Bidders raised their paddles for reading and viewing pleasures at auctions this week. Whether collectors were looking for a novella like Le Petit Prince, which earned $17,365 at CT River Book Auction, or a comic book like Batman #3, which led at Landry Pop Auctions for $42,700, reading materials were sure to please. For those looking for purely visual delights, Sam Gilliam’s “Red Clay” was taken to $378,000 at Weschler’s and a new world record for Frank Frazetta was set, at $13.5 million, at Heritage. For these and more, keep reading!

Western Views Look Good To Tremont Bidders

SUDBURY, MASS. — In Tremont Auctions’ 530-lot Summer Estates & Collections sale on September 7, several items rose well beyond their estimate ranges and made an impression with bidders. One such example was a group of photos that bested its $300/500 estimate to achieve $4,064. Cameron Ayotte shared, “It wasn’t quite the top selling lot, but it was a nice rare set of Western stereoviews showing Utah and the Rocky Mountains.” With 33 stereoview photographs, the Western set also included three associated views of Springfield, Mass., though, like all the others, it had text reading “The Great Interior Basin / 1873” on its reverse. For information, www.tremontauctions.com or 617-795-1678.

Buyers Weren’t Horsing Around At Cornell

BELLPORT, N.Y. — Cornell Auction, Objects & Trade conducted a more-than 570-lot Labor Day Auction on August 30. Rising to the top of the sale, at $19,500, was a gouache on paper attributed to Pablo Picasso. However, co-owner Carlo Libaridian identified John DiNaro’s “Avatar” sculpture (shown) as being a “very fun” result. The 67-inch-tall-by-102½-inch-long carved wooden horse was acquired from the artist and sold to a local Bellport resident for $11,050. Libaridian said, “It’s fun because it’s so visual!” For information, www.cornellauctions.com or 631-289-9505.

‘Le Petit Prince’ Was Crown Jewel At CT River Book Auction

GLASTONBURY, CONN. — Connecticut River Book Auction conducted its latest auction on September 5, with an “exceedingly rare” copy of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s Le Petit Prince earning the top price of the evening, which featured “occasional moments of fierce bidding between absentee and floor bidders,” according to owner Tom Gullotta. He also shared of the book that it was “A first French edition issued by Reynal & Hitchcock… number six of only 10 signed copies. In outstanding condition, it sold to a dealer in attendance for $17,365.” For information, 860-908-8067 or www.ctriverbookauction.com.

Tiffany Dogwood Lamp Brightens Hudson Valley Auction

BEACON, N.Y. — Bidders at Hudson Valley Auctioneers’ Fall Multi Estate Extravaganza Part One! September 8 auction had a bright note with a Tiffany Dogwood style table lamp with a 24½ inch diameter shade that sold for $4,500 to an online buyer. It was the highest price in the 366-lot sale, the second part of which would be offered September 15. For information, 845-831-6800 or www.hudsonvalleyauctioneers.com.

Landry Sets New Market Record For 8.0 Batman

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. — The $42,700 realized by an 8.0 CGC-graded DC Comics Batman #3 was not the highest price realized in Landry Pop’s September 9 The Vault: Golden Age to Modern and Masterworks of Comic Art auction but it set a new market record for that issue in that grade, of which just four are known. It was one of 125 lots in the sale and had been estimated at $28/36,000. For information, 508-470-0330 or www.landrypop.com.

Argh! Pirate Boot Shot Glasses Overflow At Eldred’s

EAST DENNIS, MASS. — A pair of 2¾-inch-tall boot-form sterling silver shot glasses, made by Reed & Barton and featuring distinctive skull and crossbones on the shaft, was a hit with Eldred’s bidders in the Cape Cod firm’s Silver + Vertu sale on September 10. Though not the highest priced lot in the 108-lot sale, the glasses, which came to auction from a New York estate with an estimate of $125/200, sold to a private collector bididng online for $2,176. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.

Venini Vase Is Victorious At A&O

ATLANTA — Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery’s September 10 Murano: The Art of Italian Glass sale celebrated the “artistry and innovation of Venetian glassmaking” with 284 lots of Murano art glass pieces from some of the most influential Twentieth Century designers. A Mosaico Tessuto vase made circa 1954 by Paolo Venini (Italian, 1895-1959) for Venini (Italian, founded 1921) earned the highest price of the sale, surpassing its $8/12,000 estimate to make $37,500. The blown filigrana Murano glass vase had alternating multicolor canes arranged in a patchwork pattern; it was consigned from the private collection of an esteemed Atlanta gentleman. For information, 404-869-2478 or www.aandoauctions.com.

Heritage Sets New Comic Record With $13.5 Million Frazetta

DALLAS — Frank Frazetta’s cover painting for the 1967 Lancer/Ace Conan paperback, a landmark of modern fantasy art commonly known as Man Ape (1966), sold for a record-shattering $13.5 million on September 12 at Heritage Auctions. This new world record for an original Frazetta painting follows the parade of Frazetta records set by the auction house in recent years and illuminates the ever-increasing desirability of the American artist’s works. This is currently the highest auction result for any Frazetta work and any Comic or Fantasy artwork globally. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.

Gilliam’s ‘Red Clay’ Tops Estimates At Weschler’s

ROCKVILLE, MD. — Weschler’s Auctioneers & Appraisers conducted its 320-lot Capital Collections auction on September 12, featuring “an array of Midcentury modern furniture and decorative objects to works by Jean Dufy, Roy Lichtenstein, Sam Gilliam, Louis Lozowick and more to stunning fine jewels and timepieces.” Leading the sale at $378,000 was Sam Gilliam’s (American, 1933-2022) “Red Clay” ($200/300,000). Done in acrylic on a beveled-edge canvas, the 35-by-45-inch work was signed, titled and dated “‘70” on the tacking edge. According to catalog notes, this work reflects Gilliam’s inspiration from contemporary jazz, most notably the 1970 Red Clay album by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (1938-2008). For information, www.weschlers.com or 202-628-1281.