Bonhams, London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, London, November 1, 2019
Bonhams is the title sponsor for the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run and their auction on the Friday before the Run itself is part of the weekend’s celebration of British motoring’s Emancipation from the infamous Red Flag law in 1905. As the total sale figure of under $2 million shows, this isn’t much about […]
Bonhams, Festival of Speed, Goodwood, July 5, 2019 (Updated July 19)
Since no one in his or her right mind who loves cars needs an excuse to attend the Goodwood Festival of Speed the FoS is more like an excuse to attend Bonhams auction. This is never a big auction, more like a place for the right crowd to gather away from the sensory overload of […]
Bonhams, Greenwich Concours, June 2, 2019
Weather, sometimes the bane of the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, cooperated in magnificent fashion this year with three days of glorious sunshine complemented by cooling breezes off Greenwich Harbor. It gave the Concours the perfect opportunity to show off its unusual two-day event, taking full advantage of the limited space in Roger Sherman Baldwin Park by […]
Bonhams, Tupelo Automobile Museum, April 26-27, 2019
Collectors have been “aging-out” of collecting for decades. Sometimes it is voluntary, other times it is not. Occasionally there are sequential dispositions (viz., Dick Burdick, Larry Klairmont and Michael Dingman, as in, “sell, collect anew, sell again.”) On April 26-27 in Tupelo, MS (“Birthplace of Elvis Presley”) Bonhams dispersed Frank and Jane Spain’s Tupelo Automobile […]
Bonhams., Goodwood Members’ Meeting, April 7, 2019
Bonhams does, at least at the latest count, three auctions a year at Goodwood. Two take primacy, the Festival in June-July and the Revival in September. These are high-zoot events with lavish manufacturer support, legions of drivers-you’d-love-to-meet and some of the most sublime racing and rally cars ever known (and a few that are delightfully […]
Bonhams, Les Grandes Marques du Monde,Le Grand Palais, Paris, February 7, 2019
First of all, the annual observation that Le Grand Palais is the most extraordinary, wonderful collector car auction venue in the world. The setting is epic and unlike the usual fabric-covered marquee or bland multi-purpose convention center ballroom the filigree of cast columns and arches, glass-paned roof and artfully-placed rivets is endlessly fascinating. Le Grand […]
Bonhams, Scottsdale, January 17, 2019
Bonhams assembled an attractive and diverse docket to their Scottsdale auction at the Westin Kierland. There were plenty of lots that even the most jaded onlookers found intriguing and, as the numbers below account, they weren’t for the most part exotic or expensive. But it also proved to foreshadow an issue that would be recounted […]
Bonhams, Olympia, London, December 3, 2018
Following by only two days Bonhams high-end auction at its New Bond Street headquarters Olympia is an opportunity to move some more mainstream and affordable collector cars. And that is exactly what happened, with the results that follow. After covering the Bond Street auction, Chris Sharpe proceeded to Olympia where he remarkably reported on pretty […]
Bonhams, London New Bond Street Headquarters
December 1, 2018 It’s best to let the numbers and the results speak for this auction at Bonhams headquarters on New Bond Street in London. There were six lots with low estimates of $1 million or more, an exemplary consignment of quality cars. Only one of them sold. Its $3,023,113 final price with commission was […]
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 […]