Collectables

The sales at Poster Auctions International (20% buyer’s premium) in New York regularly include a selection of examples by Alphonse Mucha and its most recent auction was no exception.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Kelly (1871-1936) had a decent wartime career in the Royal Navy but it was a peacetime crisis that also showed his skills: the Invergordon Mutiny.

The autobiography title Rake’s Progress: The Gay and Dramatic – Adventures of Major Denis Rake MC, the Reluctant British War-Time Agent perfectly sums up the story behind a group of medals on offer in East Sussex.

Although the wearer of a First World War tunic sold by Kent auction house C&T (22% buyer’s premium) on July 26-28 was not listed, it gave plenty of clues to his service.

James Eaton runs Alastor Rare Books specialising in British and continental antiquarian books, manuscripts, archives, and ephemera, with an emphasis on Italian and French imprints.

Sabena was mainland Europe’s first airline to offer a transatlantic jet service via Boeing 707 and this design by Gaston Van den Eynde is one of a series that he designed to herald the Belgian airline’s jet age.

“Dear Tom, I should like to write a story called ‘Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street’ (the title, I suppose, could be changed if necessary). I should certainly expect to let you have it by Oct. 1st.”

To get an idea of the healthy nature of the medals market at the moment, consider the Victoria Cross sold at Spink (20% buyer’s premium) this summer.

Bearing as its title ‘Certain Directions for the Sending of Men and Comodities, & Cattle to Virginia’, a 10pp secretarial manuscript thought to date from c.1609 proved a major attraction in a July 14 sale held by Forum (15/20/12.5% buyer’s premium).

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

Unique medal combinations will always catch a collector’s eye, particularly when accompanied by a highly emotive backstory.

Rediscovered sculpted portrait heads a special report covering recent lots linked to the man who became emperor, dedicated to both his triumphs and defeats

This cased pair of English flintlock duelling pistols by Joseph Gulley, London, c.1810-15, sold for £8600 at Halls (20/12% buyer’s premium) in a timed online sale that ended on August 2.

It is close on 50 years since a 1705 first of John Law’s 'Money and Trade Considered…' was seen at auction, said Lyon & Turnbull (20% buyer’s premium) of the copy in re-backed contemporary calf that it sold for £22,000 in a summer sale held in Edinburgh.

The two cut-out and trimmed coloured initials illustrated here are part of a group of six, taken from two manuscripts of 12th century French origin, that made up a lot sold for £10,000 in a July 6 sale held by Bloomsbury Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium).

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the French military could feel pretty proud of itself. The dashing style and spirit of their forces in the 19th century often inspired other nations to create copycat units.

US collector tells us why he’s so keen to open a museum displaying his purchases

Gastronomy-themed books spanning five centuries were offered in a London auction.

The first Michelin guide was published in 1900 by the eponymous tyre company.