Bonhams Changes Hands
Thirty years ago in 1989 Robert Brooks departed Christie’s Motor Car Department to set up on his own as Brooks Auctioneers. He closed the loop on Tuesday when London private equity firm Epiris LLP acquired the successor firm Bonhams (1793) Limited, including the interest of Robert Brooks. Brooks will be succeeded as Executive Chairman by […]
RM Sotheby’s, Monterey, August 24-25, 2018
RM Sotheby’s finally got its new Convention Center location in 2018 after two years in a makeshift fabric structure on Portola Plaza. The new layout was a mixed blessing but it was kicked off right by lot #247, the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3413, the superstar of a star-filled Monterey auction week. RM Sotheby’s […]
Bonhams, Quail Lodge, August 24, 2018
On the numbers, this was a fairly ordinary Bonhams Quail auction. Year Cars Sold/ Offered Sale % Sold < Low Est Sold > High Est Average Sale Median Sale Total $ 2018 110/135 81.5% 64.6% 10% $345,602 131,400 [38.1%] $38,016,190 2017 85/106 80.2% 71.1% 10.8% $648,428 $181,500 [28%] $55,116,400 2016 101/115 87.8% 65% 6.2% $342,998 […]
Mecum Auctions, Harrisburg, August 2-4, 2018
Earlier this summer I observed in the Barrett-Jackson Northeast auction report that B-J has demonstrated that it is possible to hold a successful collector car in the Northeast, an area where many others have foundered over the years. And I’m here to add that so, too, has Mecum. After arriving in Harrisburg in 2014, they […]
The Top of the Curve in Monterey (7/18 update)
The tiny, pointy, tip top of the collector car market curve is getting a little more flat at the Monterey auctions in August. There are marvelous cars in the Monterey auctions, filling the eight-figure vacuum of the past six months. At Paris in February the car that dominated the auctions’ pre-sale publicity, Ferrari 250/275 LM […]
Barrett-Jackson Northeast, Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT, June 21-23,2018
2018 marked Barrett-Jackson’s third appearance in the northeast at Mohegan Sun, this year with more cars, more money changing hands and a nearly perfect sale rate. Make no mistake, this is a huge show taking full advantage of Mohegan Sun’s vast new ‘Earth Expo & Convention Center’ to display a few Showcase cars but more […]
RM Auctions, Michael Dingman Collection, Hampton, NH, June 23-24, 2018
Mike Dingman was a Captain of Industry who had a special place in his collecting heart for advertising signs – especially neon – and flathead Fords. He was the Chairman of Wheelabrator Frye, one of the most consequential conglomerates of the 1970’s which became Signal Group, later Chairman of Henley Group, another conglomerate spun out […]
Leake Auctions, River Spirit Expo, Tulsa, OK, June 7-10, 2018
Tulsa 2018 marked Leake Auctions’ third sale after January’s acquisition by heavy equipment auctioneer Ritchie Bros. The change of ownership and process of integrating Leake Auctions into the much larger and technically sophisticated Ritchie Bros. organization is ongoing. There are hints of major schedule announcements, as well. All that may have preoccupied the Leake team […]
RM Auctions, Spring Auburn, May 11-12, 2018
This is RM Auctions first Spring Auburn after absorbing Auctions America. Note, though, that it is “RM Auctions”, not RM Sotheby’s, continuing the market positioning that distinguished RM Sotheby’s catalog auctions from the consignment sales of RM Auctions formerly Auctions America. As mentioned two months ago after the first newly-named RM Auctions sale at Ft. […]
Bonhams, Greenwich (CT) Concours, June 3, 2018
This was the Cunningham year at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance with 33 of the surviving 35 Cunningham cars arrayed along the Roger Sherman Baldwin Park seawall. Rich Taylor and Tom Cotter worked magic in assembling the centerpiece display, an artful blending of the Greenwich dual-concours theme, American on Saturday and European on Sunday, that highlighted […]