Selling
Exceptional objects deserve informed stewardship.
Most people who contact us about selling have one of two things: an object they know is good, or a collection they have inherited and cannot assess. Both are worth a conversation, and the first conversation costs nothing.
What we consider
- Individual objects
- A single object of genuine quality, whether or not it sits in a field we usually handle.
- Specialist collections
- Collections assembled in one field, where the coherence of the group is part of the value.
- Inherited collections
- Material coming out of an estate, often undocumented and often more significant than the family expects.
- Consignment
- We catalogue, photograph, research and offer the object; you retain ownership until it sells.
- Private sale
- Where discretion matters more than reach, we approach a small number of known collectors directly.
The process
Send photographs and whatever you know. We will tell you what we think the object is, whether we are the right people to handle it, and what we would expect it to achieve. If the answer is that it should go to a specialist auction department rather than to us, we will say so and tell you which one.
Where we proceed, we set out the basis in writing before anything moves: outright purchase at an agreed figure, or consignment at an agreed commission, with the catalogue entry and reserve agreed with you.
We will ask about the object's history and about your title to it. This is not a formality. We decline material where the ownership position cannot be established.
Submit an object
There is no obligation and no charge for an initial view. Everything you send is treated as confidential.