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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Bonhams, Villa La Vigie, Monaco, May 11, 2018
For years Bonhams held its Monaco auction at the Exposition de la Collection de Voitures Anciennes de S.A.S. le Prince de Monaco, a charming and convenient but cramped location in the shadow of the royal palace. That changed in 2018 with the new location at Villa La Vigie. Perched high up on a headland adjacent […]