Our special correspondent suggests the new carpet in its Anderson Street, Double Bay rooms would have to be torn up for a start.
Plush carpeting and the raffish pursuit of the sleeper by fag-and coffee-vigilant saleroom habitues do not go hand in hand.
Coffee can be spilled (as admittedly too red wine can be) and cigarette ash blow in if the smokers outside are not closely monitored.
The finds were a trademark of Bay East's operation in the industrial style rooms it occupied for several years in Waterloo in the mid noughties and now seem no more than a treasured memory.
This was before Bay East moved back to its present tarted up premises in "Double Pay" (behind a supermarket at 7 Anderson Street) and where it has since been sharing the rostrum with the up-market Sotheby's Australia.
The ghost of the garbage trucks that once parked nearby on Woollahra Council land may not be enough to restore the former atmosphere of treasure among the dross.
Sotheby's has hung onto the operation in order to source much needed upper market stock. Many a find has fallen off these trucks but not necessarily to Bay East.
The initial name change from Bay East to Leonard Joel Sydney (LJS) was instituted in 2010 as a result of the business being owned by First East Auction Holdings Pty Ltd who also were the majority shareholder in Leonard Joel.
LJS was effectively a franchise, paying fees for the use of the name to Leonard Joel's in Melbourne.
As of 31 December 2010, a group of investors acquired Second East Auction Holdings Pty Ltd and Bay East Pty Ltd, and with it the Leonard Joel Sydney and Sotheby’s Australia businesses.
The CEO of Sotheby's Gary Singer told your correspondent that as Bay East was only rebranded nine months ago, there has been very little brand equity created in the Leonard Joel name in Sydney, whereas the Bay East name was still well known and trusted by many Sydneysiders.
"Reverting back to the original Bay East brand will enable the company to build on its proud legacy." he said.
"Bay East management have already briefed key clients and employees and the staged transition to Bay East signage will commence after the March Art and Book auction which will be the last auction conducted by Leonard Joel Sydney.
"Sotheby’s Australia will continue to seek synergies between the two businesses, offering clearly differentiated market entry points for vendors and buyers.
"In Melbourne, Sotheby’s Australia will continue to explore business opportunities with Leonard Joel."
The statement made no mention of a coffee truck franchise that went with the old Waterloo rooms and which helped the trade and private punters wile away the hours, waiting for their bargain buys at Davidson's Auctions, which, with a mix of business dominated by affordable recycled art and art books is Bay East's closest competitor.
Before the Sotheby's Australia franchise was bought by Tim Goodman and his fellow investors in First East Auction Holdings, Sotheby's referred what were deemed lower value lots to Davidson's. The resulting bidding brouhahas as arbitrage buyers battled private bidders when they seemed to have it wrong, returned some of the old theatre to auctions.
Nor was there any suggestion in the statement of a relaxtion of the no-smoking room requirement near doorways which the head of the operation Anne Phillips has sought vigilantly to enforce.
In a separate note on its Leonard Joel Sydney website the owners said:"We are delighted to announce that from 8 April, 2011, Leonard Joel Sydney will be re-launching as Bay East Auctions, a brand which has been associated with Sydney for over a decade.
"However, our current premises in Double Bay and our phone numbers will remain the same."
“The 27 March Art & Book Sale can be viewed on the Leonard Joel website, and from 8 April, our website will become www.bayeastauctions.com.au
"The scholarly expertise, superior marketing and excellent customer service which the Bay East team can provide will not only secure the best possible outcome for your art. " Anne Phillips said. It was, of course, the hope that some of the art would go under the radar of expertise that fueled the presence of useful informal trade-underbidding at these sales.
Such had been the dearth of material for a class of trade buyer that made its coffee money seeking to arbitrage out of the rooms, that competition often created prices higher than had the lots been intensely catalogued. It is widely acknowledged that exposure on the Internet to world buyers has made these buys excessively elusive. In particular the exotic New Zealand finds that topped this interest rarely go begging any more.
The Managing Director (and one third owner) of Leonard Joel, John Albrecht, said that the Joel name would almost certainly be re-introduced to Sydney as it became a more national brand.
There were no specific plans to do so at present, however, he added. With a wide collectables focussed sales program, as well as the art sales, it has had a broader base than LJS or Bay East.
