Collectables

An intriguing painted wooden British soldier doll sold for more than 10 times the top estimate when it was offered at Guernsey auction house Martel Maides (24% buyer’s premium).

A never-before-seen photo of soldiers leaving Ulster to fight in the First World War and a serviceman’s diary from the trenches have been uncovered.

Although Gallipoli in the Great War became a defining moment in Australian nationhood and identity, the second Boer War from 1899-1902 featured the first-large scale involvement of troops from Down Under.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

A handmade model of Dorothy Gale’s Kansas home, created for the famous tornado scene in the 1939 MGM classic 'The Wizard of Oz', was competed to $445,000 (£367,000) at Studio Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Manhattan Beach, California on October 7.

The growth in toys and collectables is related to the age of buyers and the items they remember from their own childhood, auction houses say.

This colonial-era Indian silver horse racing trophy is marked for Peter Orr and Sons of Madras.

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions available via thesaleroom.com

The art of the Samurai comes to Essex firm Sworders on November 2.

Korean businessman Dr Hahn Kwang-ho CBE (1923-2014) was a well-known philanthropist and collector

This halfpenny featuring a ‘wild man’s head’ from northern Japan actually promotes a rather less fiercesome individual: Richard Summer, a perfumer and dealer in curiosities in Cavendish Street, London.

Carvings of animals by a former Fabergé carver are to be auctioned at Bamfords next month.

All that David Bennett asks is that you don’t call him a ‘leg’ man.

This kitschy Beatles table lamp discovered in a house clearance sold for an impressive £950 (estimate £100-150) on September 14.

I own this rather macabre looking carte de visite, and wondered if ATG readers would enjoy the challenge of identifying its subject in the run-up to Halloween.

Agatha Christie and Evelyn Waugh records beaten as collection of a Rolling Stone comes to auction

Wassailing ceremonies on important feast days were a legacy of Anglo-Saxon culture.

Cecil Aldin (1870-1935) was best known for his portraits of dogs and other animals, but romanticised village and hunting scenes were also very popular.

Beautiful watercolours by children’s book author and illustrator come to auction in studio sale

Lighter Club of Great Britain holds fair open to both members and non-members