Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
Back to school: Westminster headmaster’s gold ring returns home after auction
17 July 2026A gold memorial ring will return home to Westminster School.
Eyewitness view of an Arctic expedition
17 July 2026Joseph Sherer entered the Royal Navy in 1811 aboard the Defiance. In 1819 he joined Hecla under Captain George Frederick Lyon taking part in Sir William Parry’s Arctic expeditions.
Cassandre black cat crops up as window card
17 July 2026A fine and rare example of Cassandre’s advertising work came up at Swann Auction Galleries (32/27/17% buyer’s premium) of New York.
Posters: Not one or even two or three but four classic Cassandres in a single UK sale
17 July 2026A specialist auction house in Dorset was able to offer an array of sought-after Art Deco French posters by the renowned designer AM Cassandre
Howard Terpning: the poster period
17 July 2026American artist Howard Terpning (b.1927) is regarded as a master of Western art, best known for his paintings of Native Americans which can sell at auction well into six figures.
Bicycle design reaching for the stars soars past guide to take $90,000
17 July 2026“During the 1890s, when bicycles were one of the most advertised products in the poster world, the fantastic concept that a bicycle was powerful enough to propel a rider into space was used surprisingly often.”
Maritime art follows medals in superb Pilalas collection on naval theme
17 July 2026Royal Navy subjects prominent in a white-glove sale at London saleroom Charles Miller
Posters promote the appeal of the Lancashire coast
17 July 2026Fortunino Matania (1881-1963) is renowned for his realistic depictions of the First World War, visiting the front line to see the scenes for himself, and historical and royal subjects.
Racquet wielded by ‘champion of the world’
10 July 2026A ‘real tennis’ racquet dating from the reign of King Louis XV of France, used by the first of the great players whose achievements are on record, is being served up at auction.
Bidders drawn to extensive single-owner offering of vintage carriages and kit
10 July 2026After moving to a farm at Cropton, North Yorkshire, over the next 25 years Ian David Smith assembled an extensive private collection of horse-drawn vehicles and associated items.
Snacks not meals on wheels served up by a vendor cart
10 July 2026This bespoke 19th century fairground steam-powered confectioner’s vendor cart, to make ice cream and popcorn, tempted bidders at John Rolfe (20% buyer’s premium) in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.
Frankenstein second edition was the first to bear the author's full name
10 July 2026Not a first edition of the horror classic but the version printed five years later is also sought after
Largest collection of artworks by illustrator of Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine and The Clangers comes to auction in Canterbury
08 July 2026Around 500 original artworks by Peter Firmin (1928-2018) – creator of Bagpuss, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, The Clangers, Basil Brush and many other TV favourites – have been uncovered at the artist’s home in Kent where the family have lived since 1959.
The most powerful man in the auction universe
03 July 2026The He-Man film out now has struggled at the box office but the character in a smaller form amazed saleroom bidders.
The Glasgow slums revealed by a pioneering photographer
03 July 2026Thomas Annan’s famous book is now rated as ‘one of the finest photographic works of the 19th century’
Auction lot reveals inside story of how Thatcher came to power as PM
26 June 2026As yet another British prime minister steps/is forced aside, a lot coming up at Lewes saleroom Gorringe’s on July 7 gives a reminder of an earlier momentous change in power.
