Sotheby's website

Sotheby's Auctions
by Susan Heimlich

Like art, books, collectibles? Sotheby's, the world-famous auction house located in Manhattan, may have something just for you. Have something you want appraised? Sotheby's many specialists offer free appraisals as "auction estimates," though there is a fee if it is to be written for insurance purposes. Think it's expensive to view the pieces that Sotheby's offers for auction? While evening auctions of pricey merchandise do have entrance charges, the afternoon showings by and large do not.

Mensans and guests who gathered on May 14, 1998 at the SSM&A Club were treated to a discourse by Jennifer Roth on the workings of Sotheby's, complete with a description of the steps followed to buy and to sell merchandise through their services. Yes, there are catalogs; yes, people register for paddles; yes, there are taxes to pay after a sale in addition to Sotheby's commission fees; and yes, some people bid by phone, fax or mail through honor-bound employees of the auction house. Ms. Roth also described the process by which authenticity is determined, with recent examples, and she offered technical tips concerning how to spot restorations. (E.g., relining is used to prevent the crumbling of a canvas, gluing one canvas onto another, but the value is higher if an old piece has survived without needing relining.) For those of us without a potential Old Master lying around the house, remember that Sotheby's also deals in antique toys, Superman comics, coins, stamps, rugs, furniture, and more.

Ms. Roth's talk was well received, and at least one Mensan headed to Sotheby's before the end of May.