Publishers of the 2003 edition of The Photographic Art Market said auctions performed much better in 2003 than in 2002, and although buyers were cautious in the mid-range, quality held its own.

The year saw some amazing prices. Girault de Prangey's 1842 daguerreotype of the Greek Temple of Olympian Zeus set a world auction record for a photograph at $922,488 at Christie’s London. Edward Weston’s Two Shells set a record of $467,200 at Sotheby’s. And William Eggleston’s famous tricycle, Memphis, set a record at $207,500 at Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg. Buy-in rates were lower in the Fall than in the Spring, and the Joshua Smith sale at Phillips was 100% sold (there were no reserves), and often wholesale prices prevailed.

The Photographic Art Market is used by auction houses, dealers, collectors, curators, appraisers and the Internal Revenue Service. This year’s edition includes prices for more than 6,650 lots from 43 separate auctions. Each volume is organized alphabetically, by photographer’s last name. The work of each photographer is arranged so that identical prints appear together and in the order in which they appeared at auction.

In addition to the name of the photographer and print, each entry provides the following information: auction house, date of sale, and lot number; print type and dimensions; negative date and time frame of actual print; and the estimate and the amount paid for the print. The Photographic Art Market reports both sales and buy-ins, and since 1982, each volume has featured a separate photographer index. Volume I contains an essay on acquisition strategy, unique print grading system, and sections on portfolio and disposition strategy. It is a basic text on collecting photographs.

The Photographic Art Market: Auction Prices 2003 is available from The Photograph Collector, 140 East Richardson Avenue, Suite 301, Langhorne, PA 19047, for $69.95 plus $5 for postage and handling ($11 shipping outside North America).