The importance of expertise in adding value at auction

The contribution of auction houses to research and knowledge has grown exponentially since World War 2.

During the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, expertise resided with important dealers who formed strong personal relationships with their clients and guided them in what to buy and how much to pay for it. Dealer connoisseurs such as Joseph Duveen in England and Bernard Berenson in USA advised collectors such as Isabella Stewart Gardiner in Boston, the Fricks in New York, and the Guinness family in London. The role of the auction house was limited to selling objects quickly and efficiently with generally minimal descriptions and little attempt at research.

As the pool of buyers and collectors increased in the inter-war period, the size of the auction market grew as a consequence and the role that those houses played became more important. Gradually during the 1950s and 1960s, the major and provincial auction rooms hired experts in order to provide reassurance to buyers and sellers alike and, thereby, to increase auction prices.

Auction rooms can now help identify pieces of value and then do whatever research might be necessary in order to market those pieces in the most effective way.

Careful researching not only places the item in the correct context for sale and ensures accurate cataloguing, but also evidences to prospective buyers that they can buy with confidence.

The valuation team at Ramsay Cornish includes Martin Cornish, formerly of Lyon & Turnbull, Bruce Addison, formerly of Bonhams, and Richard Edwards, formerly of Sothebys New York. Richard heads up the research department, contributing his own specialist area, sculpture, together with a raft of specialist knowledge acquired over the years. Bruce adds expertise in furniture, including mid-century, and Martin contributes specialism particularly in silver and jewellery along with his considerable experience across the board. Additional expert advice is available via our various consultants including areas such as militaria, stamps, coins and books.

Making research count

Recent examples where research and knowledge have secured substantial sale prices include the sale of two important early American maps. The maps had sat unnoticed and unregarded in a cupboard for several decades and were spotted by our auction team. 

The first was John Mitchell’s (1711-68) Map of the British and French Dominions in North America, which has been called “the most important map in American history”. Research conducted by our in-house experts established it was a 3rd state example c1760 – particularly rare. This led to it achieving (despite fragile condition) a hammer price of £105,000 on a pre-sale estimate of £50,000-70,000. 

The second was a Map of the Inhabited Part of Virginia Containing the whole Province of Maryland with Part of Pennsilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina (London, 1753). This map is regarded as the definitive 18th-century map of Virginia. The cartouche, showing a tobacco warehouse and wharf, is one of the earliest printed images of the Virginia tobacco trade. This map is believed to have been published in eight editions, but this example, after investigation, proved to be an almost unobtainable first edition and achieved £66,000 on a pre-sale estimate of £30,000-50,000.

On occasion, scientific assurances can prove a vital part of the auction process, particularly with regard to the sale of whisky, increasingly a market where fraud is not uncommon. A bottle of Lagavulin whisky, 1920 with an unusual label, “Specially Selected Lagavulin Distillery – Island of Islay, Argyllshire. Guaranteed Pure Malt – 10 Years Old. Walter Ballantyne & Son. St Boswells” was sold by Ramsay Cornish, achieving a hammer price of £11,500. A combination of research and the use of science to establish authenticity and value was applied in this case and the bottle was sent to the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre for radiocarbon dating. After testing, the bottle, with cork stopper and bar-top type closure, was professionally resealed with black wax.

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