Private sale

[Lechmere]

I have heard that the Swanson collection is being actively offered around for private sale.
Anyone care to comment?

[Nemo]

We should all chip in for it and put it in the Evans/Skinner collection

[Lechmere]

How much are you suggesting as a subscription?

[AdamNeilWood]

It was reported in October of last year that the Collection might be sold privately.

A website inviting offers went live in November 2012 and I posted it on Casebook and JTRForums at the time.

[Lechmere]

And now it is being offered around privately.
As so much is made of the claims in the marginalia I am a little surprised that this was going on unannounced.

[AdamNeilWood]

And now it is being offered around privately.

And your point is?

As so much is made of the claims in the marginalia I am a little surprised that this was going on unannounced.

What do you mean by unannounced? It was announced on the various boards nearly a year ago.

11 months ago the family said they would welcome a private sale, and would entertain offers either in full or in part. Now they have had discussions with potential interested parties.

Do you think they should discuss these private dealings on a public forum?

[Ally]

What's the point of this thread? All sales of personal property are "private sales". As it was announced in multiple venues and in multiple ways for months, there's hardly anything shocking or worth commenting on regarding the fact it's for sale. Everyone knows this.

So ... what's the purpose of this thread?

[jmenges]

I could make a baseless conjecture as to the point of this thread...

But I won't.

JM

[Lechmere]

Why?
Because the Marginallia is regarded as an important source in ‘Ripperology’, and although it is in private hands, its fate is of public interest.
It was announced that the items might be sold privately.
That situation has progressed and they are now actively being offered to various potential buyers.
That is a change of circumstance. A progression. And recent.
I think the ‘Riperological’ community is interested in the fate of the marginalia.

I have to say that I am a bit surprised that the items aren’t offered to Christie’s or Sotheby’s for public auction as that would surely fetch the best price.

Is there any reason why this option wasn’t followed?

[Lechmere]

My opener wasn't baseless conjecture - it was very well informed.

[jmenges]

It was announced that the items might be sold privately.
That situation has progressed and they are now actively being offered to various potential buyers.
That is a change of circumstance. A progression. And recent.

I don't believe their website has changed this wording in over a year:

The Donald Sutherland Swanson Collection is available to private buyers either item-by-item or as a complete collection, and will be sold by best offer.

At the present time it is undecided whether the Collection will be put up for auction, but if so news will appear here.

An independent historical document expert is examining the Collection with a view to establishing a value.

http://www.donaldsutherlandswanson.co.uk

What is the source of the recent change in circumstance you are referring to?

JM

[Lechmere]

I'd rather not say at this point - but by the reaction it is clearly true.
It was clearly true so far as I was concerned anyway.

[jmenges]

So ... what's the purpose of this thread?

I think we know now.

yawn.

JM

[Ally]

Why?
Because the Marginallia is regarded as an important source in ‘Ripperology’, and although it is in private hands, its fate is of public interest.
It was announced that the items might be sold privately.
That situation has progressed and they are now actively being offered to various potential buyers.
That is a change of circumstance. A progression. And recent.
I think the ‘Riperological’ community is interested in the fate of the marginalia.

I have to say that I am a bit surprised that the items aren’t offered to Christie’s or Sotheby’s for public auction as that would surely fetch the best price.

Is there any reason why this option wasn’t followed?

Uh... possibly because Christies' and Sotheby's take a gouging commission of 20 percent minimum. Why in the world would you use a third party to sell your items when you can let all possible interested buyers know it's available yourself and cut out the middle man and the commission. If someone's willing to pay whatever amount for an item, but then you have to factor in what Sotheby's tacks on as their commission you automatically lower the amount you can expect to receive. This isn't Van Gogh we are talking about, there's not a pool of people out there salivating to pay millions for it.

Duh.

[Lechmere]

Do you mean the buyer's premium?
The advantage of a prestigious auction is that it attracts attention and publicity - which attracts more buyers who bid competitively and so raise the price.
If I was handling it (cough) I'd get the interest of a TV company to do a background special following through to the sale - I'm sure there would be interest in this and it would probably quadruple the price compared to quiet behind the scenes approaches to perceived potential buyers.