28
FRONTRUNNERFORBES.COM NOVEMBER 30, 20 19BUY,^ HOLD,^SELL^ BY^ CHRISTIANKREZNAR^ILLUSTRATIONS^ BY^ CHRIS^ LYONS:^ BIBLE:^ BRIDWELL^LIBRARYSPECIALCOLLECTIONS,^ PERKINSSCHOOLOFTHEOLOGY,^ SOUTHERNMETHODISTUNIVERSITY;^ NARA^ BY^ TONY^ KYRIACOU- SH
UTTERSTOCK;^KUSAMABYBERNARD^ WEIL- TO
RONTO^ STAR-GETTY^ IMAGES;^ MURAKAMI^ BYTJROTH- SI
PA- N
EWSCOMAdam Weinberger
Rare-book
dealer, founder of
RareBookBuyer.comMoti Shniberg
Chairman of MutualArt,
a comprehensive
online art-market guideTim Ingles and
Paul HaydayDirectors at Ingles &
Hayday auction house
in LondonYoshitomo Nara (b. 1959)
Works by the Tokyo-based
painter—many of them mildly
unsett ling portraits of young
girls—have been rising in
value since 2014. With some
going for over $1 million, this
might be the last chance to
jump on the Nara train.Finance Classics
Stay bullish on fi nance.
Early editions of clas-
sics can be pricey,
but a signed copy of
John Brooks’s Business
Adventures, from 1969—
which Bill Gates calls his
favorite business book—
recently sold for just
$1,625 at auction.Cellos by G.F. Pressenda,
circa 1845
Italy’s premier 19th-century
violin artisan. Look for the
bold, balanced outlines
and rich red varnish of his
mature period. Even at an
average of $1.2 million, a
great investment.Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929)
Enthusiasm for the polka-
dot painting and sculpting
queen has abated since its
2017 high. Kusama is sure to
stay relevant, but a fall in
her median price (to $19,000
this year, down about 25%)
suggests caution.Writt en Works
About China
British diplomat Lord
Macartney’s 1793 mission
to China to establish trade
relations was a failure,
but George Staunton’s
1797 account of it recently
fetched $9,000. Rare books
about the Middle Kingdom
are strong, if stabilizing.Violins by Nicolas Lupot,
circa 1810
The French craft sman is
famed for his fi ne copies
of the Italian masters,
particularly Stradivari. A
rare wine-red version of an
instrument by 16th-century
luthier Guarneri del Gesù
can command $400,000.Takashi Murakami (b. 1962)
With 90% of his work
valued under $10,000,
things aren’t looking good
for the founder of Japan’s
postmodern “Superfl at”
movement. Despite a rela-
tively strong 2018, overall
his work has been under-
performing for a decade.19th Century Bibles
A historic 1782 Aitken
Bible (the fi rst printed in
the new United States) can
cost $100,000, but that’s
the exception, not the rule:
Nineteenth-century Bibles,
for example, can be found
easily for a couple hundred
bucks, and buyers are
scarce.Violins by Charles Jean
Baptiste Collin-Mézin
Despite his technical skill,
Collin-Mézin’s precise but
uninspiring early-20th-
century French School style
has fallen out of fashion.
Call your auctioneer and
sell at $5,000 to $8,000.BUY, HOLD, SELL
The Anarchy
(Bloomsbury, 2019)
is a fascinating look
at how, essentially,
merchants from
Great Britain took
over India centuries
ago by extracting
South Asian riches,
adding value in
England and then
exporting those
goods as their own.
But they did it while
joined at the hip
with interests in
India.
Growing up in
Pakistan, it was
ingrained in me that
the sun never set on
the British Empire,
so this story is close
to me. Sun Tzu’s The
Art of War is great
and has stood the
test of time, but
that’s a clichéd
answer for a favorite
book. The Anarchy
is a study on early
capitalism and very
well writt en.Shahid Khan
Jacksonville Jaguars
owner; Forbes 400
memberBook Value
Leaders from the worlds
of business, academia,
entertainment and
politics share what’s on
their bedside table.THE ANARCHY:
THE RELENTLESS RISE OF
THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
by William DalrympleCONTEMPORARY JAPENESE ARTBOOKSMUSICAL INSTRUMENTS