Founded in 1941 as an auction house specializing in rare books, Swann has grown to become one of America's foremost specialist auctioneers. Swann was recently commissioned to sell an important collection of space memorabilia owned by a retired astronaut. As AOR for the Galleries, JGA was asked to leverage this auction to build attendance and promote Swann's reputation.

Challenge

• Expand the number of potential buyers at the sale of an astronaut's collection of space memorabilia
• Reinforce Swann Auction Galleries' reputation as a the leading specialist New York area auction house

Strategy 

• Arranged a pre-auction symposium on man's adaptation to living in outer space
• Secured a renowned astrophysicist from the Weizmann Institute of Science (a JGA client) to give a talk on the effect of space travel on the human body
• Secured former astronaut Walter Cunningham to describe his experience in space
• Used the symposium as the vehicle for extensive media outreach

Execution

• JGA arranged for former astronaut Cunningham and Swann's President Nicholas Lowry to be interviewed on TV several days prior to the auction
• The symposium cum cocktail party, held in the salesroom at Swann Auction Galleries several days prior to the sale, was attended by many potential bidders and journalists
• JGA's high-impact media outreach campaign resulted in national coverage by wire services, major market newspapers, syndicated television and radio stations

Results

• The publicity heightened public interest in the sale, causing a majority of the lots to exceed their high estimates