International

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from April 16-27, 2019.

The May 11-12 Geneva sale conducted by Phillips in association with watch consultancy Bacs & Russo includes one of the most complicated wristwatches of the pre-war era: the Vacheron Constantin minute repeater with retrograde calendar from 1940.

For the first time in more than 100 years the Lombard Haggadah, a medieval Jewish text with unique illustrations, is on public display at the New York gallery of Les Enluminures.

A look at the latest photograph auction highlights, potential sale stars to come, fairs coming up and a camera and equipment spotlight.

A label to this 21 x 16½in (53 x 42cm) print reads 'Photograph of the Moon, taken by Prof Henry Draper, MD, with a silvered glass Telescope, Fifteen and a Half Inches Aperture, Hastings NY September 3rd 1863'.

Philippe Fortuné Durand is regarded as the first professional photographer in France.

'Electricité', pictured below, is one of a limited edition portfolio of 10 photogravures after Man Ray’s Rayographs from a 1931 commercial commission from the artist by the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Electricité.

The early weeks of March proved a particularly busy time for one saleroom in the US. As well as sales featuring the medical and scientific collections of W Bruce Fye, reported in ATG No 2386, Bonhams New York (27.5/25/20/13.9%) also sold the seventh instalment of Eric Caren’s How History Unfolds on Paper collection online, and in itsMadison Avenue rooms offered Extraordinary Books & Manuscripts.

A double helping of vintage cameras and photographic equipment was recently staged at Chartres by the Ivoire group Lelièvre, Pascal, Maiche, Paris (20% buyer’s premium).

The boom in all things Chinese does occasionally make one marvel as to how and why some material finished up in the West.

Pioneer collection of street furniture goes from Parisian flat to the saleroom.

Sotheby’s spring Hong Kong auction series generated a grand total of HK$3.78bn (£367m) – the second highest in the company’s 46-year history in the territory – and a combined sell-through rate of 90%.