The library
Practical guides, plainly written.
Read before you decide what to keep, sell or bid on. Each guide ends with a checklist-backed next step.
General guidance for owners and bidders. Where something depends on a particular auction’s terms or on Kept & Rare practice, the guides say so. Nothing here is a valuation, an offer or legal advice.
TOPIC
READER
5 of 5 guides.
GUIDE 01 · FOR OWNERS
Preparing an inherited collection
What to do, and what not to do, in the weeks after a collection becomes your responsibility.
Read the guide- 01Start by not deciding
- 02Make a simple working inventory
- 03Record the story while people remember it
- 04Decide what to keep, share or sell
- 05Sending an inquiry about the collection
- GUIDE 02For ownersPhotographing objects for an inquiryClear, honest photographs with a phone: the views that help someone understand an object, and the habits that hide it.Read
- GUIDE 03For everyoneReading condition and provenance informationHow to read a lot description carefully: what condition notes, attributions and ownership histories actually claim.Read
- GUIDE 04For biddersPreparing for your first HiBid auctionFrom reading the event terms to arranging pickup: what to check before, during and after bidding on a Kept & Rare catalog.Read
- GUIDE 05For ownersUnderstanding consignment questions and economicsHammer price, consignor share and buyer premium, explained with an illustrative example and the questions to settle in writing.Read
Looking for a single word?
The glossary defines hammer price, buyer premium, provenance and more, and marks which terms are set per auction.