Potter & Potter has posted the online catalog for the auction of Part 1 of the Collection of Eddie Dawes. The auction is scheduled for February 24, 2024. The are 447 lots, 182 of them being books, 91 posters, 67 props, and a variety of ephemera and other items.
https://auctions.potterauctions.com/Cat ... ionid=1176
P&P Auction: The Collection of Edwin A Dawes, Part I
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Dustin Stinett
- Posts: 7264
- Joined: July 22nd, 2001, 12:00 pm
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Dustin Stinett
- Posts: 7264
- Joined: July 22nd, 2001, 12:00 pm
- Favorite Magician: Sometimes
- Location: Southern California
- Contact:
Re: P&P Auction: The Collection of Edwin A Dawes, Part I
Part I of the Dawes Auction has ended, and it was a mixed bag of bargains and "holy moly!" moments. The first of the latter was a third edition of Scot's The Discovery of Witchcraft for $13,000. (Note, all the prices I will quote in this post will be sans premium.)
That was quickly eclipsed by Chung Ling Soo's (William Robinson) personal address book for $26,000. Soo items brought in some high hammer prices, including a signed photo ($7,000), a photo accompanied by an autograph ($16,000), a beer mat (yes, a Soo coaster!) for $5,000, a framed set of photos of Soo, his wife (Dot as Suee Seen), and a "lucky coin" rang up a whopping $22,000. A rare (possibly unique) Soo three-sheet poster hammered down at $34,000. A letter after Soo's death from his mistress (and mother of his children) Lou Robinson fetched $5,500; a comparative bargain.
It was Adelaide Herrmann, though, who won the day with her one-sheet "Flight of the Favorite" that sold for $48,000. An Ionia half-sheet came in at "just" $22,000 (Gabe Fajuri commented that it should be worth at least the same as the Herrmann poster--oh well). A nice Talma half-sheet more than doubled its high estimate bringing in $8,500. (We would have liked that one.)
A lovely painting by Peter Warlock presented to Dawes titled Shelves of Conjuring Books sold for a mere $4,800 (we thought it should have been more, given that it is unique and has a double association).
Book buyers had a field day of bargains; too many to list here (see the catalog linked above). We were stunned that Eddie's set of all eight Tarbell books only brought in $1,100 given the fact that the first six were inscribed to Eddie by Tarbell. His copy of Sachs went for just $275. His set of Albo books did sell for $4,000 (the high estimate), while the Albo/Schwartz Thayer book fetched just $425. Bosco's scarce List of Conundrums Sent in for Competition (1857) is someone's happy get at a measly $1,800 (high estimate was $3,000). The biggest bargain had to be the Paul LePaul book for just $150! All that said, a copy of Hocus Pocus Junior. The Anatomy of Legerdemain. Or, The Art of Juggling set forth in proper Colours raked in a whopping $30,000 (though it is one of two known copies).
Apparatus was another area where bargain hunters fared well. Again, too many to list. There were a couple of Cardini-made items that did well for the Dawes estate. A wrist-watch reel fetched $2,600 and a shell coin with insert sold for $1,600 the high estimate for this was just $400).
Last, but certainly not least, that will be mentioned here, is a Jay Marshall-made Lefty--this one with sewn-on eyes, so not one he did on the fly--sold for $16,000.
We are looking forward to Part II, which will be later this year.
That was quickly eclipsed by Chung Ling Soo's (William Robinson) personal address book for $26,000. Soo items brought in some high hammer prices, including a signed photo ($7,000), a photo accompanied by an autograph ($16,000), a beer mat (yes, a Soo coaster!) for $5,000, a framed set of photos of Soo, his wife (Dot as Suee Seen), and a "lucky coin" rang up a whopping $22,000. A rare (possibly unique) Soo three-sheet poster hammered down at $34,000. A letter after Soo's death from his mistress (and mother of his children) Lou Robinson fetched $5,500; a comparative bargain.
It was Adelaide Herrmann, though, who won the day with her one-sheet "Flight of the Favorite" that sold for $48,000. An Ionia half-sheet came in at "just" $22,000 (Gabe Fajuri commented that it should be worth at least the same as the Herrmann poster--oh well). A nice Talma half-sheet more than doubled its high estimate bringing in $8,500. (We would have liked that one.)
A lovely painting by Peter Warlock presented to Dawes titled Shelves of Conjuring Books sold for a mere $4,800 (we thought it should have been more, given that it is unique and has a double association).
Book buyers had a field day of bargains; too many to list here (see the catalog linked above). We were stunned that Eddie's set of all eight Tarbell books only brought in $1,100 given the fact that the first six were inscribed to Eddie by Tarbell. His copy of Sachs went for just $275. His set of Albo books did sell for $4,000 (the high estimate), while the Albo/Schwartz Thayer book fetched just $425. Bosco's scarce List of Conundrums Sent in for Competition (1857) is someone's happy get at a measly $1,800 (high estimate was $3,000). The biggest bargain had to be the Paul LePaul book for just $150! All that said, a copy of Hocus Pocus Junior. The Anatomy of Legerdemain. Or, The Art of Juggling set forth in proper Colours raked in a whopping $30,000 (though it is one of two known copies).
Apparatus was another area where bargain hunters fared well. Again, too many to list. There were a couple of Cardini-made items that did well for the Dawes estate. A wrist-watch reel fetched $2,600 and a shell coin with insert sold for $1,600 the high estimate for this was just $400).
Last, but certainly not least, that will be mentioned here, is a Jay Marshall-made Lefty--this one with sewn-on eyes, so not one he did on the fly--sold for $16,000.
We are looking forward to Part II, which will be later this year.
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Dustin Stinett
- Posts: 7264
- Joined: July 22nd, 2001, 12:00 pm
- Favorite Magician: Sometimes
- Location: Southern California
- Contact:
Re: P&P Auction: The Collection of Edwin A Dawes, Part I
With the final numbers in, and being a colossal dork, we have done some "analysis" of the Dawes auction.
There were 448 lots. Three were passed, one appears to have been withdrawn (three Mercedes Talma postcards), making 444 being sold.
The total hammer price was $723,030. Add in the 20% premium, and the total for the auction was $867,636.
The sale was a success having come in over the total high estimate of $549,375. The total low estimate was $316,825.
The were four categories: Books, Ephemera, Apparatus, and Posters/Broadsides, etc.
There were 183 lots of Books, which sold for $171,080. That is 41% of the total (sold) lots accounting for 24% of the total hammer-price sales.
104 lots of Ephemera sold for $182,725. That is 23% of the lots bringing in 25% of the sales.
There were 65 lots of apparatus that sold for $88,050. Just 15% of the lots bringing in 12% of the sales.
And finally 92 posters (etc.) that sold for $281,175 (which is 21% of the lots bringing in 39% of the total sales).
Our hearty congratulations to the folks at Potter & Potter, the Dawes Family, as well as all the happy buyers (and not to mention our fellow dorks who read all of this).
There were 448 lots. Three were passed, one appears to have been withdrawn (three Mercedes Talma postcards), making 444 being sold.
The total hammer price was $723,030. Add in the 20% premium, and the total for the auction was $867,636.
The sale was a success having come in over the total high estimate of $549,375. The total low estimate was $316,825.
The were four categories: Books, Ephemera, Apparatus, and Posters/Broadsides, etc.
There were 183 lots of Books, which sold for $171,080. That is 41% of the total (sold) lots accounting for 24% of the total hammer-price sales.
104 lots of Ephemera sold for $182,725. That is 23% of the lots bringing in 25% of the sales.
There were 65 lots of apparatus that sold for $88,050. Just 15% of the lots bringing in 12% of the sales.
And finally 92 posters (etc.) that sold for $281,175 (which is 21% of the lots bringing in 39% of the total sales).
Our hearty congratulations to the folks at Potter & Potter, the Dawes Family, as well as all the happy buyers (and not to mention our fellow dorks who read all of this).