Collectible Auction Catalogs

For centuries, major auction houses have published detailed catalogs to promote upcoming auctions with detailed descriptions of the items on offer along with illustrations or photographs of these objects. Antique and vintage auction catalogs are desired for their rarity, historical significance, and informational value to collectors. The Stockholm-based auction house Stockholms Auktionsverk is the world’s oldest operating auction house, founded in 1674 by the city’s governor, Baron Claes Rålamb. Early auction catalogs from the 17th and 18th centuries typically marked the sale of items like art, furniture, jewelry, tools, maps, musical instruments, and mathematical devices. While vintage auction catalogs can help to prove the authenticity of certain antiques, providing formal documentation of their provenance, many catalogs are valued simply as beautiful objects themselves. Major names for 19th- and 20th-century auction catalogs include Bonham’s; Christie’s; Foster’s; Freeman’s; Hodgson & Co.; Knight, Frank & Rutley; Longman & Co.; Phillip’s; Skinner’s; and Sotheby’s.