Collectables

Book dealers and auction houses are all saying the same thing about fantasy and sci-fi novels: once derided as not serious objects of desire, they are now eagerly sought after by collectors and achieving really big prices.

John Short, a well-known collector in the Bristol area, amassed over 50,000 autographs in his lifetime. He began obtaining signatures at stage doors in the 1960s right up until his death in 2022.

According to an article in The Times ahead of the estate sale of the paper’s former theatre, film and art critic John Russell Taylor (1935-2025), the west London flat where he lived was crammed not only with artworks but also 20,000 books.

Several lots linked to a George Henry Robertson who served in Victorian campaigns in India impressed at Toovey’s (25% buyer’s premium) of West Sussex .

The ancient game of Royal Shrovetide Football has been played in the Derbyshire town of Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday since the 17th century.

While a First World War memorial plaque (‘death penny’ or ‘dead man’s penny’) is not usually worth that much on its own, when presented with an associated medal group the price can rise considerably.

Peter Harrington Rare Books of London brings a letter by Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, written to Francis Ford Coppola to Rare Books LA (February 21-22).

Two collections of banknote designs and specimens from engraving and printing firm Bradbury Wilkinson & Company were offered at either end of 2025.

A First World War Distinguished Conduct Medal casualty group of four sold for £2800 at Tennants (24% buyer’s premium) in Leyburn on December 10.

The disaster of the Charge of the Light Brigade inevitably dominates the tale of the Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854, but far more successful actions also took place that day: the Charge of The Heavy Brigade and The Thin Red Line.

Incomparable! Delightful! The one and only! Miss Show Business Judy Garland’s All Star Variety Show – as billed at the time – opened at the Dominion Theatre in London’s Tottenham Court Road in October 17, 1957, for a four-and-a-half week run.

The Order of the Durrani Empire (Nishan-i-Daulat-i-Durrani) was established in 1839 and awarded to British field officers and above during the First Afghan War by Shah Durrani of Afghanistan (1785-1842) in gratitude for his restoration to the throne as Shah Shuja-ool-Moqlk, King of Afghanistan.

The reverse to the 1817 George III crown is considered a masterpiece of numismatic neoclassical design.

While fears in these uncertain times such as tariff disputes and the London market potentially moving overseas made 2025 a daunting prospect, specialists can instead look back on an encouraging period full of resilience and high prices

The clasps (metal bars across the ribbons) signifying participation in particular actions are a key factor driving value when it comes to the Naval General Service medal 1793-1840 awarded retrospectively for Royal navy service.