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The La Fayette Auction: Report from the auctioneer - 17 November 2003

Over 250 people gathered at the Intercontinental Hotel Le Grand in Paris to witness the dispersal of the ‘La Collection La Fayette’. The formal setting of the Salon, complete with heavy red velvet curtains to the twelve full length French windows that lined the walls, and with three large ornate chandeliers down the centre of the six meters high ceiling, was appropriate for this sale of French ‘Classics’, issued between 1849 and 1870.

Every one of the 100 seats was taken, the crowd standing at the back overflowed into the neighbouring Salon, and small groups gathered in the covered courtyard to watch, and occasionally participate, through the open French windows. Those who preferred to relax in the comfort of the courtyard could keep an eye on the progress of the sale by watching the screens showing pictures of the lots and the progress of the bidding, in Euros, Sterling, and U.S. Dollars. At times television cameras pushed through the crowds, at one point moving to the window closest to the rostrum, to record for French television the bizarre spectacle of a French crowd watching an English auctioneer selling a French stamp to an American bidder. Twice the room burst into applause as prices reached record levels. The champagne was opened as the last lot was hammered down, and the audience did not need any encouragement as they spilled out of the room to celebrate what was certainly a memorable philatelic occasion.

The tone was set early on when lot seven slowly climbed in €10,000 steps to finally sell at the low estimate of €220,000. The estimate was strong, but was proved to be justified. This item had sold at auction for 62,000 Francs at the Ferrari sale in Paris in 1924. Lot 50, one of the two blocks of four on the front cover of the catalogue, the 1- Franc vermillion vif with tête bêche, also carried a high estimate, this time €600,000-800,000. Any price within this estimate would be a new auction record for a French stamp. The bidding started at €450,000 and with the telephones busy against three room bidders the bids steadily rose to the high estimate. The room was deathly silent as the last two bidders eyed each other. Probably one had a limit of 800,000. Both dared to go ‘one more’, the second to do so being the buyer at €820,000. The room burst into applause. At lot 83 there was further applause as the second block of four also went beyond the top estimate at €460,000.

There was a lively buzz in the room when lot 90, the unique tête bêche 80 centimes carmine vertical pair came up. Again the hammer fell only after some nervous bidding by the small group of top buyers who had by now assessed the strength of their opponents and knew where to look for competing bids. The punchy estimate was once again justified by the hammer price of €240,000. No applause this time, but nods and grimaces. After the previous record prices, this one was only to be expected.

The final short burst of applause that greeted the fall of the hammer on the last lot was all but lost in the swift movement towards the open doors onto the terrace. The celebratory crowd was still there nearly an hour later, the conversations, in French, Italian and English, lively and jovial, the rivalries in the auction room forgotten. For the auctioneer at least, the evening will remain in the memory for a long time to come.

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