Auction Houses

The auction house industry consists of businesses that facilitate the buying and selling of assets such as works of art and collectibles by auction. The auction house is the physical facility where objects are catalogued, displayed and presented to prospective buyers through bidding, and the private individual or company managing it usually also offers clearances, collection and shipping of items and advice on valuations and reserve prices. Two houses emerged in eighteenth-century England and went on to lead the market: Sotheby's, founded in 1744 and first specialising in books, and Christie's, which opened in 1766 by auctioning paintings and decorative arts. Goods sold range from fine wines and toys to furniture and entire estates, and as the range widened the houses added telephone bidding and later internet bidding, allowing fully remote purchases. A central role is the auctioneer, who sets the rules, announces the sequence of items, acknowledges bids and declares the winner.