RESULTS FOR VINTAGE BOOKS, ORIGINAL ART REACH RECORD LEVELS
Heritage Auctions’ final sales number for comics and comic art soared to a record $58.54 million in 2018, with sell-through rates exceeding 99 percent by value and by number of lots. The total was the highest ever in the 17-year history of the department.
Numerous records fell in 2018, further strengthening Heritage’s grip on the title of the top comics and comic art auctioneer in the world, says Heritage Auctions Co-Founder Jim Halperin.
“Our results in 2018 exceeded our loftiest expectations,” Halperin says. “Part of the gratification when reflecting on 2018 is the variety of our success: We were able to realize exceptional prices on individual comic books and original art, but were fortunate that the results were not top-heavy. We also established new records for the most valuable comics auction and most valuable animation art auction ever held, and set a new record with our weekly auctions three times during the year.”
Dawes Set for Lalique Presentation
René Lalique was the most celebrated master jeweler in the world when he met perfumer Francois Coty in 1905. Coty soon commissioned Lalique to design paper labels and packaging for his new line of fragrances.
This team-up is the focus of a May 15 talk by Nicholas Dawes at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C. Dawes, vice president of special collections at Heritage Auctions, is a leading expert on the work of Lalique.
For information, visit HillwoodMuseum.org or call 202.686.5807.
Electronic Version of ‘Overstreet’ Now Available
Enlarge
An electronic version of the resource widely recognized as the premier authority on comics collecting is now available exclusively through Heritage Auctions.
A searchable version of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, available for $29.95, gives users immediate, searchable results without requiring collectors to carry the printed version.
“Having access to The Overstreet Price Guide through a smartphone or tablet completely redefines the buying experience,” says Heritage Auctions Co-Founder Jim Halperin. “Now, whenever you find that special comic book at a convention, comic shop or even at a flea market or garage sale, you’ll have immediate access to the world’s most trusted pricing guide right there in your pocket.”
Visit HA.com/Overstreet for details.
World Record for Video Game
Enlarge
Heritage’s videogame auctions got off with a bang as an unopened copy of Super Mario Bros., released by Nintendo in 1985, sold for $100,150 – a world-record price for a graded game. “Beyond the artistic and historical significance of this game is its supreme state of preservation,” says Kenneth Thrower, co-founder and chief grader of Wata Games, which certified the copy.
This report appears in the Spring/Summer 2019 edition of The Intelligent Collector magazine. Click here to subscribe to the print edition.