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Marc S.You could make arguments for many of the lots you put together.
Basically - at the end of the day, if it costs Mastro $1,000 per page in production, overhead and other sundry costs, for them to split up a lot, they need to realize an extra $3,000 or more in bids in the sum of the broken up lots than the big lots.
I'm sure they also have other considerations as in size of auction (too big can be messy) and perhaps special deals. For example, if Egan is paying 0% commission (e.g. no seller's fees) on such a large consignment, Mastro has to realize $7,000 or so in extra bids to make up the fees - not to mention the simple fact that if a small seller's fee is negotiated (even zero), at that point, Mastro will be looking to minimize costs to realize greater returns.
I'm sure there is a lot of negotiations with bigger consigners like this - and there is probably some give and take in both directions. Luckily - with some of these big lots, dealers will often see the profit potential in the breakup and do just that.