Holts Auctioneers’ autumn auction achieves almost £1.2 million in sales

Holts Auctioneers’ September auction once again showed encouraging consistency in the market, with a percentage of 77% of the 720 Lots offered sold on the day and with a hammer price totalling just shy of £1.2m. The viewing days were busy and the auction day itself brought with it a buzz of excitement and good humour that undoubtedly enhanced the bidding activity in the room, in turn pushing those participating remotely by telephone or the internet just that little further. True to form, participation via Invaluable’s live online bidding platform increased, both in the number of active bidders and also by value of Lots purchased. In line with the two previous auctions of the year, the UK supplied the majority of the successful buyers, at just under 60% and accounting for nearly half of the total value sold. Continental Europe and the rest of the world evenly split the remaining 40% of Lots sold, the United States once again accounting for the second highest individual total in number of Lots purchased but this time Switzerland taking the honours for second highest total outlay, approximately 20% of the total hammer price. Competition for the ‘top slot’ of the auction was a keen contest between the best of British and Italian’s finest, the highest price realised by Lot 1311 – a pair of Torcoli-engraved Fabbri over and under guns fetching £52,000 against an estimate of £35,000-45,000, with the highest price for a single gun falling to Lot 1645 – a Preater-engraved Holland & Holland over and under fetching £45,000. The third highest price realised is worthy of a mention, two magnificent Joseph Lang 8-bore rotary underlever hammer ejectors, built in 1911 and remaining in remarkably original condition. Estimated at a £40,000 – 50,000 the hammer eventually fell at the halfway mark, a very creditable £45,000.

The market for antique weapons proved as strong as ever, the highlight of the morning sale being a very fine pair of Purdey 32-bore percussion rifled officer’s pistols, Lot 550, splitting their estimate of £8,000 – 12,000 with a solid £10,000 hammer price. Interest in accessories and associated items too showed considerable strength, highlights including a fine Williams & Powell oak percussion guncase with interesting provenance outstripping its estimate of £600-800 by some margin, realising a hammer price of £2,300 and a small section of four exceptional Swedish custom knives all exceeding top estimates to reach a cumulative hammer price of £13,500. A full list of the realised prices is now available to download here: http://www.holtsauctioneers.com/admin/A0917_prices.pdf For those who missed the auction, the opportunity to purchase Lots remaining unsold can do so via the website, where the Sealed Bid sale is also available to view and bid on until its closing at 10:30am on Thursday 5th October 2017. The next auction will be held on Thursday 14th December 2017. A list of Holts forthcoming free valuations/ consignment days in advance of this auction can be found here: http://www.holtsauctioneers.com/selling.html#paragraph2