The Auctioneers Book
Christie's is in the enviable position of having their auctioneers' books from 1766 to date. From a provenance research point of view they are the pinnacle document, the primary resource. There are three important documents that most auction houses hold: published sales catalogues, which contain no confidential information. These documents can be consulted by any researcher or member of staff, as they are widely published. The clerks’ books are confidential documents that record all bids, whether sold or unsold. The auctioneers’ books, which contain many confidential pieces of information for each individual object. They chronicle details such as the reserve, the estimate (in code), the seller name (if it is not published), the stock number and any commission bids or potential telephone bidders. These books also contain hand-written notes to help the auctioneer with the smooth running of the sale, any sale room notices (SRN), and of course the hammer price and buyer name or paddle number. The full narrative is offered for each lot, hence why a 50-year moratorium on disclosing confidential information is in place. Today Christie's King Street auctioneers’ books are scanned, then bound and are then held in the old Muniment room, today better known as Christie's Archives department.
