Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
The traditional toys in demand today among 'connoisseur collectors'
28 August 2026Huge collection concentrates on a world before mass producing
Lewis Carroll in a social whirl
28 August 2026Family archive features poem written by Alice author for the well-connected owner of a scrapbook
Medals on offer in New Zealand reveal astonishing tale of a determined escapee in the Second World War
28 August 2026A Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal group of 10 Second World War honours coming up in a New Zealand auction recognised not just one but two successful escapes from captivity.
Britains toy soldier demand? All down to Deetail
28 August 2026A remarkable result for an unboxed group of plastic figures could be due to a ‘holy grail’ withdrawn set
William and Mary carved wooden doll exceeds expectations in Kent
28 August 2026Despite a repainted face, and the arms and legs not being original, this William and Mary c.1690 English carved wooden doll still impressed a buyer enough for them to win her at a hammer price of £4600.
Shipwrecked but survived: first-hand account from the 19th century
28 August 2026The highlight of the latest Militaria and Ethnographica sale at Tennants (24% buyer’s premium) was an extraordinarily detailed first-hand account of shipwreck in the Indian Ocean.
Letter from cellist Jacqueline du Pré among personal possessions coming to auction
25 August 2026A copy of a handwritten letter in which 21-year-old Jacqueline du Pré tells her mother she has finally decided to dedicate herself to playing the cello is part of a collection of the famed musician’s personal possessions to be auctioned.
Chelsea football amateur helped win the first-ever league title
21 August 2026Remarkably, given Chelsea FC’s modern-day huge spending and multi-year lucrative contracts, two of the squad who helped to win their first-ever league title in 1954-55 were amateurs.
Welsh ceramics designer Weston Young lived a life full of creativity and chaos
21 August 2026Archive and avian template for porcelain designs reflect the life of a remarkable 19th century polymath
Calcutta Government House ledger recording weights of visitors sells at a hefty £18,500
21 August 2026Register bizarrely contains the stats of notables as part of a social ritual
Silver chocolate box tastes sweet success at auction
14 August 2026As you can guess by their very nature, souvenir chocolate boxes commissioned by royalty dating from around the early 20th century are not rare.
Fresh-to-market walking canes stroll to Surrey sale
14 August 2026A unique collection of carved novelty walking canes comes to auction at Ewbank’s of Send, Surrey, on September 25, for the first time a century after they were made.
Collingwood Trafalgar flag comes ‘home’ to the north-east after successful fundraising
14 August 2026North East Museums (NEM) has acquired a Union Flag that was flown from HMS Royal Sovereign, flagship of Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, after it was barred from export.
Biccy and nookie: a taste of the upcoming Petersfield Antiques Fair
14 August 2026If you would like to take a look at a copulating couple in the bushes then The Petersfield Antiques Fair is a good place to start.
Maybe not the Indiana Jones of Kent, but still an archaeological trailblazer
07 August 2026Bryan Faussett (1720-76) was a clergyman and amateur historian in the grand tradition who spent much of his time opening tumuli in his native county of Kent.
Boydell complete set emerges from Scottish historic house
07 August 2026John Boydell’s (1720-1804) entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that “no print publisher before or since has ever exerted as much influence on the course of British art”.