Collectables

This 1930s Soviet travel poster promotes Trans Siberian Express Shortest way between Europe and the Far East, for Intourist Moscow, Hotel Metropol represented by all main travel bureaus of the world.

Americana, travel and natural history were billed as the main attractions of a sale at Bonhams New York (27.5/25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium).

A notable source of ancient coins and historical jewellery appearing on the market in 2020 has been the soil. It is the success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme that finders of ‘treasure’ are now encouraged to declare discoveries and share the proceeds of sales with the landowner.

Four lots of French railway posters attracted a good deal of attention at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) on December 9-10.

Australian species pack into a Rowland Ward taxidermy tableau sold for £4000 in Guernsey auction.

Surviving records for the London instrument maker Smith & Beck state this superb microscope from the brass and glass era was purchased on September 2, 1853, by Francis Herbert Wenham (1824-1908) – the British engineer who became a key figure in the improvement of the microscope.

Selection of skiing posters focused on winter sports and travel is on offer at Edinburgh auction house Lyon & Turnbull.

In playing condition but with enough problems to be catalogued as ‘sold as seen’, a Nicole Frères brass inlaid music box was one of the unexpected stars of the first three-day sale to be held at Ripon auction house Elstob & Elstob (22% buyer’s premium).

A ‘superb connoisseur’s collection’ of classic travel posters underlined the appeal of rare works from the biggest names of this genre

Posters promoting travel to a variety of destinations round the world were among the best sellers in a recent Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Chicago.

A gap in many collections of 1960s James Bond posters often involves rarities to promote On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) starring George Lazenby.

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.

A rare complete copy of a famous Arabic medical text sold for £30,000 in a sale of manuscripts and other works on paper from the Islamic and Near Eastern worlds.

Poster auction in New York includes fine examples of British Art Deco rail travel designs

Quaintly titled book about Great Yarmouth was one of the varied attractions in Cambridge auction.

A spate of thefts from central London shops has put the antiquarian book trade on high alert.

The latest Specialist Collectors’ Sale at Cuttlestones in Wolverhampton included a little bit of 20th century ceramics history.

MADAM – I read ATG for my education: it’s always thought-provoking.

A propellor hauled up by a fisherman proved to have an important link to Dambusters leader Guy Gibson and is now coming up at auction, as ATG reports in a wider look at the militaria market