Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation. The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being Uppsala Auktionskammare founded in 1731, all Swedish. Sotheby's predecessor, Baker's, was founded in London on 11 March 1744 when Samuel Baker presided over the disposal of "several hundred scarce and valuable" books from the library of a certain Rt. Hon. Sir John Stanley.
The Athenaeum is a museum of fine arts in Alexandria, Virginia, United States and home to the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association.[3] Its building is an important example of Greek Revival architecture.[4] The building has a long history and has served several purposes during its lifetime. The building is now part of the Virginia Trust and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.