Delving Deeper

CONNECTING COLLECTORS
This Higgins mobile came from an established Chicago-based collector of modern design. “Collectors like pieces from other collectors,” Dickson says. “There’s an emotional aspect rather than just ‘stuff’ from a vendor.” Mid-range prices, she also reports, attract a variety of buyers. Dickson priced the piece conservatively, both to manage and drive expectations about its value. Two absentee bids and two telephone bidders were outdone by a LiveAuctioneers buyer, and the piece went to a Los Angeles–based private collector, bringing in a high price for this type of Higgins glass. With a piece of such vibrancy and artistry, it is no mystery that a willing buyer would succumb.