How to Request a Valuation

Before asking what something is worth, it is worth establishing what kind of answer you need. The same object can properly carry several different figures, each correct for its own purpose.

Which valuation do you need?

An auction estimate is an opinion of the likely hammer range if the property were offered for sale. It is the appropriate starting point if you are considering selling, and it is provided without charge.

An insurance valuation reflects the cost of replacing the object with one of comparable quality in the present market. It is usually the highest of the figures and is prepared as a formal document.

A probate or estate valuation reflects open-market value at a specified date, most often the date of death, and is prepared to the standard expected by the relevant authority.

A valuation for division, gift or charitable transfer follows the basis appropriate to that purpose.

Formal valuations are prepared as written documents, are chargeable, and take longer than an auction estimate. Tell us at the outset which you require; the enquiry follows a different route.

What to send for an auction estimate

The quality of an opinion depends on the quality of the information. For most material, please provide:

• Clear photographs in good, even daylight. For a book: the binding, spine, title page, colophon or imprint, any plates or maps, and any damage. For a manuscript or letter: every page, including blanks, and the address panel or docket. For a photograph: the full image, the verso, and any stamps, inscriptions or mounts. For a work on paper: the full sheet including margins, the verso where accessible, any signature or inscription, and any watermark visible against the light.
• Measurements of the sheet or leaf in millimetres, and of the image separately where they differ.
• What you know of its history: how it came into the family or collection, any earlier receipts, correspondence, labels or catalogue entries.
• Any restoration you are aware of.

You need not identify the object yourself, and you need not be right. Send what you have.

What a specialist looks for

For books, the edition, issue and state, the completeness of the collation, the binding and whether it is original, and the condition of the paper. For manuscripts and autographs, the hand, the content, the date, the integrity of the document and the strength of the provenance. For photographs, the process, the likely date of the print as distinct from the negative, the printing history, and any estate or studio marks. For works on paper, the medium, the sheet, any watermark, the condition of the margins and any evidence of light damage or previous treatment.

What we cannot do from a photograph

Photographs support an opinion; they do not settle authenticity. Where an attribution is in question, or where the object is of substantial value, we will want to examine it in hand at our London offices — which happens only after the object has been accepted and shipped under our written instructions — or to obtain a report from an appropriate authority. We will tell you plainly when that is necessary and what it involves.

We do not offer authentication as a service in itself, and we do not issue certificates of authenticity.

Confidentiality

Enquiries are treated in confidence. Nothing is published, and no owner is identified, without written instruction. Where an object is subsequently offered for sale, provenance is described only to the extent that you have agreed.

Costs and obligation

An auction estimate carries no charge and no obligation to sell. Formal valuations are quoted in advance. If, having heard our opinion, you decide to keep the object, that is an entirely satisfactory outcome.

To begin, use the enquiry form on our [contact page](/contact) or submit the object for review through [Submit an Object](/submit).