A cooling-off

ON A DAY when the Dow lost 508 points and consumer confidence plummeted with the stock market, one might consider the sale of $2.13 million in home furnishings to be a respectable haul. But Richard Wright, director of the Chicago auction house Wright, couldn't help but wonder whether his Modern Design event on Tuesday signaled the beginning of the end for a seven-year run of record prices on 20th century furniture and other design collectibles.

By David A. Keeps

October 11, 2008