I became a son-in-law in the United States

Chapter 87 Auction

It has never been a secret that European courts were licentious.

From east to west, from Moscow to Sicily, each place has its own unique way of experiencing life, with all sorts of strange and wonderful sights to behold.

But if we're talking about the most adept at having fun, we have to mention the French and Dutch royal families. We could talk about them for three days and three nights and still not finish. And this thing is probably related to them.

But now, in 1927, Maurice couldn't care less about that; making money was the only thing that mattered.

Although these items are not openly auctionable, many important figures are willing to pay exorbitant prices for them in private. They wouldn't even mind doubling the price, just to share them with a former queen, even though that is separated by a vast distance in time and space.

Isn't this what spiritual resonance is all about?

As for the other cultural relics, they are nothing more than books, oil paintings, and letters collected by various families. Although they are still quite valuable, none of them are as distinctive as these few items.

So far, Luther hasn't brought out any top-tier artworks. Most of the collection he brought, well, it's more like something close to the mark.

Looking at the artifacts before them, Luther smiled and asked Maurice, "Name your price, try to be fair."

To everyone's surprise, Maurice kept shaking his head and gesturing as he said:

"No, Mr. Luther, I am just a small antique dealer in Boston. I can't possibly handle so many items at once. I have neither the ambition nor the ability."

"You can't eat?"

He nodded, sighed slightly, and said, "I just did a rough calculation, and if this batch of goods were to be sold, it would probably cost more than $50, which I can't afford."

That's a very true statement. Morris is a respectable person in Boston, upper-middle class, but he's not the kind of person who can come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars at once.

Only by working together can we get rid of Luther's shipment; Morris already had a plan in mind.

"So, Maurice, what are you planning to do?"

"It's simple, auction it off."

"auction?"

Morris nodded and then explained, "While Boston may not be as prestigious as New York, we still have a few respectable auction houses in the city."

After saying that, he stood up, walked to his desk, and pulled out an old, yellowed booklet—a directory.

After flipping through a few pages, Morris pointed to some of the entries.

"Look, this is Charles F. Libbie & Co., one of the oldest auction houses in Boston. It opened decades ago and has done a lot of significant auctions over the years. Many of the collections from those old New England families went through them after they broke up. Although it's declining now, it still has a solid foundation and connections, so it can be considered as an alternative."

After saying that, he turned to another page and pointed to another auction house.

"And there's Lewis J. Bird & Co., which is also a long-established name in Boston. However, they don't focus on auctions, but rather on offline brokerage. I'm one of their members."

At this point, Morris no longer needed to hide his identity. Luther's collection was too large to handle; it would inevitably spill over sooner or later. It was better to just be honest.

"But Luther, if you want to do really big business, you should look to New York. There are two giants there that our entire Boston auction house combined can't match."

"A giant?"

"It's the American Academy of Fine Arts, the one headquartered on Madison Avenue. For the past forty years, they've handled top-tier collections. For example, French Impressionism, British portraiture—whatever it is, they have connections. If someone has something to sell, they're the first person they think of."

At this point, Morris seemed to have thought of something and continued:

"Back in February, they held an auction where several top-tier collections were sold, and the response was overwhelming; wealthy people from all over America came back. However, Mr. Luther, their specialty is mainstream European art. While your collection is quite good, its quality is probably not up to par. So, I'd like to recommend another auction house to you."

"What's your name?"

Luther, seeing that Morris had been laying the groundwork for so long, wondered what this guy was really up to.

Morris nodded, a sly smile playing on his lips. "There's another one, but it's not listed in the directory. It's called the Boston Private Exchange."

"Private transaction..."

"Yes, this exchange is not open to the public and only accepts private invitations. Families like the Rockefellers, Forbes, and Morgans sometimes use intermediaries to facilitate deals when they don't want to go through a public auction. The barriers to entry are very high, very little information leaks out, and client privacy is extremely well protected. I've been in this industry for over thirty years and have some connections here."

He paused here, a shrewd glint in his eyes.

"To be honest, Mr. Luther, items like Jenny's caresses in your collection are unique pieces and not suitable for display outside. Going through here is the safest option."

"That's right, it's indeed inconvenient to take this thing out." Luther knew perfectly well.

Things like "Jenny's Caresses" are only suitable for public display in sex culture museums. However, it is 1927, and the social atmosphere is far from open to such an extent. If it were brought out now, it might really be attacked.

Many people believe that Americans are uninhibited and a very open immigrant country, but this is actually the biggest misconception.

This was a country founded by Puritans, with a large number of Catholics mixed in. In reality, the social customs between men and women were still relatively conservative, and the higher up in society, the more conservative they became.

The daughters of the Old Money family almost always remain virgins before marriage, even in the future, in 2026.

As for the overwhelming "X openness", "one-night stand" and "man-killing" on the Internet, these are things that people use to promote, brainwash and bewitch the public. They themselves are doing the exact opposite. It can only be said that this trend had already begun to emerge in the 20s.

Luther had heard of these private exchanges, which offered excellent privacy, exactly what he needed.

The downside is that everything is opaque; if you're hacked, no one will know. It's a case of risk and opportunity coexisting.

"Maurice, tell me, is this reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable! When I was younger, I worked for a few middlemen. They had very strict rules there. They didn't ask where the seller came from or where they were going. They only asked if it was genuine and if they wanted more money. And most importantly, they never asked about the seller's identity."

Luther nodded, having roughly made up his mind.

"Then it will be hard work."

"Don't mention it, it's my honor to do business with you."

"Maurice, when can we sell this batch of goods?"

Morris paused slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "It should be possible in the next two or three days..."