Bloomsbury Auctions Struggles in NYC

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About three years ago, the London based Bloomsbury Auctions which specializes in rare books and manuscripts opened a New York City location on West 48th Street. The New York Times is reporting the auction house is now reviewing its US strategy, with no auctions scheduled for 2011 and several specialists leaving for work at Doyle, Sotehby's and Bonhams.

I just visited the NY website and it still shows a December 16, 2010 sale on its home page.  Not very encouraging.

The NY Times reports sales have been slow at Bloomsbury.

Recent auction results have been disappointing. At a Dec. 8 sale of Americana a third of the lots did not sell. Sale prices were as low as $25, for a signed Grace Paley short story collection (the estimate was $80 to $120). A sale scheduled this month with hundreds of pieces of early Disney ephemera, including a Bambi ashtray and a storefront design proposal labeled “Four Suggested Dumbo Window Treatments,” has been canceled.

To read the full article, click HERE.