Camelot lives on

The other week, I wrote about the Kennedy auction. To see it through to its finality, I asked my godchild
Angela "Bigi" Ilusorio Laskoff to attend the Sotheby’s auction in New Year as I was extremely interested in a number of items.

Here’s her report:

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"Even though this auction ‘Property from Kennedy Family Homes Hyannis Port, Martha’s Vineyard, New Jersey, New York, Virginia,’ February 15-17, was not expected to draw the same high levels of attention as prior Kennedy Family auctions, the lobby at Sotheby’s, in the Upper East Side of New York, was packed by nine o’clock in the morning, the first day of the sale. At that time, one hour before the auction began, well-groomed older men and blonde women carrying large handbags, newspapers and Styrofoam coffee cups filled the lobby and voiced mild amazement over the long lines and the wait.

"Perhaps, like me, they too had called in advance and were told by the Sotheby’s personnel that they should get there about an hour before the 10 a.m. commencement. Some joked as they saw employees marching purposely through the crowd that they could pretend to be same employees and get up the stairs faster. Others complained that they had reserved seats, marched up to the desk, and marched back to their place in line.

"Everyone in Sotheby’s that day was at the auction that featured decorative and fine arts from the homes of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy. I rode up narrow modern escalators to the seventh floor because the wait for the elevators was too much of a hassle. All the other floors were totally deserted – empty cavernous spaces. Upon reaching the seventh floor, a woman approached me to ask if I had an account and ushered me to another line where I was to show proof of my identity and authorization and register for a paddle with which to bid. The seventh floor has high ceilings, and I noticed around the periphery of a mezzanine overlooking the auction floor that some cameras were set up.

"There were also various official looking personages with notepads milling up and down the aisles. One asked quietly as he swiveled his head right and left, ‘Anyone from New England?’ Maybe he was looking for a quote of some Kennedy admirer who drove in from Hyannis Port.

"Most people brought their catalogs (in retrospect the only ‘bargain’ in the auction cost $60) carefully tabbed and dog-eared. Some of them had lists of items that they wanted in careful order of catalog lot number or preference with personal price limits penciled in. The auction seats filled gradually.

"Lots of people, some serious bidders, came late and stood in the back. The auctioneer was a brisk and jovial experienced man who kept the pace humming at about one item every two minutes. He was amusing and made a few comments every so often, to mark genteel astonishment, or fan good natured competitive fervor.

"Although the catalog listed price estimates, bidding on the open floor often started far above them with the bids of absentee buyers and contemporaneous phone bids taken discreetly at the side of the room.

"The level of intensity even seemed to surprise the auctioneer, as in, for example: Lot No. 47, a wooden decoy of a swan, painted white (estimate $400-600), that sold for $7,800; Lot No. 88, the red flannel blanket (spots and wear… slightly soiled) with a JFK monogram (estimate $250-350), that sold for $18,000; Lot No. 404, a four-inch etching (later print) of a Renoir, (estimate $200-300), that sold for $11,400; Lot No. 165, a two by three-inch painting of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a sailboat, on a jeweled Verdura stand, (estimate $3,000-5,000), that sold for $27,000; and, Lot No. 576, a Louis Vuitton cylindrical hatbox, retailed by Saks Fifth Avenue, (estimate $100-200), that sold for $54,000. I knew that I had absolutely no chance of getting any JFK memento, when Lot No. 53, a wooden rocking chair, turned oak and brown painted rocking armchair, North Carolina, twentieth century, (estimate $4,000-6,000), with a back of worn rattan, sold for $96,000.

"Ninang, your personal favorite that I had hoped to pick up for its estimated cost of $600-800 was Lot No. 128, Memorial Address Delivered in the Congress of the United States and Tributes in Eulogy of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Late President of the United States, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1964. The starting bid for this lot was $2,500 and it quickly spiraled to $5,500 ($6,600 with premium and tax). Your next choice – yes, this is strictly fantasy – was Lot No. 277, the John F. Kennedy Memorial at Runnymede… May 14, 1965, which was estimated at $500-700. It sold for $6,600.

"On my fantasy list was Lot No. 281, a book entitled The Tao of Painting, A Study of the Ritual Disposition of Chinese Painting, with an inscription to Mrs. Kennedy and with two photo snapshots of her when she was in Honolulu studying Chinese painting. The estimate of this book was from $250-350; it sold for $2,700. I also thought that I had a chance at a few photomechanical reproductions of the President or Mrs. Kennedy that had estimates from $50-75. Alas, the first photomechanical reproduction that came up, Lot No. 52, "A framed photomechanical reproduction after William Draper’s 1962 oil portrait of President Kennedy," sold for $4,800. For those who didn’t know, including myself, a photomechanical reproduction is among other things a way to reproduce large quantities of photographs easily and requires no involvement from the artist, but rather can be produced on commercial printing presses the same way that newspapers are produced. In certain contexts, a photomechanical reproduction can also refer to a Xerox copy.

"Clearly, no one anticipated this level of interest in items that had not been included in prior sales. Perhaps, the Kennedy Family should consider another one, the Kennedy Family Attic. I’d love to attend that, too."

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If you want to compare the catalog prices and the cost of the items sold in the auction, see this: Estimated price $1,000-1,500, Elizabeth Mumford 20th century; estimate price of Cooper 20th century $500-700; two similar maple banister-back side chairs sold at $$300-500; Zendee 20th century, estimate price at $300-400; estimate price of a cast-iron painted flower-filled basket form doorstop, 20th century, is at $60-80; a federal giltwood and part-ebonized mirror, second quarter 19th century, worth $700-900; estimate price of an American country turned maple and birch single-drawer tavern table, New England, late 18th century is $600-800; a Queen Anne-style walnut wing chair sold at $800-1,200; estimate price of a William and Mary-style mahogany-stained maple and pine low table is $800-1,200; and a group of five glass table articles sold at $250-350.

The only bargain to be had was my catalogue from Lin Ilusorio Bildner Bigi’s mom. Imagine the auctioneer begun with Lot No. 1. It took about two hours to reach Lot No. 128.

He started all bids way above estimates given in the book due to numerous absentee bids, which he had prior to opening bidding on the floor.

Some people chose to call in their bids live during the auction. Incremental bids ranged upwards from $50. It seemed like most serious bidders bid live via phone and purchased multiple items.

Caroline Kennedy hoped to make millions of dollars from the auction. Here are the results. Session 1 sold at $853,500, session 2 sold at $894,120, session 3 sold at $1,135,440, and session 4 sold at $1,088,940.

Dollars raised? More than expected.

Camelot will never ever be forgotten… Guenevere or Lancelot and Arthur, nor John and Jacqueline and the Kennedy children, John Kennedy Jr. and Caroline.