Trotter wrote:

The auction was chaos, they were not used to this.

Sold for £1500 plus 24% premium

Yup, I decided to take a shot but 1500£ was way too much.

Considered bidding the last few days but in the end I simply (and slightly surprisingly) wanted that Danish 1977 treasure more.

The total fees were 29%, not 24%; there were VAT & other things thrown in there (because bidding was principally online through saleroom) above & beyond the sellers commission. That unsigned copy (with no condition report) just cost someone £1950. The price in one thing, but you have no comeback at all if that book has internal wear & tear you'd normally be unhappy with.

Exactly Khamul... when unsigned ones go for that kind of money .....

Khamûl wrote:

The total fees were 29%, not 24%

I think it was 24% because watching the auction live via the saleroom, the final bids were from the room and did not appear to be through the saleroom site.

They also appeared to not take all the bids, as they realized that some of the phone bidders were in the US and Canada and they did not want to make international calls to ring them.

I think this would have gone for more if it had been through a more established auction house used to handling rare books.

Price was bang on where I expected it to be (including premium).

I am fairly new to this forum, and find a price like this for a limited reprint a bit surprising! This one seems to hold a special place for collectors. This is evidence of how scarcity and desirability can drive up a price!

Entshelm wrote:

I am fairly new to this forum, and find a price like this for a limited reprint a bit surprising! This one seems to hold a special place for collectors. This is evidence of how scarcity and desirability can drive up a price!

It wasn't technically a reprint, FWIW - it used page blocks from the first print. But yeah, scarcity and desirability are entirely the determinants of price.

Stu wrote:

Entshelm wrote:

I am fairly new to this forum, and find a price like this for a limited reprint a bit surprising! This one seems to hold a special place for collectors. This is evidence of how scarcity and desirability can drive up a price!

It wasn't technically a reprint, FWIW - it used page blocks from the first print. But yeah, scarcity and desirability are entirely the determinants of price.

Indeed and from memory it was the first sheets off the press that were reserved for later publication.

We have GA&U's statement only on this. However the text is Clowes first state.