crime), Warden's Book, 1917, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $13200
Lot 77, Eugene Smith, Walk to Paradise Garden, 1946/1972, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $16800
Lot 124, Elliot Erwitt, Versailles, 1975/1990s, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $7200

Complete lot by lot results can be found linked from here.

Swann Galleries
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY 10010