‘White-headed sea eagle or bald eagle,’ one of 500 illustrations contained in a complete 1840 octavo edition of John James Audubon’s ‘The Birds of America,’ est. $40,000-$60,000.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The premier attraction of Waverly’s March 1 Fine and Rare Books, Maps & Manuscripts auction is an 1840 first edition of John James Audubon’s The Birds of America. It comes with provenance from the Washington, DC-area collection of Charles Truitt and is estimated at $40,000-$60,000.

Known as an “octavo” edition, the 9-inch-tall book is especially desirable because it is complete, with all 500 illustrations present.

“Usually Audubon editions of this type are pilfered for their famous and decorative illustrations, which people frame and display. This one is special because it is 100 percent complete,” said Waverly’s specialist Anson Brown.

The consignor of the Audubon book is Charles Truitt’s son, who has kept and cared for the important book from his father’s collection for many years. He has also consigned to auction an edition of John James Audubon and John Bachman’s The Quadrapeds of North America. It is estimated at $3,000-$6,000.

Another highlight of the 215-lot sale is a circa-1900 fully leather-bound edition of The Life of Napoleon, which came to Waverly’s from a couple in Winchester, Va., who had it on a bookshelf for 38 years.

Circa-1794 letter signed by Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte that was tucked inside a circa-1900 leather-bound edition of ‘The Life of Napoleon.'

“The gentleman knew that it probably had value, as he noticed that it was an edition of 1 of 26 volumes issued by the publisher. Upon examining the set at Waverly’s, we found that it contained a letter signed around 1794 by Napoleon Bonaparte, when he was a general,” said Brown.

The letter was likely dictated by Napoleon, penned by his secretary, marked “personal” and signed by Napoleon, according to Brown. “What is most remarkable is that, after 38 years of ownership, the couple never even knew the letter was there,” Brown said. “They were pleasantly surprised when I told them the auction estimate would be $4,000-$6,000.”

Other noteworthy items in the March 1 sale include a certificate of membership in the Society of the Cincinnati, signed by President George Washington, estimate $2,000-$3,000; and Andrew Ellicott’s map titled “Plan of the City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia,” estimate $1,000-$3,000.

Certificate of membership in the Society of the Cincinnati, signed by President George Washington, est. $2,000-$3,000.

“This is probably the strongest auction we’ve had in the last couple of years,” said Brown. “In addition to connoisseur’s items like the Audubon Birds of America edition, we also have a number of pieces that aren’t particularly rare but still quite sought after by collectors,” said Brown.

Waverly’s March 1 Fine and Rare Books, Maps & Manuscripts auction will commence at 6:30 p.m. at Quinn’s & Waverly’s galleries located at 360 S. Washington St., Falls Church, VA 22046. For information on any item in the upcoming auction, call 703-532-5632 or e-mail info@quinnsauction.com. Visit Quinn’s & Waverly’s website at www.quinnsauction.com.

My Opinion on the Matter…

Jonathan Jones, OnArt blog for UK based The Guardian posted an article a couple years ago explaining his discontent with the Antiques Roadshow, as it is in merry old England. “The show looks so comfortable, so British, and so superficially cultured” he says. Can’t say I disagree with his observations on “British” and “superficially cultured” sure as I would be just another uncultured non-socialist American to him. Nevertheless, I couldn’t agree more with him in his distaste for the show; not because it’s full of money grubbing treasure hunters trading and hoarding important artefacts in a sleazy industry. To Jones, it would seem these things, these antiques, belong in museums. How cavalier, how Indiana Jones – never mind that the majority of a museums’ collections will remain away from public view for generations, much like The Ark of the Covenant. Rather, my problem with the show is even more superficial than the show itself: It’s a snore fest, boring as can be.

British or US edition, it is no doubt a lottery for the participants, every one of them hoping to strike it rich with an attic find, surrounded by dealers and auctioneers galore clamouring for a sales commission. But if Jr. wants to part with great great great grandad’s antique snuff mull that he got off a dead Scotsman at the battle of Waterloo for an easy couple of thousand pounds to invest in that home theatre, well that’s his bloody prerogative mate. Despite the fabricated setting, the haphazard ignorance of the participants, what you largely see are bona fide experts informing people of the historical significance and value of their possessions, thus preserving them, making a treasure of what was thought to be just gran gran’s old stuff. Put a number on something, people may trade it, but it ultimately will be cared for and preserved for generations. And all that stuff of insignificant value, well, don’t underestimate the sentimentality of some people. In my experience, people tend to keep heirlooms without value and sell stuff that’s worth a buck if and only if they need the money.

Here is where the show really begins to lose my generation. It is billed in the US as “educational” by the elitist government subsidized network PBS. For some reason, PBS mandates a level of boringness to create the illusion of education, for fear they might lose their $400MM in government grants. And so, monotonously paraded in front of viewers over the course of an hour are dozens of items with a dry explanation of their significance followed by a monetary value with all the enthusiasm of an NPR reporter, followed by the customary “oh wow, I had no idea” from the owner. Oh the brevity, oh the suspense, oh I wonder if the commercial break is over on my show! Yes, ARS caters to the older generation. I wonder, as a young man in the auction industry, how is this industry going to survive when the people who care about antiques and fine art are largely octogenarians? Thank goodness, with shows like Pawn Stars popping up, there is a renewed interest in art, antiques and second hand goods.

Pawn Stars is, in spite of the pawn shop setting, in fact educational, it’s real, and above all entertaining. Four lovable fat guys, Old Man, Rick, Big Hoss and Chum Lee unabashedly seek profit and are not unlike many players in the antiques industry. To do this, they buy low and sell high. They inform sellers of value, often seek 3rd party opinions and negotiate a purchase price, usually trying to double or triple their investment. They tell sellers that the shop has to make money, business is business, eliminating any ethical concerns. Sellers know what they are getting and it is incumbent on them to take a little bit of cash money now or pursue other outlets for their stuff. Coupled with anecdotal plots my generation have come to expect from reality TV a great deal of education in history from all eras, including pop culture, takes place. It’s fun, gripping and I have learned a lot from the show that has helped me as an auction professional.

I must admit, I have learned a great deal from ARS, partially because it has been around for several years and a lot of stuff is showcased in a short period of time. Watching ARS however, feels like work which hurts my retention. I have learned a great deal from Pawn Stars as well with the added benefit that it is entertaining and gripping. My piers think so too. Whereas I can rarely discuss ARS with someone my own age, even my colleagues in the industry who watch both shows, Pawn Stars is a frequent topic of conversation. Infotainment shows like Pawn Stars are probably the best hope in passing on the great tradition of antiquing to the next generation. To date, IKEA is still winning the battle for the youth, but my generation’s reception of Pawn Stars offers a glimmer of hope that I will still have a job in an exciting industry as the Baby Boomers fade into history.

A Great Find by Anson Brown

People often ask me if my job is like the Antiques Roadshow. Mostly not, as 98% of the time, I give people bad news on how their treasures are basically worthless, low value or at least not worth thousands of dollars. It’s a common complaint I’ve heard from people in the industry: “People are watching Roadshow, Pawn Stars and American Pickers and they all think they have something.” Today was one of these exceptions where it was actually like Antiques Roadshow!

My cataloger had set up an appointment for me to meet with an elderly couple who had a 22 volume “nice set” of the Life of Napoleon. My cataloger figured it would be worth about $2K based on the consignor’s description of the work in an email. When I sat down with the couple, I asked them why they brought the book to us. They told me that a book dealer had quoted us it much lower and when the consignor was disappointed, the dealer recommended Waverly. Therefore “since [we] really think [we] can get that much” they decided to give us a try.

I frequently trust my cataloger’s assessment, but I always like to double check his work and have him double check my work. This occasion was no different, especially because we were dealing with something thought to be worth thousands of dollars. As is my custom, I began with volume 1 in the set. This set had 3 volumes marked “1″ so I decided to look in each for expedience sake rather than reconstruct the set in its proper order. On my third try, I found the true volume one, thumbed through the first few pages and stumbled on a tipped in personal letter in the hand of Napoleon Bonaparte as a brigadier general, c. 1794. Now for the truly amazing part: The couple had had the set decorating their living room for the past 38 years and never knew that they possessed an original letter penned by Napoleon himself! They were completely amazed. The last of these editions with the tipped in ALS (Autographed Letter Signed) sold in 1997 for $4250. These years later, I expect the set to bring much more.

This is not as unusual as one might believe. In the past I have sold similar works with tipped in letters including James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, Victor Hugo and several other noteworthy authors and historical figures. But these consignors knew exactly how special their items were. What makes this find so special is that it has evaded all knowledge of existence for at least 38 years until I found it for the world. The Napoleon will be in my rare book auction on March 1st, 2012, along with a complete set of Audubon’s Birds of America, 1st octavo edition, a George Washington signed document and many other books.

Introducing the Auction Exclusive Weekly Show! Yeah, sounds a little corny, but the fact of the matter is, inspired by shows like Pawn Stars, American Pickers etc., I have come to realize that people think the stuff I deal with every day is actually quite interesting. I thought, why not show it off? In this first video, I demonstrate an early 20th century medical device called the “Renew Life Violet Ray Generator” from 1919. I’ve seen these kinds of things before. When I saw one on Pawn Star, Rick and Chumlee were too afraid to try it out on themselves. This time, when it came through I just had to try it for the world. Enjoy people who enjoy things!

19th century William IV Sheffield silverplate and cut glass epergne.

You know, the epergne, that shiny tree made of silver and crystal for the purpose of holding anything your heart desires. So inviting is the epergne as it holds out small dishes of candy, crackers, nuts, bonbons, fruit and flowers etc., to your guests as if to say here, please have a piece, you’re our dear guest. The epergne has been replaced, by numerous dishes that cram our tables on holidays, as if to say get it yourself, if you can find it, in this quagmire of party eats. Cereal bowls filled with pretzels, “fancy” assorted nuts out of the can, plastic veggie platters destined to strangle the earth for hundreds of years from one night’s gathering; it is these that have led to the demise of the epergne.

Befuddled at polite society’s transition from beauty to cheap junk, I consulted a graduate student pursuing her master’s degrees in decorative arts. Renee Corbino, from George Mason University’s Smithsonian program and a long time cataloger of decorative arts for a local auction house, explains that the epergne met its end at the turn of the 19^th century. Rebellion against the lavish decadence and consumption of the Victorian era, coupled with utilitarianism arising from the depression era and world wars had pretty much done in the epergne. Beauty gave way to necessity and subsequent generations have continued the trend.

Jessamyn Modrak, a master’s in decorative arts from the Corcoran School of Art and Design, had a more concise answer. According to Ms. Modrak, the epergne was Victorian and everything Victorian is big, cumbersome and out of style. So today we are left with the fiesta style three tiered dishes-o-tapas – a mere space saver sure to make you shudder and a shadow of the glory days of entertainment and luxury. The modern world and fiestaware has made a mockery of the aesthetic beauty intermingled with pleasure the epergne has come to symbolize in my mind.

From Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson (c)

Today, computers can predict the path of a hurricane well in advance, giving us ample time to avert disaster. In the Washington, D. C. area, we have been preparing for Hurricane Irene since before our freak which went largely unpredicted earthquake. Unless you live under a rock however, there really is no excuse to be caught in a hurricane unprepared. Flash back, nearly 200 years ago, before Doppler radar; what did they do? Meteorologists of the age were no fools. Although they could not predict the path of a hurricane in advance, they could observe and track them with amazing accuracy! Lest the weatherman find himself guilty of hubris, take a look at this map printed in 1840 and see how it compares today’s computer models!

Map From: John Purdy. Memoir, Descriptive And Explanatory, To accompany the Charts of the Atlantic Ocean; and comprising Instructions, General and Particular, for the Navigation of that Sea... Lon: R. H. Laurie, 1840. 8th edition. To be sold at Waverly Auctions, September 8th, 2011.

By Anson Brown, Waverly Auctions.

For people who are not seasoned bibliophiles that have a large quantity of books to dispose of, the task can be daunting. Usually their objective is to find an easy outlet for books such as selling to a dealer, giving to a charity or even throwing them in the trash. Many people don’t realize that going these routes is tantamount to throwing money away. Of course, donating to charity can be an honorable pursuit, but for those who need cash more than a tax write off, there is another easy way to dispose of books for cash; auction! At Waverly Auctions, we’ve been selling books for people, from single books to small collections to very large libraries for over 30 years. Should you choose Waverly or any other book auction house to help liquidate your books, there are a few things you should know prior to consigning. In my experience, the following points I will address are usually the greatest

Benefits of selling at auction
The primary benefit of selling through an auction house is that your books will be placed on the open market and exposed to the world. Auction forces a number of interested parties to bid competitively against each other on your property, including dealers and collectors. Since the advent of the online auction, you can be confident that no matter where you take your books, so long as the auction house is online, you will get a fair market value for your books. A typical auction will attract book buyers locally, nationally and internationally.

Get objective opinions about your books
For many people, it seems logical to call a used book seller in their area to make an offer and haul the books away. Before you do this, realize that book dealers are in it to make a profit and in most cases they want to steal books for much less than their worth. If you opt to go this route be sure you have an understanding of the value of the books and seek a second opinion! Never let a dealer cherry pick your library and leave you with the dregs. Usually an auction house will take most if not everything and try to sell at top dollar on your behalf.

Have realistic Fair Market Value expectations
If you decide to look up values for your books online through sites like abebooks.com and addall.com, you may be dazzled with extraordinarily high prices for the same titles you have in your collection. Not so fast! Before you jump to conclusions, you must be sure you have the exact same copy that is being presented online—the slightest variation means you do not have the same thing. Also understand that what you see online are typically retail asking prices set by book dealers who have the luxury of waiting for months or even years for a buyer willing to pay their asking price. Auction values are not the same as retail values and this is true for virtually every auction house including Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Typically, at auction you can expect to realize 20%-60% of retail value. When you bring your books to an auction professional, she will quote you auction values based on hard data from actual past sales results. These sales results represent a fair market or “auction” value.

Be mindful of the condition and completeness of your books
The majority of value of a book is closely tied to condition and completeness. Very slight variations can dramatically impact value even if the book is well over 100 years old. A mint condition copy of a book may be worth hundreds of dollars whereas the same edition in fair to poor condition, with visible wear or damage, can be worth a fraction. To give you an example, a copy of The Great Gatsby, 1st edition in good condition, without a dust jacket, will fetch around $1000-$3000; add the dust jacket and the price rises to well over $100,000.

Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s valuable
One of the more common misconceptions among new book consignors is that a book’s age will automatically increase it’s value. This is not the case. The driving factors in value are rarity, condition and above all desirability. It doesn’t matter how old or rare a book is if no one is looking for it. The used book market is subject to the same forces of supply and demand that dictate the prices of any commodity. As such, many books from the 1600′s through the 1800′s will net less than $100 or have little or no resale value. The only way to truly determine a books value is to research the most recent sales record for the exact book. An auction house has the resources (usually databases that cost money to use) to find actual sales records for you.

Understand how your books will be sold
Some auction houses will only take high value books and place them in a cataloged sale where each book or small groups of books are meticulously researched, described and marketed. There are also many auction houses that will sell your better books in high end catalog sales and sell the books of lesser value in bulk groupings. An auction house that will provide services for both your better books and your bulk can be highly convenient. Book experts can separate the better books from the lesser books very easily.

Remember, it’s an auction
Auction is relatively unpredictable. You will probably be surprised at how well some books will sell and still disappointed at how others sell. Sellers are absolutely taking a gamble by selling at auction. Likewise, buyers are taking a chance on used books, wondering if they can resell for a profit or if they are overpaying for something.

In Conclusion
Much of the stress in liquidating books can be easily alleviated by finding a good auction house. Good auction houses act in the best interest of their consignors as they are the people who bring them inventory to sell. You can be sure that an auction house is looking out for your interest because the more the house makes for you, the more it makes for itself. Understanding this, the benefits and pitfalls and the process by which your property is sold will further alleviate stress.

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About the author: Anson Brown is the Managing Director of Waverly Auctions in Falls Church, Virginia. He has been with Waverly for 4 years and has experience selling tens of thousands of books, antique prints, maps and historical autographs. Waverly Auctions has been serving the Mid-Atlantic region for over 30 years.

Auctions are online, why not on YouTube?

By Anson Brown

Since the advent of e-Bay and other online auction sites, the auction industry has benefited greatly from using technology. Many auction houses sell online through sites like LiveAuctioneers, ArtFact, and AuctionZip. In spite of these way these sales venues have revolutionized auction, driving sales up and changing market dynamics, technology remains underutilized by the auction industry with the exception of the big houses. Today, if you watch a commercial on television, companies would rather than direct you to their Facebook pages rather than their company pages. In the auction industry, this tactic too is underutilized.

In an effort to increase exposure of my place of employment, I have begun posting sales slide shows like the one below, on youtube. It has met with a positive response from our buyers and consignors alike and has even brought in some consignments. The more you know about technology, the more you too can take advantage of the free resources online that will add credibility to your auction house and properly bring you into the digital age. Here is a bit of free advertising highlighting a sale in which Quinn’s sold a Lichtenstein painting for $128,700…

Need help bringing your auction house into the digital age? Ask Anson Brown.

Second hand saves the planet and saves you money…

Every decade or so, Americans seem to become hyper aware of the need to save the environment and “go green.” When I was the tender age of 12, in 1992, the incoming democratic administration of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, brought environmentalism to the forefront of the political spectrum. Saving the planet was something very important to me at the time. Through the Bush years, the environment took a back seat to more pressing issues. It’s back again with yet another democratic administration urging the American people to go green! From my perspective, the green movement is moving at a far more rapid pace today than ever before.

Well, green people, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is, and if you buy at auction, you will have enough money left over to do just that – or at least more in your pocket.

Most auction houses across the country specialize in one thing: used merchandise. From dinnerware to furniture, to art and antiques, you can buy on the cheap without increasing your carbon footprint. The problem I see in recent generations including Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y alike, is that tastes are more cosmopolitan than they used to be. The fancy things of the past, Victorian and Colonial styles you typically find at auction, are just not “mod” enough for people to put in their homes. Instead, “fake furniture” from places like IKEA are highly desired by my piers as is anything you can get at Haverties or Macy’s. My friends spend hundreds or even thousands furnishing one room! At auction, on the other hand, imagine furnishing an entire house for under $5000, without increasing your carbon footprint and the need to chop down a few more trees!

The fact of the matter is, buying at auction gives you a range of choices on gently used merchandise at a fraction of retail value. My very first auction 5 years ago, I purchased a china cabinet for a whopping $16.50. At the time, I was looking at new china cabinets ranging from $500-2000. It was an impulse buy because I couldn’t believe how cheap everything was going for; but now I know that I can upgrade anytime for considerably less than the cost of a new china cabinet. Additionally, I have been able to decorate my home with original artist signed prints for a fraction of the cost of generic poster prints you see at the mall, as well as other items of intrigue and conversation pieces.

The point is, if you really want to save the planet, trying to force everyone and their uncle into a smart car they don’t want is the wrong approach. Instead save some trees, carbon emissions and some cash. Buy at auction!