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THIS early 20th century set of eight ship’s ash and beech folding chairs come up at Sotheby’s online Dining In auction which runs to August 12. Some legs are branded PSN which almost certainly relates to the Pacific Steam Navigation Company which provided a passenger and mail service between Liverpool and Argentina from 1877 to 1920. With later striped canvas seats they are estimated at £2,500-3,500. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR £11,340
Truman Capote’s final typescript for Breakfast at Tiffany’s sold for £377,000 at Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts sale in London on August 4. It was covered in handwritten edits including the last minute change to his protagonist’s name to Holly Golightly. Until the very final draft Holly was known throughout as Connie Gustafson. This typescript was submitted to Random House, who published all of Capote’s major works, in May 1958, just before Capote departed for a sojourn in Greece. It had been estimated at £120,000-180,000.
Online auctions at Sotheby’s, where year to day sales in 2020 have reached $2.5 billion, have already exceeded $285 million. This is driven by innovation and adaptation in time of pandemic. Sotheby’s report more than 30% new bidders across all sales and that more than 30% of all bidders and buyers are under 40. Nearly 20% of new bidders and buyers are from Asia.
Private sales have totalled $575 million and live summer auctions in June and July achieved $1.2 billion.
Regarded by some as the ultimate sporting collectible, Michael Jordans game worn sneakers are on offer at Christie’s until August 13. With a total of 11 lots this landmark online sale offers the most comprehensive sneaker record of Michael Jordans era defining Chicago Bulls career. Beginning in 1985 with the release of the Air Jordan 1, Nike’s Jordan Brand has been at the forefront of a pop-culture movement that has spanned the globe. Michael Jordan and his signature line of footwear are the foundational pillars of modern basketball and the worldwide phenomenon of sneaker collecting. A portion of the proceeds from one lot is designated to the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People legal defence fund which seeks to eliminate disparities and achieve racial justice. Pictured here is the top lot, the Air Jordan 1 High Shattered Backboard signed sneaker from 1985, estimated at $650,000-$850,000. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR $615,000.
Art, antique furniture, collectibles and toys will all come under the hammer at Dolan’s two day summer auction in Connemara on Bank Holiday Monday and on August 4. Art on offer ranges from contemporary work by John Shinnors to some Connemara scenes by Kenneth Webb. There is a wide range of both established and emerging artists and no shortage of landscapes from the hugely scenic area around Ballyconneely like a watercolour entitled Market Day, Roundstone by Lady Kate Dobbin.
This annual summer event in Connemara has a big local following and always attracts plenty of the visitors from around the country who holiday here. Among the 310 lots on offer on Monday is a Victorian writing table by the London firm of Howard and Sons in Oregon pine. This company specialised in bespoke furniture and this piece comes complete with an inbuilt leather foot rest. Curiosities include a mahogany Victorian penny slot machine from a 19th century pub and there is a Chipperfields Circus model set by Corgi and an early 20th century rocking horse.One of the more expensively estimated lots, at €10,000-€14,000, is The Sparrow, a 1984 oil on canvas laid on board by the renowned Limerick artist John Shinnors. There is a bronze by John Behan entitled Launching the Currach. An earlier treatment of the local area is Carraroe, Connemara by Charles Lamb. There is work by well known artists like Sean Keating, Markey Robinson, George Campbell, Maurice MacGonigal, Robert Egginton, Norman Teeling, Cecil Maguire, Arthur Maderson and Mark O’Neill.
