A response and answer to my article "Consequences for Sothebys"

Very well said Doug

Yes, the Carolina Parrot had a firm bidder at 100k hammer from
Birmingham, AL and a buyer at 105k hammer from MA.  The man from
Birmingham would have bid more but I stopped him because he is my
friend and I only wanted him getting bargains.

The sale did well because we had a real, broad base.  The prices
realized are on my blog and represent real events in all cases.

Happily Audubon is "Excalibur" so it was not necessary to cheat.  It
was a great pleasure to hold the sale

Should you ever wish to get involved with me in an auction in the only
pristine, Beaux Arts mansion left on Madison Avenue still in its
original condition, I would enjoy that.

Truly,

Graham


On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 1:36 AM, Douglas Kurz <dkurz@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Hi Graham,
>
>
>
> I read with interest your letter regarding Sotheby's.  As a former collector
> of rare U.S. coins at the highest level, I participated in many auctions by
> Stack's, Heritage et al over the years.  I can only say that the coin
> business is absolutely filthy in every way, and every imaginable game is
> played by consignors, dealers, auction houses, wholesalers, coin doctors,
> grading companies, etc etc.  Nothing surprises me.  And the large auction
> houses are guilty of many forms of chicanery.  This is a natural consequence
> of the amounts of money involved.  In the contemporary art market, things
> are even worse.  The dollar values have been kited up to insane levels, and
> it is hard to imagine the price levels are rational or sustainable.  It is a
> bubble born of greed.  I'm sure it's hard to be a smaller player against the
> likes of Sotheby's.
>
>
>
> P.S. I assume the JJA/Havell Carolina Parrot did sell in your 1/25 auction?
> I was unable to attend, but figured it would not go for less than $100K,
> which was a bit more than I was comfortable spending on it.  It's too bad,
> because it was a lovely example, and I would have enjoyed owning it.  Let me
> know if another opportunity ever comes up for that Plate.
>
>
>
> Thanks & best,
>
>
> Douglas Kurz
>
>

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