Collectables

Pitched with an estimate of £2000-3000, a Matchbox bus offered by Oberon (20% buyer’s premium) clearly had something special for collectors to savour.

Our regular listing of UK and Irish books and works on paper sales

Some of the rarest coins in world numismatics were sold at auction in New York last week. Auction sessions spanning seven consecutive days (January 12-18) were held as part of the annual New York International Numismatic Convention, the US’s largest and most prestigious numismatic event known as NYINC.

More pieces from Britain’s biggest collection of breadboards were sold by Canterbury Auction Galleries (25% buyer’s premium) at the end of last year.

A set of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings realised a premium-inclusive $250,000 (£187,500) at Heritage Auctions of Dallas.

Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s is holding a British & World Banknotes sale on January 29, its first for several years.

Our regular listing of UK and Irish books and works on paper sales

Storms and the threat of snow could not dampen the spirits of rare booksellers and buyers in York for the first PBFA fair of the 2026 book calendar.

Lots from the Royal Society of Medicine boost Christie's sale result to best of its type since 2016

Pairing old with new has become a familiar tactic in the art market.

In the light of world focus on Greenland, would-be collectors of polar ephemera might head to PBFA member Stuart Leggatt and his website Meridian Rare Books that has masses of it.

Bought for just £40 last year, two rare bronze buttons designed by Alberto Giacometti for Elsa Schiaparelli hammered for £48,000 at the latest Modern Decorative Art & Design sale at Bonhams Knightsbridge.

An Adelie penguin egg collected by Herbert Ponting (1871-1935) on the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition came for sale in Nantwich on January 8.

A scarce copy of Beatrix Potter’s 'The Fairy Caravan' sold for £3000 in Tennants’ (24% buyer’s premium) Books, Maps & Manuscripts Sale.

This carved wooden tobacconist figure or ‘Cigar Indian’ came to Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) auction in Send, Surrey, by descent through the vendor’s family.