Auctioneers

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.

A selection of whimsical and distinctive Doulton Lambeth stonewares sold across three auctions in December and January

At the time of his death polar explorer and carpenter Jorgen Stubberud (1883-1980) was the last surviving member of Roald Amundsen’s successful 1910-12 expedition to the South Pole.

This marble sculpture of Napoleon as Caesar is based on a model created by the French neoclassicist Antoine-Denis Chaudet for the Sèvres porcelain manufactory in 1810.

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.

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.

Poignant paintings make highest auction sum for the artist outside London

Cases boasting bronze lions decoration proved popular and were produced for two decades

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

This diminutive and rare clock from the Liberty & Co Cymric range is The Sigurd (model No 579), a typical Archibald Knox creation named after the dragon-slaying hero of Norse mythology.

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

A notable Irish hunting painting that emerged at Fonsie Mealy (25% buyer’s premium including VAT) at the end of last year drew “very spirited bidding” according to the Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny saleroom.

Although 17th and 18th century Jamaican silver is some of the rarest colonial plate, two small waiters sold at auctions in the north of England in as many months.