FT: Large digital collection of Sotheby's Photograph Auction catalogs

[invisibleflash]

Large Sotheby's photograph auction catalog collection. Still scanning, but as rough estimate, the collection will be somewhere around 3500 pages and 24gb. Don't have collection handy, but will count # of catalogs and update later.

 

Scans are 600 dpi. Will trade digital collection for another interesting digital collection. Min res for trade is 300 dpi, preferable 600 dpi or more. Trade would be done with Blu-ray disc or thumbdrive. Catalogs cover late 1980's to early 2000s. Some have realized price sheets. Some catalogs from London and NYC.

 

I have a very wide ranges of interest for trades. I'm just not interested in text and prefer historical material. Your trade doesn't have to match scan for scan. The better it is, the smaller it can be. But any way you slice it, scanning +/- 3500 scans is a lot of work.

Edited September 11, 2022 by invisibleflash

[JDMvW]

This is both a herculean task and a wonderful service to the community. Thank you.

 

Other sources for older catalogues at

LibGuides: Auction houses and catalogues: How to request a catalogue from store

[invisibleflash]

That is interesting. Didn't know about that Archive. Trouble is you need to know info to get info.

 

I was scanning this morning. Found an unknown Diane Arbus photo of a topless gal standing outside with apron. Title was Waitress in a Nudist camp...or some such thing. Estimate was $60K - $80K. You find all kinda interesting things in these catalogs. Plus, it had some interesting historical backstory. Also, some carbro prints by Outerbridge. Just countless photo history in the catalogs.

 

I'd post some samples, but they don't like posting photos other photogs took here.

 

Scanning is not that big of a deal...but it is still a big deal. I use a sheetfed scanner. Even so, you have to look for lines in the scans and you can't scan big amounts of paper at once. If you get lines, you have to rescan the group. The paper is heavy and kind of a sticky, gloss paper. You can do maybe 20 - 25 pages at a time or they jam.

 

The last big job I did (a month ago) was scanning 27 issues of Sex to Sexty magazine. It was a matte paper and no problems with sticking paper. That was about 2500 pages. Luckily it was a half-ass, decent matte paper or the matte black ink transfers to the rollers and makes a mess of the scanner. In that case you have to flatbed scan. Still, there was some transfer with matte black ink to the rollers, even with the half-ass decent matte paper.

 

If I didn't have the sheetfed scanner that scans both sides at once and auto crops, I'd never do it. It would have to be something very special to flatbed scan 3500 pages.

 

...I have tons of high-quality digital collections of all sorts, if this one is not up anyone's alley for trading.