[Louis Bollman]

As the person that dealt directly with the family that consigned The Cambridge Collection I thought that I should weigh in this subject.

Despite the fact that this hobby has been my livelihood for my entire adult life I have always been, and always will be, a collector at heart. When I first saw the images that were emailed to Goldin Auctions regarding this collection, as someone working for an auction house, I felt just as some of you and that the collection could/should be broken up. I felt this way for two reasons: 1) potential break value and 2) it would look great spread out in the catalog. Upon seeing the collection in person I was struck with the revelation that I was looking at (and holding) something that I had never seen before and would likely never see again. The collector in me wanted badly to attempt to cut a deal for purchase and keep the collection together. To reiterate what Ken said earlier, when viewed in it's entirety, a collector must come to the conclusion that these albums are much more valuable than the sum of their parts.

When speaking with the family I completely removed the voice of my inner collector from the equation and made sure that they fully understood the ramifications and benefits to each possible option with regards to the financial outcome. I personally spent two full days with the family (several weeks apart) with many emails and hours of phone calls in between. After the first visit they were considering a partial break-up of the collection. It was while the family discussed the sale, with me over 1,000 miles away, they made a clear and firm decision to keep the albums intact. The consignors are the surviving children of a very proud family who's roots in this country can be traced back to the original settlers. They understand what could possibly happen with the albums once the sale is complete however from their perspective, as the designated curators of this incredible collection, the integrity of this heirloom was preserved while it was in their care. There was not a single option, along with the outcome, that wasn't explained to them. They discussed the sale as a family and had a consensus that this was the way they wanted it handled, so that the collection was as intact as possible; as their father had left it.

Louis Bollman
Goldin Auctions