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GEORGE Graham’s 18th century ebony or ebony veneered bracket clocks are his most traditional and sought-after timepieces, but arguably representing better value for money was this flamboyant ormolu clock offered at Bonhams Bond Street (19.5/10% buyer's premium) on June 8 that housed one of a small number of George Graham’s non-standard movements.

Joseph Kishere and the Mortlake Potteries by Jack Howarth and Robin Hildyard, published by the Antique Collectors’ Club, ISBN 1851494626, £25hb. THE only published history of the Mortlake potteries has been a 12-page booklet written by John Eustace Anderson more than 100 years ago. Now, the V&A’s Robin Hildyard has expanded and extended the potteries’ story following much family research by Jack Howarth.

AS its title suggests, the June 30 sale of scientific, medical and engineering works of art held by Christie’s South Kensington (19.5/12% buyer's premium) was something of a mixed bag. The 216-lot auction incorporated anything from 18th century microscopes and preserved amphibians to delft barbers’ bowls and scale models of locomotives.

KATE Dickens adored her father but found the situation at home after her parents’ separation to be intolerable and in 1860, desperate to get away, she entered into what was to prove a less than happy marriage to Wilkie Collins’ younger brother Charles.

THE 523-lot collection of theatrical souvenirs amassed by French actor and director Jean Darnel was 89 per cent sold by value at Piasa (20.33% buyer’s premium) on June 28, en route to a premium-inclusive €247,000 (£164,665). Thirteen lots were pre-empted by the Comédie Française and nine by the Bibliothèque Nationale.

The Decanter: An Illustrated History of Glass from 1650 by Andy McConnell, published by the Antique Collectors’ Club, ISBN 1851494286, £45hb.

A GANG made off with £400,000 worth of Asian jewellery after fooling a shop owner into believing they were police officers. Pretending to carry out a drugs raid, the men appeared to be genuine policemen with uniforms, radios, evidence bags, bullet-proof vests, and what appeared to be authentic ID and search warrants.