US

Published in Venice in November 1494, a copy of Luca Pacioli’s 'Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proporzioni et proporzionalità…' offered in a recent US sale was granted the rare privilege in the book auction world of having a catalogue all of its own.

Morphy Auctions’ latest Fine & Decorative Arts sale held in Denver, Pennsylvania included this unusual 7½in (19cm) Russian silver-mounted pottery vase.

A rare signed ink and gouache image in which Tintin carves a makeshift propellor to replace that damaged by a forced landing of his aeroplane in the Soviet Union sold for $900,000 (£708,660) in a June 8-9 sale of European comic artworks held in the US.

Art market insiders are expecting a dramatic change in the dynamic at the top end of the sector if a remarkable $3.7bn bid to buy Sotheby’s completes this year.

The offer price from Patrick Drahi represents a premium of 61% to Sotheby’s closing price on June 14 and a 56.3% premium to the company’s 30-day average share price.

The first American flag believed to have been planted on Omaha Beach in northern France on D-Day proved to be the top lot in Heritage’s (25% buyer’s premium) Arms & Armor, Civil War & Militaria Auction on June 9.

Uncut and partially unopened, a truly exceptional presentation copy of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species… sold for a record $400,000 (£316,353) in a recent US sale.

A pre-press version of a key map of colonial America emerged for sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York on June 6. Carrying an estimate of $30,000-50,000, it sold at $100,000/£76,900 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) – a sum that reflected its extraordinary provenance.

A set of the monumental 'Description de l’Égypte…' in its specially made case was sold last month in a US sale.

Early magazine runs brought some unexpectedly high prices in the latest of the regular golfing literature sales held by a Californian saleroom.

Bid to a much higher than expected $23,000 (£17,970) in a Massachusetts auction was the signed photograph of Marie Curie shown here.

A mixed-discipline summer estates sale to be held by Neal Auction Company in New Orleans on June 22-23 will include this pair of 70oz, silver-gilt Edwardian figural tazzae by Elkington & Co marked for Birmingham 1907 with removable glass bowls.

Chicago-headquartered US saleroom Hindman, formerly Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, has an ambitious agenda that goes beyond its recent rebrand, as its CEO Thomas Galbraith tells ATG.