Hammer & Co Est. 1897 · New York

Notes from the departments

The Journal

Written by the people who catalogue the lots, about the parts of the business that are usually explained badly or not at all.

  1. Gloved hands holding a loupe over the surface of a painting in raking light.

    7 min

    How to read a condition report

    What "some foxing", "a later frame" and "as found" actually mean, and why the sentence that is not there matters more than the ones that are.

    Margaret Sowerby, Head of Old Master Paintings

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  2. An auctioneer's rostrum with a gavel resting on the sound block.

    5 min

    Why the hammer price is not the price

    Buyer's premium, sales tax, resale rights and the arithmetic that turns a $45,000 hammer into a $57,150 invoice.

    Rosalind Achebe, Senior Specialist, Silver & Objects of Vertu

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  3. Shelves of reference books and stacked sale catalogues in the cataloguing room.

    6 min

    What provenance is actually worth

    A chain of ownership can add half again to a price, or nothing at all. What separates the two is not fame but continuity.

    Helena Marsh, Head of Antiquities

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