The oldest auction house in the world is the Stockholm Auction House (Stockholms Auktionsverk), established in Sweden in 1674.
Soon after the French Revolution (which lasted from 1789–1799) , taverns and coffeehouses started to have daily art auctions. In some cases these catalogs were elaborate works of art themselves, containing considerable detail about the items being auctioned.
Sotheby’s, now the world’s second-largest auction house, held its first auction in 1744. Christie’s, the world’s largest auction house,was established around 1766.
Other early auction houses still in business include Dorotheum (1707), Bonhams (1793), Phillips de Pury & Company (1796), Freeman’s (1805) and Lyon & Turnbull (1826).
Types of auctions
English auction, also called an “open ascending price” auction — the most common form of auction today. Participants bid openly against one another, with each subsequent bid higher than the previous bid.
The Dutch auction , also called an open “descending price auction” , is the exact opposite. The auctioneer begins with a high asking price which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer’s price. The Dutch tulip auctions are held t his way, for example.
The development of the internet has led to a significant rise in the use of auctions as auctioneers can solicit bids via the internet from a wide range of buyers, in a much wider range of commodities than was previously practical — including opal.