Collectables

Two iron padlocks caught the eye of numerous bidders at the February 28 sale at Wendl (18% buyer’s premium) in Rudolstadt.

In the wake of record auction prices – the first £1m bottle of whisky and a $500,000 bottle of wine – four auction specialists discuss the lively market for fine and rare wines and whisky. Here, two whisky specialists outline the market trends: Graeme Maxwell of McTear's and Mark Littler, independent antiques and whisky broker.

Having stood in the George IV pub in Workington since the 19th century, a mahogany penny slot machine made its last public appearance at Cumbrian auction house Mitchells (20% buyer’s premium).

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Pouring wine at the table from a standardised machine-made bottle is a relatively new custom. For centuries before the Victorian era, wine was typically bought and stored in the barrel and decanted into bottles or jugs only before use at the table.

The first of four sales scheduled by Morphets of Harrogate for the dispersal of a single private library will take place on April 3-4.

A collection of Antarctic books from the library of the author, explorer and historian Richard Reaney is to offered by Art and Object on April 11 in New Zealand.

In the wake of record auction prices – the first £1m bottle of whisky and a $500,000 bottle of wine – four auction specialists discuss the lively market for fine and rare wines and whisky. A potted history of wine-related antiques follows. First up: Richard Brierley of Forum Auctions and Sam Hellyer of Chiswick Auctions on the wine market.

Whatever it may be, someone, somewhere will be avidly collecting it.

The exact function of carved and painted wood butcher’s shop dioramas is uncertain.

The ice pick carried by geologist Frank Debenham (1883-1965) during the doomed Terra Nova British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13 sold for £22,000 (plus buyer’s premium) at Cheffins earlier this month. The estimate was just £200-400.

Ornithological books and artworks have played their part in the success of two recent sales and a selection of just a few of those lots begins with books from the Ladwell library.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from March 19-30, 2019.

Though it sold just a touch under the lower estimate, a copy of the 1938 launch issue of Beano was the top lot in a Comic Book Auctions (19% buyer’s premium) timed auction of March 3 held on thesaleroom.com.

A Californian sale of March 7 certainly offered great variety in age, content and price range. Promoted as A Biblio-Medley for All Tastes, it ran to well over 500 lots across its printed and supplementary, online catalogues – with at least one lot, a volume of the works of Arthur Hallam, sold for just $10.