The bid was made in the room of the auction house selling them by a representative of a rare book dealer in the other London, England, which often acts for Australian public institutions, and in this instance is believed to have been acting for the State Library of NSW.
A public announcement by the Library today would not surprise.
The library, which will almost certainly be disclosed as the buyer, would be relieved that on top of this a buyers premium of only 15 per cent is payable, far less than has become applicable in recent times at the major global auction houses.
The watercolours, which were contained in a worn, aged bound volume, appear to have been done by some of Australia's early convict artists. .
They appear to have been assembled by Captain James Wallis of the 46th Regiment for his book An Historical Account of the Colony of NSW and its Dependent Settlements.
There were no estimates on the watercolours, a single lot, offered by the several generations old London Ontario auction house of Gardner Galleries in its monthly art and antiques auction.
Including views and portraits, the offering was previewed by the AASD on 25 July 2011.
The AASD's highest reported price at auction for a Wallis was $56,945 for Newcastle, New South Wales, Looking Towards Prospect Hill, sold by Christie's in London.
But he is not always catalogued as suchn, and for Australia he, and particularly the artists he used for his publication, are particularly important.
