An auction catalog is a catalog that lists items to be sold at an auction. Auction catalogs for rare and expensive items, such as art, jewelry, postage stamps, and antique furniture, are of interest in and of themselves, for they will frequently include detailed descriptions of the items, their provenance, historical significance, photographs, and so forth. In some cases, auction catalogs are key documentation for rare objects that are in private collections, and make up an important part of the libraries of students and dealers of the rarities. There are various forms of catalog or catalogue, each organized registers of some set of objects. ... An auctioneer and her assistants scan the crowd for bidders An auction is the process of buying and selling things by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder. ... Great Museums in the World (Louvre, Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, Picasso …) CGFA: A Virtual Art Museum Very large website with good reproduction quality scans of thousands of paintings Goetia Fine Art - Surrealism Art History With biographies and Works of the Surrealist Masters Art-Atlas. ... Jewellery (spelled jewelry in American English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ... This 1974 stamp from Japan depicts a Class 8620 steam locomotive. ... Basic History on Antique Furniture Very early humans were nomads, moving from location to location, and survived from only what nature provided. ... The provenance of an artifact, commodity, or other object is the place and time of its origin. ...

Each entry typically includes a "lot number" identifying each item uniquely, a detailed textual description, and either an estimated price, or a "reserve" price below which the item will not be sold. Photographs may appear with the entry, or grouped into a separate section of the catalog; for mass-produced items like postage stamps, the textual description may be considered sufficient.

As a combined information source and "sales brochure", an auction catalog must tread a fine line between accuracy and promotion. For instance, any damages or flaws must be described exactly, so that buyers cannot be claim to have been deceived, but at the same time the description will typically include words playing down the bad points (as in "brownish spot that does not detract from appearance" or "faint crease, as is common"). Similarly, special characteristics are also called out, such as "one of only four known examples of this type", or perhaps a photograph of an item of jewelry being worn by a famous person.

Auction catalogs may be sent gratis to favored customers, but the better catalogs will cost, sometimes as much or more than a regular book. These kinds of catalogs may in turn be sold by bookstores, or even appear as items in book auctions.

Some time after the auction is concluded, recipients of the auction catalogs will receive a "prices realized" document, a bare listing of the lot numbers and the prices for which each was sold.

External links

• Art Sales Catalogues online (http://asc.idcpublishers.info/)
• Lugt's Répertoire online (http://lugt.idcpublishers.info/)