Collectables

As with any market, the Matchbox collecting scene has ups and downs but recent results suggest significant market strength right now.

Last August, Caitlin Riley, rare book specialist at Bristol and Bath-based Auctioneum, was making headlines around the world.

In 1782, the 20-year-old William Jones published a booklet of which he was the sole author, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery.

The records for JK Rowling’s early work sold at auction keep tumbling, both hardback and paperback

The highlight of the latest Country House sale held by Duggleby Stephenson (25% buyer’s premium) of York was the part contents of the Kirkham Hall estate in North Yorkshire.

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.