Collectables

'The youth of today are stuck inside playing computer games getting square eyes' is a familiar refrain from the old and often grumpy, such as, er, me. However, in the not-so-distant past it was Lego keeping kids fixated indoors and before that, the marvels of Meccano.

Letters from the late Princess Diana surfaced at auction earlier this year in Cambridge and now another set is being offered in Gloucestershire.

Latest auction results in the film poster market show that for the right designs with a licence to thrill the buyers will follow.

A 1936 Lagonda Rapier barn find will be among the lots at the Bonhams sale of the new Lord Harlech’s family collection.

King Richard III is the Marmite Monarch. You love him or you hate him. On one hand he is regarded as a monster, on the other as misunderstood and unfairly maligned.

A camera belonging to ill-fated US aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart is among the lots going under the hammer at McTear’s in Glasgow this month.

The two Boer Wars were real eye-openers to the Brits in many ways. It was a period when colonial campaigns collided with the reality of modern warfare, and supplying a mass army was a big part of this.

It will come as no surprise that signed Beatles albums are some of the top sellers in the entertainment memorabilia collecting field. But have you heard of the Courtyard Music Group?

A comic picture book issued by Fores in 1842 and titled ‘The Brother to the Moon’s Visit to the Court of Queen Vic’ would appear to be a great rarity, and a copy offered by Cheffins of Cambridge on February 22 made a much higher than predicted £1900.

Lord Ashcroft has added another Victoria Cross to his mightily impressive and ever-growing collection. He bought the VC awarded to Yorkshire hero George Sanders for bravery at the first day of the Somme in 1916 and other honours Sanders had earned, including a Military Cross.

The worldwide reach of UK regional auctions is summed up beautifully by a militaria lot sold in the Cotswolds: a kora fighting sword given by a Nepalese ruler to a British field marshal who commanded in India and was revered by the Australians and Gurkhas.

It ain’t rocket science: rarity adds value. While various other factors come into play, the number of a particular item in existence is a clear driver of auction prices, and in militaria the defence of Rorke’s Drift is a classic example.

This sturdy-looking ‘stagecoach trunk’ accompanied the great American writer Mark Twain on a great many of his travels. It will be offered for sale at Heritage Auctions in New York on March 8 where the starting bid is $25,000.

Kitchener’s moustache-adorned stern visage staring out with finger extended demanding that you join your country’s army is not only one of the best-known First World War posters but one of the most familiar posters overall.

The white shirt bears a dark ‘V’ across the front more like St Helens rugby league team, but the ball underneath is unmistakably round rather than oval. Then the words ‘Manchester United’ emblazoned below the figure give the game away.

“Non-runners but ripe for restoration” is how Cheshire auction house Peter Wilson describes three 1930s cars found in a garden. It also sums up what fans of classic car ‘barn finds’ are after.

One challenge that auctioneers face is whether to sell a collection as a whole, or in several different groups, or individually. Finding the right strategy is vital to getting lots away with decent prices.

A French collection comprising 70-lots documenting historical attempts at achieving flight will be offered at Bonhams on March 1.

Saturday’s last-gasp, nail-biting England victory was hailed as one of the greatest games of the Six Nations championship. Talking of rugby ‘greats’, a jersey coming up at auction on February 18 is a reminder of an earlier international player who falls into the ‘legend’ sports category.

THESE days climbing Everest is a bit old hat. Don’t get me wrong – people still die in the attempt and it is a massive achievement – but more than 4000 people have climbed the world’s highest mountain since it was first conquered in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.