Anderson & Garland Auctioneers » Specialist Departments

Case Studies & Success Stories

Research and marketing is vitally important in order to achieve the very best price for your property. These are both things that Anderson & Garland Ltd have a long and successful track record with. Here are a few examples that show how important - and rewarding – research and marketing can be.

The Jacobson Collection

In March 2008 we were instructed to sell the renowned Lionel Jacobson Collection, which included works by Laurence Stephen Lowry, David Bomberg, Simeon Solomon and Henry Moore. Six of these works alone realised in excess of £600,000. The eventual sale total was the highest for a single vendor in the firms recent history.

Monster Price for Tatty Book

Frankenstein

It might not look very promising to many. No back cover, the front cover loose, a bit brown and spotted. The sort of book that you might pass by in fact. So neglected was this book that the family of the deceased owner had no idea that they even owned it. Consigned to us as part of an estate with other books it was spotted by our team and recognised as a rare first edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Further research showed that not only was it a rare first printing, but also a review copy that was owned by the Rev Robert Morehead (1774 – 1842), Dean of Edinburgh and Editor of the Edinburgh Magazine.

Sold in March 2009 for £31,000

Don’t Bother Coming Mr Thomson, We’ve Only got a Cracked Vase…

Guido Andlovitz

Even if the client has little expectation for an item, that does not stop our team. A large yellow vase, with an equally large crack was spotted as a rare piece of Italian Art Deco pottery. Careful research, including contact with Italian museums and experts confirmed that it was by artist Guido Andlovitz. Advertised internationally it sold to an Italian collector for £2000.

The Studio of Kenneth Rowntree

Rowntree Collection

Following the successful sale of items from the estate of the late Diana Rowntree, the family instructed us to sell the contents of important British artist Kenneth Rowntree (Diana’s late husband), rather than offer it to a London Saleroom.

Untouched since his death in 1997, meticulous cataloguing was required in order to identify sketches and studies for works as well as numerous studio props used in paintings. Research was also conducted on many unsigned works given to Rowntree by other artists.

In order to promote the sale to the right clients our marketing strategy involved offering a worldwide exclusive to internationally renowned magazine "The World of Interiors" who featured a six page spread covering the auction. This generated massive interest worldwide and great interest in other sectors of the media.

Given the status of the collection we produced a standalone catalogue, full of footnotes and images from Rowntree’s family archive, often showing the lots in their original context of when on exhibition. The catalogue, with its introduction by Rowntree’s biographer, professor John Milner, is now a collector’s item in itself.

The sale was a practical sell out and set two new world records for the artists work. Items were sold to collectors, leading dealers and museums worldwide.

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