US

Influenced by the English drape suits favoured by the Duke of Windsor, the zoot suit was all the rage among disfavoured youths in Second World War-era USA.

A remarkable silver oyster tureen with cover and stand hammered for $26,000 (£19,150) at Leland Little (20% buyer’s premium) in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab is perhaps the most notorious of all mid-century toys.

US bidders show great appetite for early 20th century display slabs hailing from the UK

This English mahogany hall bench dating from the first quarter of the 19th century sailed well above estimate at a sale in New Milford, Connecticut.

A New York City antiquarian books hub involving three well-known big names has been established, creating something of a Manhattan powerhouse of the trade.

Long before it became the signature for the 1955-62 television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the director had perfected his self-portrait: an economic sketch of his profile rendered in just a couple of lines. Hitchcock would regularly draw and sign them for fans.

American actor, singer, dancer, director, and photographer Joel Grey (b.1932) is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the master of ceremonies in both the Broadway and film versions of the musical Cabaret.

A hand-coloured engraving of an Anglo- American naval battle in 1779 hammered for $5200 against a $1000-1500 guide at Swann Auction Galleries (25% buyer’s premium) in New York City.

Bidder was determined to secure items from their old house

Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702-89) made his name creating rococo pastel portraits of the European elite. However, in his formative years as a painter he had harboured loftier artistic ambitions as a history painter.

Frank Frazetta’s cover painting for a 1967 Lancer/Ace Conan paperback, a landmark of modern fantasy art commonly known as Man Ape, sold for a world record $13.5m (£9.99m) including the buyer’s premium at Heritage Auctions.

Trade bodies are warning that a proposed anti-money laundering bill in the US could adversely impact art and antiques dealers operating in the country.

After 60 years on Broadway, Hyde Park Antiques is closing its gallery and holding a stock clearance sale at Sotheby’s.

Is the US art market following the UK and EU down the path of AML regulation? Rena Neville, head of the art division at FCS Compliance, gives her expert view

Bonhams New York is staging The Jason Jacques Collection, the final sale of the art dealer and gallerist’s “extraordinary” collection.

‘By the power of Grayskull!’ was the cry in the Masters of the Universe TV cartoon series in the 1980s. Four decades on, that power has taken toy prices to an astonishing new high.