Auctioneers

Dated October 29, 1862, a letter that may very well have been Abraham Lincoln’s last to his over-cautious army chief, General George McClellan, provided a highlight of a recent Dallas sale of historical manuscripts.

The organisers of Asian Art in London are to abandon the event’s ‘best objects’ award after doubt was cast on the authenticity of one of this year’s winners. The Danish auctioneer which won the award however is standing by the Yuan attribution for the flask after conducting a scientific test.

Two of the outstanding surprises from the specialist 478-lot Islamic & Indian Art sale at Roseberys (23% buyer’s premium) in West Norwood on October 22 are illustrated here.

Prints by Modern British artists are often touted as an affordable way-in for collectors on a budget, but it seems this is not always the case for northern powerhouse LS Lowry (1887-1976).

Woolley & Wallis celebrated its 10th £1m-plus lot last week, selling a portrait by Chinese contemporary artist Yang Fei Yun (b.1954) for £1.7m (plus premium). The sitter – the artist’s wife pictured in the early days of their marriage – was in Salisbury to watch the sale.

In April this year Spink held an exhibition to mark the centenary of the founding of the RAF, ahead of a dedicated section in its two-day Orders, Decorations and Medals sale the same month.

It was a British engineer, Robert Whitehead (1823-1905) – working in Austria at the instigation of the Austrian Navy – who developed the first self-propelled torpedo in the 1850s.

A classic souvenir for Grand Tourists across the years, this pair of 19th century models of the temples of Vespasian and Castor and Pollux below was one of the stand-out lots at the Wallis & Wallis (20% buyer’s premium) four-day sale at Lewes.

By contrast to electrical rarities offered in Wiltshire also covered in this week's hammer highlights, the type of mid-19th century library clock shown below is probably the most popular item in the current horology market.

It has been a bullish year for Welsh art and antiques, according to auction house Rogers Jones (24% buyer’s premium), which broke the £1m barrier for the first time this year across three dedicated sales.

A Distinguished Flying Cross medal group offered at Stroud Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) on November 7-8 underlines the sometimes rudimentary nature of the embyonic early war in the air.

The camel looks terribly pleased with its hat and collar in this plate from a copy of Emily Eden’s 'Portraits of the Princes and People of India' sold on October 23 as part of an Indian & Islamic Art sale.

This classic First World war recruitment poster with the Old Lion of Britain calling on the Young Lions to answer the call to fight is estimated at £200-400 in Onslows’ poster auction on December 14.

A popular form of gift or memento to loved ones as troops left for the front was a ‘sweetheart brooch’.

The Hundred Days Offensive broke the back of German resistance in 1918 and by November the Allies were surging well beyond the once static Western Front.