To Infinity and Beyond: FREEMAN’S | Hindman’s June 7, 2024 Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale Results

FREEMAN’S | Hindman‘s June 7, 2024 377-lot Fine Books and Manuscripts, including Worlds of Tomorrow, and Americana Sale was a first for the newly merged auction houses in many ways. It also produced some eye-catching and record-setting results. Auction Daily spoke with Christopher Brink, Senior Specialist, and Gretchen Hause, SVP, Co-Head of Department at FREEMAN’S | Hindman’s Books & Manuscripts department to learn more about this important early summer event.

Auction Daily: Could you give our readers a little background on this fine books and manuscripts sale, how it came together, and its results? How long did it take your department to assemble such a well-curated group of consignments, and where did they come from?

Gretchen Hause: We began assembling these consignments in the fall of 2023, and worked diligently as a team to bring together compelling groups of objects that would be desirable on the market at auction. The property came from a variety of sources, including private collectors and estates, and was fresh to the market at auction. Our small team of three managed the cataloguing for the sale, and we each took ownership of the various standalone sessions in the sale. The auction did incredibly well, achieving both a high price realized and a very strong sell-through rate in the current market.  

Auction Daily: The top lot in this fine books and manuscripts sale was #244, a first edition of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. It more than doubled its high estimate to realize over USD 38,000. What made this particular example so desirable? Was your team surprised at the results?

Gretchen Hause: Copies of Hurston’s important work are very rare on the market in the original dust jacket. Typically, with an object of such a degree of rarity, bidders are willing to excuse condition flaws that they might not otherwise.  In this case, the dust jacket was in very nice condition considering its rarity. We knew that bidding would be competitive, because another copy in the very rare dust jacket sold in our Cincinnati saleroom in February to incredibly competitive bidding, but we did not anticipate that the price realized would soar to such a high level – the jacket was in very fine condition, however, which contributed to the very strong price realized, which nearly quadrupled the low estimate, setting a world auction record in the process.

Auction Daily: Lot #97, the 1953 Martian War Machine prop from the film War of the Worlds, far surpassed its $5,000 to $7,000 estimate to change hands at over $36,000. It also generated a lot of bids! Tell us what it was like in the room as this item was under the hammer. Why do you think it did so well? And in your opinion, what type of person or institution would be interested in purchasing it?

Gretchen Hause: The bidding on the Martian War Machine prop was fast and furious, and it was a fun lot to sell as an auctioneer. We had bidders participating via absentee bid, online, and on the telephone, which generated great momentum. The prop had broad appeal to a wide cross-section of collectors, including movie prop collectors and sci-fi enthusiasts, which I believe also contributed to the competitive bidding. The rarity of this prop contributed to the high price realized, as did the exceptional provenance – the prop came from the collection of the so-called “Father of Science Fiction” Forrest J. Ackerman and had further documentation from a well-known special effects artist.   

Auction Daily: What did your team learn from cataloging this fine books and manuscripts sale, and/or its results, that you can use to catalog, promote, and/or execute future FREEMAN’S | Hindman auctions?

Chris Brink: “The Worlds of Tomorrow” (the first 90+ lots) was the first of its kind at auction but also a new category for our department that didn’t include books. A good portion of this material was fresh to the market, in a category (Sci-Fi) that is still strong, which means many lots far exceeded their presale estimates. My colleague Joshua McCracken pulled from the Forest J. Ackerman archive a Science Fiction League of America member sticker, presumably the only known one, and it sold for $1,600! We learn something new here every day.

Auction Daily: And last but not least, of all the lots on offer through this sale, which one or two really called to you personally, and why?

Chris Brink: I can speak for everyone in our office and say that the cover lot of the sale (lot #66) (an original painting used in a poster for the 1977 Tokyo CosmiCon event) spoke to all of us and really emphasized the theme of the sale which was a parent with their child in spacesuits looking outward to a brighter “Worlds of Tomorrow.”

Auction Daily: And I can see why! This stunning image carried a presale estimate of $500 to $700 and traded hands at $1,778. Thank you Gretchen and Chris for your insights about this fine sale.

For more information on the June 7, 2024 fine books and manuscripts sale, visit FREEMAN’S | Hindman. Looking for more auction news and results? Check out Auction Daily’s news channel for the latest.