Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
The sage of salmon fishing produced a still popular classic
03 February 2025When a copy of 'The Ristigouche and Its Salmon Fishing' by Dean Sage came up for auction at Bonhams New York in 2011 it was described “the rarest and most beautiful book on salmon fishing and with an important chapter on the collecting of angling literature”.
Pioneering female author Burney makes her entrance
03 February 2025A copy of pioneering female author’s novel Evelina appeared at auction for first time in a decade
Elgar shows his admiration for Kingdom performers
03 February 2025A signed copy of Novello’s original octavo edition of Edward Elgar’s The Kingdom appeared in Plymouth Auction Rooms’ (20% buyer’s premium) New Year’s Day Collectors timed online sale.
Matchbox wreck truck towed away by determined bidder for hefty £11,000 hammer price
29 January 2025Mass-produced toys need to have something special to rise above the norm when it comes to auction value. A Matchbox vehicle offered at Teesside saleroom Vectis certainly fitted that bill.
Great Bible ignores condition issues to bring a £7200 hammer price
27 January 2025The estimate of £1000-1500 reflected the condition of an Elizabethan ‘Great Bible’ offered at Cotswold firm Wotton Auction Rooms (20% buyer’s premium).
Museum takes on an Irish First World War recruitment poster
27 January 2025A scarce First World War recruiting poster proclaiming Irishmen Avenge the Lusitania has sold to a London museum as part of a large collection offered at Dorset saleroom Onslows (29% buyer’s premium inc VAT).
Kelmscott Press presented in full at auction sells in full
20 January 2025Collector’s complete set of books from Morris’ publishing project comes to a saleroom for first time in 50 years
Sad to part with a teddy bear collection but happy at the result
20 January 2025Private British buyers dominated proceedings as the Teddy Bears of Witney went under the hammer at Special Auction Services (20% buyer’s premium) in Newbury.
Sherlock Holmes moves from mags to book form
20 January 2025The first two great collections of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories were gathered from their original appearances in Strand Magazine by its proprietor George Newnes (Southampton Street and Exeter Street, Strand, London) and issued in book form.
No 1 Barbie in swimsuit bidder takes the plunge at £7000
20 January 2025The highlight of an extensive selection of Barbie dolls offered at Wessex Auction Rooms (19% buyer’s premium) proved to be, as predicted, an example of the very earliest produced.
European discovery of Australia and the Pacific documented in detail
20 January 2025Peter Arnold’s (20% buyer’s premium) auction of the first part of the Alexander Collection held in Melbourne, Australia, achieved a selling rate of 80% with 15 lots sold in the following days, all at the reserves, to several buyers.
Pick of the Week: An incentive to stay in Canada
13 January 2025British regiments stationed in Canada in the early to mid- 19th century suffered from a peculiar problem: soldiers had a habit of deserting across the American border.
Winnie the Pooh archive offers a 'unique opportunity' for collectors
13 January 2025A previously unseen Winnie the Pooh archive is on offer at Stourbridge saleroom Fieldings on January 16.
American touches catch the eye as German toy loco steams into sale
13 January 2025Although made in Nuremberg by a firm named after a Frenchman, the cowcatcher on the front of this Gauge 1 toy locomotive gives the game away as to the intended market.
The home decorated to luxury liner standard
13 January 2025Lanchester Road in County Durham is a route leading eventually into the village of that name, surrounded by fields but essentially unremarkable.
Fragment from HMS Bounty found in vendor’s attic heads to auction
06 January 2025A fragment from HMS Bounty that has been discovered in an attic is coming to auction in Derby on February 26.
