Robert Cornelius Leads Christie's Online $1.62m 'The Maillet Daguerreotype Collection' Auction

A work by Robert Cornelius was the headline sale at Christie's Online 'The Maillet Daguerreotype Collection' auction on June 26.

• The sale totaled $1.62m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 254 works sold totaling $1.62m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.38m (low) and $2.09m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 96% of the original 265 lots announced.

The star lot was: Robert Cornelius, Portrait of a Woman (1940), which sold for $60,500, 1916% above its $3,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 3176% above its low estimate. Unknown photographer, Western Exploration, c. 1850 (1850), sold for $32,800 ($1,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 123 works, or 48%, sold above their high estimate.
• 41 works, or 16%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 90 works, or 35%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

11 works were bought-in, including: John Ruskin, View Towards Fiesole, Florence, c. 1846 (1846), estimated at $150,000 (low) to $250,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.