Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
On an original visit to Busytown
02 September 2024The children’s author Richard Scarry (1919-94) was at the peak of popularity when he published 'Nicky Goes to the Doctor' in 1972.
Military credentials lift watch at Wessex sale
02 September 2024A rare military issue by The International Watch Company sold well above estimate at Wessex Auction Rooms (19% buyer’s premium) in Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Tudor propaganda: Queen Mary’s own copy of Vergil’s history of England comes up for sale boosted by maps
02 September 2024Mary Tudor’s personal copy of Vergil’s history of England comes to auction in Gloucestershire this month.
Breitling dives into Dorset auction
02 September 2024Duke’s September 11 sale of Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Currency includes a fine array of vintage and second-hand branded wristwatches.
Look through the keyhole courtesy of a grand picture book
02 September 2024The 504-lot book sale at Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) in Chicago on July 25 was topped by a four-volume set of one of the great records of the Gilded Age.
Special lots from a locked room
02 September 2024Library items shelved away in now closed college include some of the first North American histories
Driver’s watch in gear
02 September 2024The driver’s watch, with its elongated ‘stirrup’ lugs and rectangular Roman dial, is a classic of the 1930s and early 40s.
Pay for it when the war’s over
02 September 2024A recent sale at Key’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Aylsham included a Second World War prisoner of war Rolex 3525 Oyster chronograph offered together with the original owner’s medals, dog tags and personal wartime diaries.
Famous Five first edition at four figures
02 September 2024'Five Run Away Together' was the third of the Famous Five titles but today the most elusive.
Group of Diana correspondence underlines high demand for Princess of Wales material
02 September 2024More than a dozen letters and cards from Diana, Princess of Wales, to her family’s former housekeeper were sold at a recent auction at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium).
George Jones generates majolica animal magic
27 August 2024The 14in (35cm) high giraffe and stag centrepiece, designed at the peak of the majolica boom c.1875, is considered the most coveted of all George Jones models.
Lowry and reverend friend go to church together
27 August 2024A joint artwork by LS Lowry and lifelong friend Rev Geoffrey Bennett is among the 1750 lots offered in Mitchells’ three-day Antiques & Fine Art Sale from September 11-13.
Flush with cash? Splash out on a Thomas Crapper sanitary ware collection
27 August 2024A celebrated collection of 19th and early 20th century sanitary wares is to be sold.
Ancient intaglio ring sparks bidding battle and sells at four times estimate
23 August 2024An ancient Greek ring with a provenance that included Prince Stanislas Poniatowski, William Beckford and a Seagram heiress sold for $30,000 (£23,000) at an auction in the US.
Old Master flies to over 60 times estimate after 45 minute bidding battle
22 August 2024Following a contest involving hundreds of bidding increments, an early Netherlandish panel painting of ‘The Adoration of the Magi’ hammered for $332,000 (£256,000) at an auction in upstate New York this month.
Unknown Knox clock emerges and brings fierce bidding
19 August 2024An apparently unique silver and enamel clock designed by Manxman Archibald Knox (1864-1933) for London retailer Liberty & Co surfaced for sale in Scotland last week. Modestly guided at £2000-3000 at McTear’s in Glasgow on August 14, it raced away to bring £28,000.
Opportunity Knox: Previously unknown design for Liberty & Co clock emerges in Glasgow auction
19 August 2024An apparently unique silver and enamel clock designed by Manxman Archibald Knox (1864-1933) for London retailer Liberty & Co surfaced for sale in Scotland last week.
Barrie Lewis biscuit tins up for grabs in Glasgow
19 August 2024On August 28, Glasgow auction house McTear’s is conducting a single-owner, single-subject sale titled The Art of the Biscuit Tin: The Lewis Collection.
How Wedgwood attempted to achieve the ‘apex of perfection’
19 August 2024Vases tell the story of an obsession to recreate a celebrated antiquity