Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Collectors happy to hunt for pocket watch auction buys over wide time range
19 June 2026Even though, as a rule, big-name wristwatches still attract the highest prices, recent sales show a resilient market for pocket watches.
Restituted Kolbe fountain quadruples estimate and sells to US collection
12 June 2026In a November sale last year, Grisebach in Berlin set a new record for a bronze sculpture by Georg Kolbe, when it sold Stehende Frau (Standing Woman) for €1.12m (£982,455).
Escher sends birds and bidders into a flap at Hamburg auction
12 June 2026One of the big surprises at a recent Ketterer (27% buyer’s premium) book auction in Hamburg was the result for a signed lithograph by Maurits Cornelis Escher.
Lemonnier historical work full of personality takes six-figure sum at German auction
12 June 2026Anicet Charles Gabriel Lemonnier had a long and distinguished career, making a name for himself with his many-figured paintings of historical meetings.
Blaeu finishes journey in America: atlas snapped up at German sale
12 June 2026Johannes Blaeu’s 'Atlas maior, sive Cosmographia…' is considered the finest collection of maps ever produced.
Autumn falls from one Swiss collector to another
12 June 2026Since it was purchased at Sotheby’s in London in 1935, a painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younger had remained in possession of the family of a Swiss collector.
KPM porcelain vase bought at auction by the saviour of the Berlin manufacturer
12 June 2026Banker and businessman Jörg Woltmann, who rescued the Berlin porcelain manufacturer, now also acquires a huge vase by the firm.
Restituted Georg Kolbe fountain quadruples estimate
11 June 2026In November sale last year, Grisebach in Berlin set a new record for a bronze sculpture by Georg Kolbe, when it sold Stehende Frau (Standing Woman) for €1.12m (£982,455).
Go on the Toyomasa snail trail in Cologne
05 June 2026The Japanese netsuke carver Naito Toyomasa (1773-1856) was renowned for his miniature portrayals of animals in a distinctive, highly detailed style.
Five-figure auction sums are a sign of the times
05 June 2026Selection of advertising art underlines the extraordinary demand in Germany
Glass – take your pick
05 June 2026Two very different pieces of glass went way over the odds at a specialist sale at Dr Fischer (30% buyer’s premium) in Heilbronn.
Impressive imperial vases take top place
05 June 2026Two impressive vases from the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg took top honours at the sale held by Auktionshaus OWL (27% buyer’s premium) on May 16 in Bad Driburg in North-Rhine-Westfalia.
Klee and Kirchner meet at last
05 June 2026In 1934, a meeting of two great modern painters took place in Bern. One of them was the Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, who had left Germany shortly before the end of the First World War.
Kandinsky clinches it
05 June 2026The illustrated book that Vasily Kandinsky published in 1913 under the title 'Klänge' (Sounds) is considered one of the finest examples of Expressionist literature.
A message that Sengers is in hot demand
05 June 2026Until now, paintings by the Dutch artist Lode Sengers (1896-1956) have rarely gone into four figures.
Nautilus but nice
05 June 2026Many of the Austrian designer Gustav Gurschner’s works of art were driven by the new possibilities provided by electricity.
Bidders battle it out for a marvellous Miklosch watch
15 May 2026A seemingly never-ending bidding match ensued at Cortrie in Hamburg on May 9 for a tourbillon-watch by the German watchmaker Richard Miklosch (1939-2014) .
Hondius extras make a world of difference to Mercator maps
15 May 2026Jodocus Hondius’ additions for his edition of Gerhard Mercator’s pioneering 'Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura' made the work one of the most accomplished collections of maps from the early 17th century.
How bible translations in China spread the word
15 May 2026One of two translated versions that appeared almost simultaneously emerges in German saleroom
Letters from French and Scottish queens who shared tragic fates
15 May 2026The sales at Stargardt (20% buyer’s premium) in Berlin are an important rendezvous for autograph dealers and collectors.