Here Be Old Things

New York City Auctions: June 30–July 6, 2008

Surreal landscape by Jorge Sanchez at Clarke (C&C)

It's July. There are only four auctions in town this week: one at Clarke, three at Christie's. Where iiiiisssss everybody?
 

The ten most expensive photographs, ever

Bloomsbury Auctions is launching a photography department. That's a smart move–there's money in photos. Last year, one by Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent II Diptychon (below) sold for $3,346,456 at Sotheby's in London. Here's an interesting, illustrated list of the ten most expensive photographs to date. Mr. Gursky made the list twice.

New York City Auctions: June 23–29, 2008

lot 73: Arthur Rackham, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, at Bloomsbury

Tag Sales by Mona: Junkbuster estate sales on Long Island

Mona Scavo. Patrick Andrade for The New York Times

I moved to New York City my mouth watering for all the great estate sales that must be here in Manhattan, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, no one here sells estates out of apartments. My mother, back in Oregon, still insists that I'm not looking hard enough. She doesn't understand that, unlike in Portland, hordes of eager dealers staking out a property, sleeping in their cars out front the night before and lining up at 7 a.m. the morning of a sale just would NOT fly with co-op boards. For the authentic estate or tag sale experience you have to head out to the 'burbs.

Hard economic times mean better flea markets, consignment shops and auctions

If you're a flea market fan, this rough economy is good news/bad news. Last fall, when I was researching New York City flea markets, the manager of the Green Flea on the upper west side filled me in on the micro-economy of fleas: when the economy is flush, even the marginally-employable can get a job; when it tanks, those who want to avoid a job at Starbucks sell at flea markets instead.

New York City Auctions: June 16–22, 2008

lot 64 CUVIER, Georges L.C., Baron: Recherches sur les Ossemens Fossiles de Quadrupeds (Paris: Deterville, 1812) at Christie's Important Scientific Books

Historic Hamilton Grange is moving

So what's up in your hood? Here in mine, they're moving a national historic landmark. The Hamilton Grange, designed by John McComb, Jr., and home to Alexander Hamilton, was moved a couple blocks once before, in 1889. Squeezed between an apartment house and a church it's lost some of its former bucolic flavor. But on June 6th it's being moved down to St. Nicholas Park, where it will enjoy a little more lawn.

For weeks now the neighbors have been hanging out watching workers dislodge the house from the wall next door, slowly hoist it up above the roof of the next door church, slide it out over the street, and finally lower it back to the ground. They've done all this by stacking lumber underneath it–and that's about as much as you'll get from me on the technical aspects. What's pretty cool is that the old windows are still in place. With all the construction accidents around the city, I'm holding my breath and hoping the Grange doesn't end up a pile of firewood on Convent Avenue . . . but so far, so good.

New York City Auctions: June 9–15, 2008

Lot 340 Paysage, Henri Joseph Harpignies, at Swann