Reiss & Sohn

Our CATALOGUE PREVIEW with an extensive selection of objects from the upcoming auctions is now available online. The selection with descriptions and pictures will be regularly updated with further entries.

You can add objects of your interest to your personal bookmarks list (registration required). This will be retained when the auction catalogues are published. The catalogue preview can be sorted according to various criteria and is accessible via full-text search. There are different list views to choose from.

The total number of items on offer can be viewed when the auction catalogues are published approx. 4 weeks before the auction date. Bids cannot be accepted before the auction catalogues are published. We reserve the right to make changes to descriptions and images, to remove items from the catalogue preview and to make any other changes.

Successful Auction Year 2024 at Reiss & Sohn

Königstein/Taunus – Despite some economic turbulence in Germany and major geopolitical tensions in the world, the auction house Reiss & Sohn can look back on very good Auction season 2024 resulting on qualified consignments  and very active buyers. The great success of the autumn auctions made a particular contribution here. From 29 October to 1 November 2024, over 2160 lots were called over a total of four days. Overall, an increase in turnover of around 30% was achieved compared to the spring auction, with the total proceeds exceeding the total price of the lots offered by around 110%. 82% of the titles found a new owner, 450 lots had four-digit hammer prices and 37 lots had five-digit hammer prices. At the beginning of the auction week, the important library of Dr Friedrich von Bassermann-Jordan was auctioned off with the theme ‘Wine’. An international audience had travelled to the auction for this purpose, also on the telephone and of course live online at the computers, and helped numerous lots achieve phenomenal estimated price increases of up to 650%! In total, all 424 lots were sold and the total estimate was exceeded by almost 160%. Godinot’s ‘Manière de cultiver la vigne en Champagne’ from 1722 achieved one of the highest hammer prices of the wine auction at 22,000 euros. The very good hammer prices in the manuscripts section were certainly among the highlights of the other days.

Noteworthy here is the hammer price of 55,000 euros for a German manuscript on parchment, a Nuremberg prayer book for Apollonia Volckamer (Nuremberg 1500). Also worth mentioning is the hammer price of 30,000 euros for a magnificent contemporary anthology of astronomical, astrological and horological works by J. Schöner, P. Apian, S. Münster and others from the years 1533-45, some of them very rare. An Ortelius atlas with over 150 maps in splendid period colouring exceeded the estimate of 70,000 euros with 72,000 euros, while a rare mathematical-chemical work by Jeremias Benjamin Richter, his ‘Anfangsgründe der Stöchyometrie’ rose from 2,000 to 19,000 euros. You can find a detailed summary of the week under https://www.reiss-sohn.de/en/press/

Reiss & Sohn invites you to participate today with consignments for the next spring auctions in 2025 and to build on the successes of the last 50 years together with us! Whether you are interested in valuable individual pieces or extensive collections – our experienced team of experts will be happy to help you determine the value of your works and answer any questions you may have about consigning them in a personal meeting.

Reiss & Sohn completes successful auction week

The third day began with the auction of the children’s books section. Here, the particularly extensive section with ABC books in various languages was in high demand. For example, the ‘Nationen A.B.C.’ from 1825 realised a hammer price of 2400 euros (estimate 800), Campes’ “Neues Abeze- und Lesebuch mit vielen schönen Bildern” from 1807 was knocked down for 5500 euros and an extremely rare and very early textbook by G. P. Platz entitled ‘Sehr leichte neuerfundene Art, die Kinder das Frantzösische A, B, C. buchstabiren und die Ortographie besagter Sprache in kurtzer Zeit zu lehren’ is still very much in demand today and found its new owner after a bidding duel for 2000 euros (hammer price), far above the estimate of 800 euros.

The 883 lots of catalogue 223 ‘Geography – Travel – Atlases – Photography – Maps – Decorative Prints’ were auctioned on the afternoon of the third day and on the fourth day. The only and extremely rare edition of one of the first scientific monographs on the Philippines, by J. Mallat ‘Les Philippines’ from 1846, doubled its estimate of 8,000 euros and was knocked down to a bidder on the telephone for 16,000 euros. Also noteworthy was the hammer price of 10,000 euros for a world map in 2 hemispheres ‘Nova totius terrarum orbis tabula’ by H. Hondius for J. Janssonius, Amsterdam, 1641.

A total of 20 lots with coloured floral engravings from B. Besler’s ‘Hortus Eystettensis’ were offered in the ‘Decorative Prints’ section on Friday morning and sold without exception. 7 further splendid sheets showing tulips from the ‘Hortus Eystettensis’ were also included in a sub-section of decorative prints with tulip depictions comprising 33 lots. Here, too, almost no sheet remained unsold. In addition to the old coloured copperplate engravings, the catalogue included 10 lots of fine watercolours created at the beginning of the 18th century. These unique pieces realised particularly pleasing hammer prices well above the estimate. The top result of 4500 euros (estimate 2000 euros) was achieved by a watercolour with an arrangement of 3 stems with tulip blossoms flamed in red and yellow, with a scroll and a small butterfly.

Reiss & Sohn looks back on a very successful autumn season 2024 and invites you to participate by consigning items for the next spring auctions in 2025.