Antique Scientific Instrument News & Views

Auction Team Breker - Spring Auction of Science and Technology

2009-05-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

Cologne, Germany, 16 May 2009.

Auction Team Breker in Cologne/Germany is pleased to announce the annual spring auctions of Science and Technology and Photographica and Film. Featuring approx. 900 lots, the auction is presented in two catalogues, lots 1 - 471 for office antiques, scientific instruments, mechanical music and toys, lots 500 - 916 for vintage photographica, classic cameras and optical toys.

The auction takes place on Saturday 16th May 2009 at 3pm. Viewing is available Friday 15th May from 4 – 7pm, and the day of the sale from 8 – 10am. There will be a special reception with buffet on the Friday evening. Live internet bidding, telephone bidding and absentee bids are provided for those unable to attend in person

Antique scientific instruments and early technology continues to achieve strong prices, defying the global credit crunch. As the only auctioneer worldwide to specialise exclusively in this field, we are always delighted to hear from collectors and enthusiasts, whether you are considering adding to your collection, or simply seeking advice on the sale of one piece or many. For further information, please telephone 01149 (0) 2236 38 43 40, fax 01149 (0) 2236 38 43 430, e-mail: Auction@Breker.com, or visit the website www.breker.com. We hope to see you at the sale. Here's a summary of just some of the highlights...

Session 1: Science & Technology, Office Antiques and Mechanical Music & Toys.

The fourth instalment of the legendary Remington Typewriter Museum and L.C. Smith & Corona Collection presents six landmark North American typewriters, highlighted by the first and only known example of “The Horton" , forerunner of the Bar-Lock, lot 210, estimate €18,000-25,000. Popular writing machines from both sides of the Atlantic, such as the Odell, Lambert, the Mignon's, and the Hammond No. 1 are also well represented in the sale. Other rare copying devices include a James Watt-type portable duplicator, lot 84, estimate €500 -800, and the iconic Edison Electric Pen, lot 136, estimate €8,000 - 10,000. Also of interest to collectors of Edisonia are lot 135, a remarkable Edison Mimeograph Typewriter No. 1, estimate €3,000-4,000, and lot 271, an early Edison Bi-Polar Electric Fan, estimate €3,000-4000.

A large selection of traditional scientific instruments includes a fine lacquered brass Charles Chevalier Horizontal Microscope, lot 343, estimate € 2,000 - 3,000, microscopy slides, demonstration apparatus, medical instruments, literature, calculators, an 18th Century vellum spyglass, lot 778, estimate €400-700, and an exhibition-standard brass replica of Daniel Heckinger's Armillary Sphere, lot 315, estimate €2,200 – 2,800.

Session 2: Photographica & Film.

The second session charts the development of photography from the daguerreotype to the disguised spy cameras of the mid 20th century, and beyond. Of particular note is a superb French Daguerrian Photographer's Outfit, lot 871, estimate €25,000 - 30,000, comprising a walnut sliding box camera with brass Jarmin lens, two wooden plate holders, a mercury fuming box, and a portrait of three gentlemen thought to have been exposed by the self-same camera. Other early apparatus includes a rare four-lens Jules Reygondaud French Carte-de-visite Camera, lot 872, estimate €7,000 - 9,000, designed to capture four identical 4 x 5.5 cm images, and lot 693, an early numbered example of the ingenious Water-filled Panoramic Lens, estimate €8,000 - 12,000, patented by Sutton, and perfected by London optician Thomas Ross. The 1859 design was the first significantly wide-angle lens to be offered for sale; its distinctive globe shape was created by taking two lenses of extreme curvature enclosing a hollow space filled with crystal clear water to form a perfect sphere.

Two important photographic archives will also be offered.. Lot 883, estimate €5,000-10,000, contains 106 exhibition photographs taken by a young Stanley Kubrick during this formative years as a photo-journalist for American Look Magazine. Though only seventeen in 1945, Kubrick's early images of an edgy New York and Chicago already possess the precision and confidence that was to characterise his films.

The second archive, lot 300, estimate €2,000-3,000, charts the career of American hero Charles Lindbergh, from 1925 – 1970, incorporating original press clippings, historical photographs, and correspondence about the aviator and The Spirit of St. Louis.

Collectable classics include lots of Leica cameras, lenses and accessories, rangefinder Canon, Nikon, Zeiss, Hasselblad, Linhof and Rolleiflex. For collectors with smaller pockets are a group of subminiature or "spy” cameras, suitably sized and disguised as everyday items. Rounding off the sale are over thirty lots of magic lanterns, optical toys, vintage movie cameras and viewers , including lot 913, an American Mutoscope whose original reel is intriguingly titled "The Painter and His Model,” estimate €2,000 - 3,000. To discover what the painter, or indeed the butler saw, please visit the website www.breker.com and click the Live Auctions button for the fully-illustrated online catalogue at ArtFact.

Gemmary Web Site Update - Spring 2009 Catalog & Book Lis

2009-03-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

The Gemmary has just updated our web site with over 100 new instruments from a very large collection recently consigned for us to sell for a long time collector customer. We have not yet completed the descriptions for all of the new instruments and will continue to work on the description over the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us or call and ask. We hope you will take some time and browse the catalog to see all of the new instruments.

Rick & Faye Blankenhorn
The Gemmary, Inc.

Can Your Antique Mercury Barometer Damage Your Health?

2008-06-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Charles Probst at Charles Edwin Antiques in Virginia for this very well researched article on the perceived dangers of having a mercury barometer in your home.

In recent years public health legislation has been enacted in several states that prohibits the sale of any "manufactured item" which contains mercury. The legislation in most instances specifically names barometers as being among the prohibited items. In some cases, such as Connecticut, Maine and Indiana, antique barometers are exempted or "grandfathered" as allowable under the ban in one manner or another, and we see this as a rational trend. In most others, though, the sale of any barometer with mercury in it is specifically forbidden. For the most recent state-by-state summary - June 2008 - we could locate, follow these links:

For a summary of legislation enacted through 2006: http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/imerc/legislation-2006.pdf

For a summary of legislation enacted in 2007-2008 legislative sessions: http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/modelleg/status-2007.pdf

The purpose of this article:

Many collectors now own one or more antique mercury barometers, or may have planned to one day, and I'd like to present another view of the public health issue so that they can make informed decisions. If you disagree with my conclusions, you have my email address.

In my own defense, I have no intention of dealing in something that harms people and I'll comply with the public health laws wherever I encounter them. So, amateur scientist that I may be, I've scoured the learned material on the Internet for the facts that contribute to my side of the controversy, just like everyone else does.

Who uses mercury, and how much of it?

Mercury is used all over the world for many manufacturing processes and in many manufactured items that the average person comes into contact with every day. (So why aren't we dropping over dead by the thousands from mercury poisoning, one might well ask?) According to the US Government's Environmental Protection Agency website, (latest figures are for 2001) the biggest users in order by quantity of the mercury consumed in the US are wiring devices and switches (largely the auto industry and climate control equipment such as your household thermostat) 42%, measuring and control devices 28%, dental amalgams 14%, electric lighting 9%, and the rest for "other". Mercury use in the US has dropped from 2,225 metric tons in 1980 to 245 metric tons in 2001 and is still dropping. Mercury is an element of which there is a finite amount and it is recovered and recycled aggressively, at least in this country. The quantity that is escaping into the environment, then, should also be dropping as time goes on.

I refurbish the antique barometers we sell and recharge their mercury systems with freshly processed instrument grade elemental mercury. The mercury I buy is shipped to me, specially packed and properly labeled as hazardous, by regular UPS service. Old, contaminated mercury that may have been in the barometers is collected and recycled through a mercury processing company. No mercury is lost or discarded from my shop. There is no federal government restriction on buying mercury. I purchase fresh, triple distilled, instrument grade mercury in 16-pound flasks, and one flask can often last me two years. I'm probably one of the more active of about twenty restorers of barometers in this country, so that should give some context for the comparative consumption level of the antique barometer industry. It's miniscule.

How do people come in contact with mercury?

Harm from mercury is highly dependent on how you come into contact with this element, what form it is in, and the length and concentration of the exposure. Quoting the US Geological Survey's web site on the subject of mercury contamination:

Humans generally uptake mercury in two ways: (1) as methylmercury (CH3Hg+) from fish consumption, or (2) by breathing vaporous mercury (Hg0) emitted from various sources such as metallic mercury, dental amalgams, and ambient air. Our bodies are much more adapted for reducing the potential toxicity effects from vaporous mercury, so health effects from this source are relatively rare.

The exposure to mercury from an antique barometer is the vaporous variety, not the biologically altered methyl mercury that exists in the food chain. Exposure through the food we eat comes mainly from the mercury that leeches out of toxic waste sites and landfills, then travels to the oceans and goes up the aquatic food chain. The biggest single source is seafood, and recent Department of Health warnings to pregnant mothers, among others, reflect this.

I could find no data that quantified the two main types of exposure, though the "relatively rare" quote for health effects from mercury vapor applies. Advances in modern times in the reduction of vaporous mercury from manufacturing, at one time the largest offender, have all but eliminated vaporous mercury as a threat.

How does mercury harm a person?

The media has demonized mercury to the point that it has become feared in the way that poisonous arsenic compounds or corrosive acids are feared. Well, not all the bad press is quite accurate (surprise!). You can hold liquid mercury from a barometer in your hand and it will neither burn your flesh nor ruin your lungs with its vapor, causing you to drop over dead.

The hazards to one's health come in various forms, and of course are more pronounced in children with their smaller body mass. Quoting again from the USGS web site, Fact Sheet 146-000 titled Mercury in the Environment:

The toxic effects of mercury depend on its chemical form and the route of exposure. Methylmercury [CH3Hg] is the most toxic form. It affects the immune system, alters genetic and enzyme systems, and damages the nervous system, including coordination and the senses of touch, taste, and sight. Methylmercury is particularly damaging to developing embryos, which are five to ten times more sensitive than adults. Exposure to methylmercury is usually by ingestion, and it is absorbed more readily and excreted more slowly than other forms of mercury.

Elemental mercury, Hg(0), the form released from broken thermometers, causes tremors, gingivitis, and excitability when vapors are inhaled over a long period of time.

"A long period of time" is months and years of high concentrations of the vapor (not the liquid), not minutes or hours in an open atmosphere. Regarding liquid mercury, the same Fact Sheet goes on to say:

If elemental mercury is ingested, it is absorbed relatively slowly and may pass through the digestive system without causing damage.

The California Poison Control System, on its web site, addresses exposure to liquid, elemental mercury (the type in barometers) with this statement:

Of all the forms of mercury, elemental mercury is the most commonly swallowed form of mercury, usually from a broken thermometer. Fortunately, elemental mercury from a thermometer is not absorbed from the stomach and will not cause any poisoning in a healthy person. In a healthy person, the slippery swallowed mercury will roll into the stomach, out in to the bowels and will be quickly eliminated without causing any symptoms. Handling liquid mercury for a very short period of time usually does not result in any problems. An allergic rash is possible, though. Mercury is not well absorbed across the skin so skin contact is not likely to cause mercury poisoning, especially with a brief one-time exposure. Even if a person has cuts in their skin, mercury is too heavy to be contained by a cut. Merely washing the wound well will wash the mercury out of the wound.

Now, I don't mean to let liquid mercury off the hook just because there is a more harmful form out there, but I do want to put the relative threats into context. The level of danger from handling liquid mercury, or being exposed to its vapor, is actually quite low, and EPA and OSHA controls over manufacturing and disposal have dramatically reduced the risk from "prolonged exposure" to mercury vapor in our time to the point that it is, and I quote again, "relatively rare." Antique barometers contain liquid, elemental mercury and are in the vapor emitting class of sources. Read on, if I haven't lost you by now.

How much mercury vapor does an antique barometer emit?

First of all, some of them emit none at all. Some types of stick barometers have sealed mercury systems and therefore there's no evaporation of their contents. All banjo (or "dial", or "wheel") barometers and some stick barometers have mercury systems that are open to the atmosphere, with a very few square millimeters of exposed surface, so they are sources of small amounts of vapor.

Left to right: Stick barometer with a closed mercury system (boxwood cistern with closing screw);
stick barometer with an open mercury system (bulb cistern) ;
banjo/wheel/dial barometer with an open mercury system (j-tube).

How much is a small amount?

Quoting yet again, this time from the OSHA web site:
(http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/mercuryvapor/recognition.html)

The current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) for mercury vapor is 0.1 milligram per cubic meter (mg/m(3)) of air as a ceiling limit. A worker's exposure to mercury vapor shall at no time exceed this ceiling level.

OSHA specifies no time limit for this exposure (TWA as it is often referred to, Time Weighted Average). However, in this same body of information, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), using a 1992 standard that has since been lowered (can't find out what it has been lowered to), has established a recommended exposure limit (REL) for mercury vapor of 0.05 mg/m(3) as a TWA for up to a 10-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek.

So, using the NIOSH standard, which is the most stringent, you as an adult human can be steadily but safely exposed to a 0.05 milligram of mercury vapor per cubic meter of atmosphere for up to 40 hours per week. A fifteen by fifteen foot room with an eight-foot ceiling (1800 cubic feet, about 51 cubic meters) would be allowed a total input of 2.55 milligrams of mercury vapor over 40 hours. For our computation, we'll ignore the obvious assumption that you aren't going to spend 40 hours per week in the same room with your barometer, but we'll extend the Time part of the equation to the seven days you'll be in your home, 70 hours altogether, or 4.46 milligrams of mercury vapor.

No home is airtight, or we would all die of oxygen deprivation while indoors. The average home, and our hypothetical room is going to flush and renew its air supply through leaks, open doors and windows, HVAC systems, etc. several times per day. Let's call it three times per day, probably a pretty low frequency.

At the maximum allowable exposure of 4.46 mg of vapor for seven days, flushed by fresh air 21 times, the source of the mercury vapor, an antique barometer in this case, would have to emit a total of 93.66 mg of mercury vapor per week to hit the NIOSH minimum allowable exposure.

I know that I can fill three banjo or open-cistern stick barometers' mercury systems with one pound of mercury, so each instrument contains about 5.5 ounces (156 grams). I have a banjo barometer on the wall at home that I last serviced about fifteen years ago, and in those 15 years there have been 780 weeks of exposure (52 of those 7-day weeks times 15 years = 780 weeks). That makes 73.06 grams of mercury (93.66 milligrams X 780 weeks = 73,055 milligrams = 73.06 grams, or 46.8% of the total volume) that would have had to evaporate from my barometer to reach OSHA's minimum allowable safety levels. In the 15 years I've had it on the wall, it would have had to lose nearly half of its mercury to be a threat to me.

That barometer has lost no mercury, or at least not enough to measure visually, and 50% or even 10% or 5% would be immediately very obvious. I'm willing to bet that the same is true for any other antique barometer that has hung in one place for so long.

What's the conclusion?

A mercury barometer in the home is no threat to your health. A collection of 25 barometers, all in the same room and all with open systems, might approach the lower limits of NIOSH or OSHA exposure limitations, but as I said, who sits in the same airtight room all day every day for seven days per week? OK, someone probably does.

The mercury vapor emitted by a household barometer is too low by itself to be of any threat to either you or your infant children. But, if you lived on a toxic waste site and ate swordfish three meals per day, the accumulated effect of that could be a problem. That's what most of the health and safety legislation is aimed at, the accumulated effect of so many products and processes that have released mercury into our environment in the past.

So how much mercury escapes from broken antique barometers into the environment? I have no way of estimating it but I don't see it as a very significant threat. I doubt that many people are heaving $5,000 barometers into the ocean. Feel free to disagree.

If you do have an accidental spill of mercury, however, go to this web address for authoritative, non-scare tactics on dealing with it. Be assured you don't have to destroy your house or call in the men in white suits. EPA will tell you that, the white suits won't.

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/disposal.htm

Finally, the end

I think I've put forward a decent argument that one has nothing to fear from owning an antique barometer that's in full working order, but I'm not naïve enough to believe that it's going to change any of the legislation. Collectors and sellers of fine antique barometers are both going to pay a big price for the abuses of the industrialized world, but probably no more than our share. Tough, but that's just the way it is. It is also quite possible that collectors will still buy barometers that don't have mercury in them, or we'll find a substitute material. Hope so. I've got some good ones, and Virginia hasn't banned them. Yet.

Charles Probst, 17 June 2008

Skinner's October 2007 Auction Results

2008-06-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

Skinner's most recent auction of Science & Technology and Toys & Dolls, held in October 2007, brought a total of over $2.5 million. It was Skinner's most successful Science & Technology auction to date, with mechanical music, automata and globes performing particularly well. Notable highlights from 2007 included a rare Holbrook planetarium for $37,500, an enameled gold singing bird box by Jaquet-Droz for $160,000, and new world auction record for automata, $450,000 for a pair of life-sized Jean Roullet blackamoor musicians. Fine French dolls and rare German characters also performed strongly, including a 21-inch Series I portrait Jumeau at $18,000, and a Kaulitz Munich Art Doll at $10,500.

Skinner's August 2008 auction of Science & Technology and Toys & Dolls promises to be just as strong. Early consignments for the sale include a rare Edison Class "M" electric phonograph ($12,000-18,000), a fine Vichy monkey harpist automaton ($15,000-$20,000), and a Lecoultre piano-forte overture musical box in carved Black Forest case ($10,000-15,000). Clocks and Timepieces are also in abundance, led by an important group of French clocks including a six month duration floor standing regulator by J.J. Lepaute with equation of time indication, perpetual calendar and grid-iron, temperature compensated pendulum, ($1000,000-150,000), a table regulator with coup perdu escapement, grid-iron pendulum and dial signed L.G. Brocot (estimate $8,000-12,000), and a mahogany cased "Audience" table clock by Janvier with silvered dial and thermometer (estimate $20,000-25,000). A selection of floor standing precision regulators by E. Howard, Boston,round lout the sale. Toy & Doll offering swill be highlighted by fine French dolls, costumes and accessories from the collection of doll maker and collector Rosemary Post.

Gemmary Web Site Update - Fall 2007 Catalog & Book List

2007-10-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

We have just updated The Gemmary's web site with our Fall 2007 Antique Scientific Instrument Catalog and Science Book List. We invite everyone to browse these catalogs - we have added a number of very exceptional instruments.

Rick & Faye Blankenhorn
The Gemmary, Inc.

Gemmary Status Update - We are home

2007-10-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

Faye & I returned to our home on Friday at 11am. Our next door neighbor kept watch over it and let us know that it was ok; however, we did not know how close the fire actually came to us. The fire came up to our street 2 houses above us and crossed the road to start burning leaves under the avocado trees. The fire fighters planned to make their stand on Canonita, so there were fire trucks on our road all during the fire. They put out the small burn on our side of the street and stopped the fire from any further crossing - all of this about 150 yards up Canonita from us. Two houses on the next street north were totally destroyed down the hill from the burn that reached Canonita - very scary. Our house had power all week, so we did not even lose the food in our refrigerators and freezer. We are so thankful.

We are going to return to Vince & Cathy's today to pick up the Suburban that we filled with our most valuable instruments and books, and to bring our birds home - Oski (blue & gold macaw) and Chewie (black headed caique) are fine, but they both want to come home and the air quality here is good and getting better. Surprisingly, very little ash around, but a few scary large pieces of black embers that could have started burns on our property if they were still burning when they landed. Again, Faye & I want to thank all of our friends around the world who have emailed their concern for our safety. All in all, it was an experience that we do not want to have again.

Fallbrook Fire and Gemmary Status

2007-10-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

We had to evacuate our house in Fallbrook at noon on Monday due to the Rice Fire coming down Reche Road from I15 towards us. Faye & I and the two birds are staying with Vince & Cathy at their house in Murietta, 20 miles north of Fallbrook. We finally got confirmation this morning that all of the houses on our street survived - our next door neighbor sneaked back into Fallbrook last night and we talked to him at his home. Two houses at the top of our street were damaged and their groves were partially burned; at least one house opposite us on the street just north of us was destroyed, so it was a very close call. The Rice Fire has burned over 7500 acres in Fallbrook and destroyed over 200 homes at this time; the fire is still burning north of town, but is currently not a threat to us (however, it is reported to be only 15% contained, with full containment not expected until Sunday). The hot dry Santa Ana high wind conditions should subside today and be replaced with higher humidity cooler air flow from the ocean. If all goes well, we should be able to return to our house Thursday, or Friday at the latest, and try to get The Gemmary back in business.

Faye & I want to thank all of our friends around the world who have emailed their concern for our safety. It looks like we dodged the bullet this time and we look forward to returning to our house. I will post again when we get home.

Preservation, Conservation, Repair, or Restoration

2007-10-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

There are several different levels of "care" for antique scientific instruments that should be considered by all collectors, ranging from preservation (least invasive) to restoration (most invasive) which can be simply defined as follows:

Preservation: Actions designed only to arrrest or slow physical deterioration and finish degredation - damage is left as is, but prevented from going further. Preservation activities are not intended to try to return a piece to its original condition.

Conservation: Actions designed to preserve as much of the original materials and original finish as possible, while trying to bringing the piece back to as close to its original condition as possible.

Repair: Activities involving structural repairs or reinforcements to original parts and replacement of missing or damaged parts - including the addition of new materials.

Restoration: Actions designed to bring the piece back to as close to its original condition as possible, including structural repairs or replacements and finish repairs or refinishing.

In our opinion at The Gemmary, preservation is considered manditory, conservation is considered highly desireable, repairs are undertaken only if they are required to prevent further damage to a piece or to make a piece suitable for display (minimal repairs), and all out restoration is considered only as a last resort to preserve a rare piece in very poor condition.

In future postings, I plan to discuss some of the products and options available for the materials most common in antique scientific instruments, including wood, paper, leather, and metals.

Mercury Regulations and Antique Barometer Collecting in the US

2007-08-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Recent and proposed legislation in various states regulating the use of mercury will seriously affect the collecting of antique barometers in the US. State legislation, part of larger bills intended to reduce environmental contamination from mercury, by making it illegal to sell objects containing mercury. Unlike in Europe, where the draft legislation exempts antique barometers as a special case, antique barometers are not exempt in most of the pending state legislation at this time.

States with active or pending mercury management legislation likely to impact the barometer trade include California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. New Hampshire now has a mercury reduction law, but some of its language appears to afford sellers some leeway; Minnesota requires objects that contain mercury to be clearly labeled before sale; while a law currently being considered in Ohio that would prohibit selling mercury added products, including those for household adornment, unless the manufacturer, importer or exporter provides written notification to the state and receives an exemption. Maine recently passed a bill amending their legislation reinstating the legal trade and restoration of antique barometers, defined as instruments over 100 years old, and Indiana provides a specific exemption within its law for barometers made prior to 1980.

Some states have had mercury management laws for up to three years but their bans were not well publicised. Recent press coverage of the issue has prompted antique fair organisers in New York to ban mercury barometers and/or thermometers and medical equipment, while Sotheby's and Christie's have publicly declared their policy not to sell mercury barometers in the United States. Skinner's, the Boston auction house known for its Science and Technology auctions, will follow suit now that a Massachusetts ban has taken effect.

Most affected by the bans, however, will be the dealers across the country who sell antique barometers. Clearly their sources for buying and their outlets for selling barometers will shrink. Their access to vital parts and supplies needed for restoration will also be limited, particularly their access to the mercury needed for restoration or recalibration. Dealers hope to lobby state legislatures for amendments exempting antique barometers or for schemes that would allow a licensed specialist to sell and repair mercury added objects, but that will take time (possibly years).

Clearly, mercury management regulations, once publicized in the press, will discourage existing collectors from adding to their collection and will strongly discourage potential collectors from starting, since future disposition of a collection at favorable prices could become very difficult (including the obvious problem of finding someone willing to empty a barometer and deal with the mercury so that it can be shipped).

Skinner's March 2007 Auction Results

2007-08-17T16:33:00.001-07:00

Skinner's March 2007 auction of Science & Technology and Toys & Dolls brought a total of $1.35 million. High prices were achieved from the Wilbur medical collection including a Civil War surgical set by Tiemann which brought $9,987, as well as a Civil War bone-handled amputation set which sold for $9,987. Skinner's next auction of Science & Technology and Toys & Dolls is scheduled for Sunday, October 28, 2007.

Christie's Buyer's Premium Raised to 25%

2007-08-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

Christie's have introduced a higher buyer's premium of 25% for their lowest tier (up to £10,000). That plus the usual 17.50% VAT applied to the premium, yields a total premium of 29.38% for all buyers. Most of the provincial auction houses in UK have recently raised their buyer's premiums to 20% or 22%. I expect many will further increase their premiums to 25% following Christie's lead. With the pound now over $2 and shipping expenses also up, buying at auction in UK has become very much more expensive. Buyers need to factor into any potential auction bid all costs associated with the purchase, including buyer's premium, payment costs (bank charges, credit card surcharges, and currency conversion costs), and packing/shipping charges or they may face an very unpleasant surprise upon winning and getting the bills.

Christie's are also raising the handling charges for unsold lots at South Kensington from £35/£50 to £50/£75 and imposing minimum trade and private commission rates of 15% for vendors in Amsterdam and Paris, so both buyers and sellers will see substantial increases in the costs associated with Christie's auctions.

To Auction or Not To Auction - (Auction Houses)

2007-08-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Consigning individual items or an entire collection to an auction house has always been the first choice of most collectors (or their heirs) for disposing of high quality collectibles. In the past (pre-internet), it may have been the best choice for many sellers. The major auction houses, Christie's & Sotheby's, had access to most of the serious collectors worldwide, they would handle entire collections, and their commissions & expenses to buyers & sellers were not considered excessive. Unfortunately, all of that has now changed, giving rise to many issues that must be considered before deciding to auction or not to auction.

The most critical issue is that the major auction houses will now only accept the finest and most expensive items in a collection, leaving the seller to make other arrangements to dispose of the rest. While the major auction houses may get a seller premium prices for their best items, it will certainly be far more difficult for the seller to find outlets for the rest of a collection, without its best items. The second tier auction houses will certainly atttempt to fill the vaccuum left by Christie's & Sotheby's exits from the antique scientific instrument auction market, but it will take several years for any of them to expand their base of buyers and, with four or more auction houses competing for business, it is unlikely that one or two of them will be able to dominate like Christie's & Sotheby's did, leaving the auction market splintered and none of the auction houses with access to a majority of the most serious buyers worldwide.

The second most critical issue is that the commissions & expenses to sellers have become very much higher in recent years, including packing, shipping, storage & insurance charges from the seller's location to the auction house, catalog photography, seller's commissions, unsold item charges, and packing, shipping & insurance charges for unsold items returned to the seller.

Another critical issue is that the commissions, payment costs & shipping expenses to auction buyers have also become very much higher in recent years - buyer's premiums plus VAT at UK and EU auction houses are usually 24% or higher, payment costs (bank charges, credit card surcharges, and currency conversion costs) can add another 2-4% at least, and packing/shipping charges can be downright eyepopping. As a result, many serious collectors are no longer willing to buy from auction houses, preferring instead the many other venues offered on the internet.

In light of these issues, consigning to an auction house should no longer be a seller's first choice, but should be considered as simply one choice among many now available in the marketplace and sellers should evaluate the pros and cons of each relative to their specific needs.

How to Pack Expensive Antique Scientific Instruments for Shipping

2007-07-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

1) Take everything apart that can reasonably be taken apart and wrap each of the individual pieces separately in bubble packing

2) Put the individually wrapped pieces and/or fragile items in one or more interior boxes to pack in a larger outer box

3) Wrap the heavy parts (e.g., microscope base) individually with lots of bubble packing and put each in a separate interior box filled with styrafoam peanuts - do not try to pack the heavy parts back into the original instrument case as they will shift during shipping and damage the case or the instrument or both - light weight individually wrapped pieces can be packed in the original instrument case and the case then wrapped in bubble packing to protect its finish.

4) Do not use tape of any kind on any part of an instrument or its case - tape will damage finish

5) Glass fronted cases will need to be protected with a layer of bubble packing over the glass, a layer of cardboard, and several more layers of bubble packing

6) Interior boxes and the instrument case should be packed in a heavy outer box (double wall if possible), with at least 2 inches of styrafoam peanut fill between the interior boxes and the outer box sides if possible - before sealing the outer box, shake it gently - if anything rattles it is not properly packed

7) Use fiberglass reinforced tape to seal the outer box - wrap tape around the box in several places to keep the box from being damaged or coming open - the heavier the box, the more tape wraps are needed

8) When in doubt, overpack some more - it is a real tragedy when a fine antique scientific instrument is damaged in shipping if a little more care in the packing process would have ensured its safe arrival

How to Ship Expensive Antique Scientific Instruments

2007-07-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

We have been shipping antique scientific instruments around the world for nearly 20 years and have tried a wide range of delivery services. For domestic shipping, the clear winner has always been USPS Registered Mail. It has always proven to be more reliable, less expensive, and at least as fast as any other service. The size limit is 108" (length plus girth - we stock double wall 20"x20"x20" boxes as the largest box we regularly ship by registered mail); the weight limit is 70 pounds; and the insurance limit is $25,000 - yielding a maximum shipping cost of $141.85. We have had only one registered mail package lost (over 10 years ago, an entire locked bag of registered mail was lost with one of our packages in it) and we have had only one package arrive with damage - in both cases, we simply filed the necessary insurance claim forms and we received a check for the total insured value of the package plus the shipping charges within about 60 days, with no questions. This is in stark contrast to our experiences with the package delivery services (UPS, FedEx, etc.) - basic shipping charges are usually at least 50% higher (usually much higher) and it is virtually impossible to get an acceptable resolution on insurance claim for damages to a shipment of expensive antique items.

For international shipping, we have successfully been using USPS Express Mail International for several years. It has also proved to be more reliable, less expensive, and at least as fast as any other service for packages up to 79" or 108" (length plus girth), 44 or 66 pounds, and $650 - $5,000 maximum insured value (specific limits depending on destination country). We have had one express mail package to Canada arrive with damage - we had to fill out insurance claim forms several times, send in catalog photos & descriptions of the damaged item several times, fill out several other forms that were sent to us, and make several calls to the Post Office international claims office to finally get a check for the total insured value of the package plus the shipping charges (approximately $1,400). This is again in contrast to our experience with the package delivery services - we have never received any payment for any damages to any insured international package (the claims that we have filed have been denied or simply ignored, with no one to appeal to).

Important Surveying Instruments Recently Sold

2007-07-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank Dale Beeks - Perceptions Scientifica for providing the following information on his winter 2006 - spring 2007 private sales of important antique surveying instruments:

1) Rittenhouse Potts compass - $11,500

2 ) Rittenhouse Evans compass - $12,500

3) Oscar Hanks Bow Compass complete - $15,500

4) 17th century half circle by Wynne - $35,000

5) 1870 Gurley pocket solar compass complete - $50,000

6) 1880 Young & Sons Aluminum Solar compass - $55,000

7) Goldsmith Chandlee compass with provenance
to George Washington's nephew Laurence Lewis - $70,000
(via Auction at Cowan's in Cincinatti)

Is eBay still as Interesting to Instrument Collectors as It once was?

2007-06-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, the answer to that question seems to be a resounding "NO!" An informal survey of my collector customers suggests that far fewer "interesting" instruments have been offered on eBay of late when compared with the offerings of only a year or two ago. Most of my collector customers approach Ebay watching the same way I do - I actively maintain a 10-day book mark list of items of interest. The average number of items on my personal moving bookmark list over a month can be considered as quantitatively characterizing how interesting Ebay is to me during that month. Until perhaps two years ago, my 10-day bookmark list averaged some 20 to 50 items, but more recently only 10 to 25 items - i.e., eBay is less than half as interesting to me now as it was only two years ago. I think that feels about right, as do many of my collector customers, and it raises some serious questions. Has the majority of previously undiscovered quality instruments finally found their way into the hands of advanced collectors or, are more sellers now choosing to offer their highest quality items through private sales rather than through eBay auctions? Finally, is this apparent downward trend on eBay likely to change in response to the recent restrictions announced by the major auction houses regarding their future sales of antique scientific instruments? Comments welcome.

Bonhams to Expand Their Scientific Instrument Sales

2007-06-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank Jon Baddeley, Bonhams Director & Group Head of Collectors' Sales, for providing the following information on their scientific instrument auction plans:

"I can confirm that Bonhams see sales of scientific and technical instruments as being key to to the future development of the collectors market and we certainly visualise it as a growth area especially as Christies and Sotheby's are now not going to compete vigorously in this market. Currently we include scientific instruments with our marine auctions - as from 2008, we will be producing two catalogues a year devoted to instruments of science and technology in London. There are also plans to start specialist sales in New York.

In my opinion it is very important that an auction house offers a vendor the opportunity to sell antique instruments in specialised auctions irrespective of value. If we are to encourage new collectors into the market, then again it is imperative for auctions to include lots at more modest prices rather than just those instruments worth in excess of £3000 . As we all know, there are some fantastically important and beautiful instruments in the £500-3,000 price range and I would have no hesitation in continuing to include such items in Bonhams auctions."

Sotheby's has Discontinued Scientific Instrument Auctions

2007-06-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

In their 2006 year-end results, Sotheby's announced that they would be moving away from middle-range auctions to focus on sales at the top end of the global art market. Accordingly, the minimum lot threshold at Sotheby's has been raised to £3000. Scientific instrument sales have been discontinued, all catalog subscribers have been notified by letter, and the specialist responsible for these sales, Catherine Southon, has already left the company. Library globes will continue to be sold by Sotheby's and will be included in furniture sales. If some high-end exceptional scientifc instrments were consigned with other property, it is possible that they would also be included in furniture sales. I would like to thank Michael Turner, Director of Sotheby's Clock and Watch Department, for providing this information.

My immediate reaction was that the combined Christie's and Sotheby's changes would create a vacuum in the international auction market for scientific instruments, allowing Bonhams and others to expand significantly in this area, especially in England. I hope to get comments from Bonhams, Skinner's, Dorotheum, and Auction Team Koeln regarding their scientific instrument auction plans for future postings.

Christie's Organizational Changes Announced May 2007

2007-06-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

Christie's in London will no longer be holding individual sales in the following Collectible categories:- Cameras & Photographic Equipment, Toys and Trains, Teddy Bears and Dolls, Mechanical Music, Maritime Models Instruments and Artifacts, Scientific Instruments, Popular, Film and Entertainment Memorabilia, Sporting Memorabilia. Scheduled sales continue until the end of the current sale season in July. Christie's alternative strategy will be to create two new categories of sales; "Icons of the Twentieth Century" and "Science, Exploration & Discovery" which will focus on top lots from some of the above categories and objects which have crossover interest away from the specialist collectors. The Science, Exploration and Discovery department will hold approximately three sales per year, incorporating the following categories:

Significant examples of Scientific Instruments

Optical
Measuring
Surveying

Significant Technical and Historic Apparatus

Communication equipment
Electrical apparatus
Calculating machines

Navigation and Exploration Instruments

Astrolabes
Time measuring
Fine marine models
Space

Other Related Areas of Interest

Natural sciences
Medical

Exploration and Discovery

Discovery remains
Atlases and maps
Books and manuscripts
Pictures
Prints
Related relics/objects
Travel memorabilia
Diving equipment

I would like to thank thank Michael Pritchard, Director of Christie's Photographic Auctions, for providing this information.

The implications of these changes will certainly be felt throughout the antique scientific instrument market place. Christie's clearly intends to focus on the better lots that now usually appear in their "Exceptional Instrument" sales and many lesser lots will no longer be accepted. The implications to collectors, dealers, and estates who want to sell an entire collection are clear - Christie's will only be interested in your best pieces - you will have to find another venue for the rest (e.g., smaller auction houses that usually have only limited visibility in the world market place, eBay that requires very time consuming individual sales, or dealers who will take a collection on consignment, but will also want the better pieces to compensate them for the time required to sell the lesser pieces).