Free lot description template

The same six lines, in the same order, for every lot, so a catalog reads as one voice whoever wrote each entry. Print it for the people doing the cataloging, or paste the lines into your own sheet.

How to use it

Fill in one per lot, in this order. Keep the title to 49 characters so it survives the platforms that cut it, and write the reserve on the sheet only, never in a file a bidder can read.

A starting layout, not legal text. The blanks are yours to fill. Lotdesk does not write terms, consents or declarations, and nothing on this page is a legal claim; where the form has room for the house's own terms, they are the house's, written or checked by its own counsel.

Or use the browser's own print command. The page is laid out to print on one sheet of paper; everything above and below the sheet stays off the paper.

Lot description

Lot no.SectionConsignor reference

Title, 49 characters at most

What it is, then maker or period, then material

Description

What it is, who made it or what it is marked, when, what it is made of, how big, what is with it

Condition

Good
Fair
With faults
Restored
As found
Poor

The faults, and where each one is

Money

Low estimateHigh estimateStart bid, not above the low

Reserve (private: this sheet only)

Three entries, written to this layout

George III mahogany chest of drawers (36 characters)

Two short over three long drawers, oval escutcheons, bracket feet, 92 cm wide.

Fair. Chip to the left escutcheon; one handle replaced.

Estimate 180 to 260

Victorian walnut whatnot (24 characters)

Four tiers with turned supports and a single drawer to the base.

With faults. Small loss to the veneer on the top tier.

Estimate 90 to 140

Minton pâte-sur-pâte vase (25 characters)

Lilac ground, signed, 24 cm high.

Restored. Small restored chip to the foot.

Estimate 300 to 460

These three are lots from Lotdesk's sample sale, whose estimates are in pounds.

A starting layout from Lotdesk, lotdesk.app. It is not a contract and not legal advice. Lotdesk writes no legal text: your own terms, and your own counsel, decide what goes on it.

Keep it in the book instead

Lotdesk has these as the fields of a lot, writes the title, description, condition, estimate and reserve on one record, and checks the numbers for you. The first 25 lots are free.

Open a book — free for your first 25 lots Look at the sample sale first