Space News
space history and artifacts articles

Messages
space history discussion forums

Sightings
worldwide astronaut appearances

Resources
selected space history documents

  collectSPACE: Messages
  Opinions & Advice
  Any value/reason to keep auction catalogs?

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   Any value/reason to keep auction catalogs?
Dennis Beatty
Member

Posts: 356
From:
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-18-2014 02:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dennis Beatty   Click Here to Email Dennis Beatty     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a large box full of old space related auction catalogs. Is there any value to these... or any reason to keep them?

At one time I thought that it might be fun to compare prices over time, perhaps even write a book, but there are too many variables for me to juggle. (Size of item, condition, signature quality, placement, fading, authenticity, flat, rolled, smoke free home, etc. etc.) Anyway, before I recycle the catalogs, I thought that I should make this inquiry.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-18-2014 02:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis Beatty:
At one time I thought that it might be fun to compare prices over time, perhaps even write a book...
I once had plans to undertake a similar project, but online as part of the resources here on cS.

Little known fact: not only are the contents of the catalogs copyright of the auction houses, so are the auction results.

They cannot be published in their entirety without permission of the auction houses, and several were not agreeable to having their catalogs incorporated into such a project.

mf451
Member

Posts: 61
From: NY, NY
Registered: Nov 2014

posted 11-18-2014 03:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mf451   Click Here to Email mf451     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I suppose there could be some value in tracking provenance of a specific item, if the item were unique enough to locate it in the catalogs. But for those rare/unique items, the history has probably been kept track of well enough already.

Personally, I just like to peruse them every now and again. If you are going to toss them, and are inclined to ship them, I bet there would be a number of members here who would be willing to pay shipping costs for them.

Rick Mulheirn
Member

Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 11-18-2014 04:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Provenance for items would certainly be one reason to keep old auction catalogues.

But their primary purpose should be as a reference or guide to anybody wishing to value or appraise a particular item.

Any appraisal or estimate is typically based on what a similar item has sold for previously and there aren't many items these days that come up for sale that have not been seen in auction at some point in the last 30 years or so.

p51
Member

Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 11-18-2014 06:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I couldn't care less for what things sold for decades ago, nor would I understand why anyone else would care.

That said, someone recently gave me a stack of auction catalogs and I cut out shots of flight gear, like flight suits and helmets as so few of that stuff is documented well in books. Some of these catalogs have really good photos.

I recycled the rest of them once I was done with the scissors.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-18-2014 06:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by p51:
...nor would I understand why anyone else would care.
Last week, the first Hasselblad camera to fly in space sold for $275,000 after being sold once before in 1995, which is of interest to some...

SpaceAholic
Member

Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-18-2014 08:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAholic   Click Here to Email SpaceAholic     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Rick Mulheirn:
Provenance for items would certainly be one reason to keep old auction catalogues.
What provenance is established beyond the fact that a given item was offered through an auction house?

Steve Zarelli
Member

Posts: 731
From: Upstate New York, USA
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 11-18-2014 09:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Steve Zarelli   Click Here to Email Steve Zarelli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I'm not sure it establishes true provenance, but it can establish a timeline of existence. I'm not sure it would have a lot of value in a lot of cases, but it may come in handy on occasion. For instance, if one could trace a certain item back to a particular timeframe, it may make it less likely to be a fake.

spaced out
Member

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 11-19-2014 02:17 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaced out   Click Here to Email spaced out     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Auction catalogs definitely have some reference value. If the content is maintained online a paper copy might seem redundant but in the long term there's no guarantee that an auction house will maintain an archive of previous sales.

Being able to see examples of previous sales can be very useful for judging the value of similar items and being able to see the history of a particular item that may have been sold previously can also be interesting.

The descriptions in auction catalogs sometimes contain details on the items or their provenance that would be difficult or impossible to discover otherwise.

Rick Mulheirn
Member

Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 11-19-2014 12:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
What provenance is established beyond the fact that a given item was offered through an auction house?
Chain of ownership.

SpaceAholic
Member

Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-19-2014 07:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAholic   Click Here to Email SpaceAholic     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Rick Mulheirn:
Chain of ownership.
Obfuscated by the auction process (generally the consignor and purchaser remain unknown).

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-19-2014 08:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
All the more reason the sale history of an item can be important in establishing a chain of ownership, even if the identities of the owners are unknown.

Rick Mulheirn
Member

Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 11-20-2014 02:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
(generally the consignor and purchaser remain unknown)
This is not always the case.

Tykeanaut
Member

Posts: 2212
From: Worcestershire, England, UK.
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 11-20-2014 06:33 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tykeanaut   Click Here to Email Tykeanaut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a smallish collection of catalogues. As Rick says, they are a good resource that sometimes state provenance of an item and are sometimes useful to track down some items which have been offered previously.

bunnkwio
Member

Posts: 113
From: Naperville, IL USA
Registered: Jul 2008

posted 11-20-2014 01:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for bunnkwio   Click Here to Email bunnkwio     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If I lived anywhere near you, I would gladly take them off of your hands. I love seeing items previously available to the public prior to when I found out about cS.

All times are CT (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts

Copyright 2020 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a





advertisement