North America

A sale conducted by US firm Connecticut River Book Auction (15% buyer’s premium) on September 5 included a very rare copy of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s Le Petit Prince.

The Kiryu Kosho Kaisha (The First Japanese Manufacturing and Trading Company) was set up by the Meiji government after the great success of Japanese crafts at the Weltausstellung 1873 Wien (Vienna world’s fair).

Doyle (28% buyer’s premium) set a record for an artwork by Mathilde, Princess Bonaparte (1820-1904) at a sale in New York.

A ‘monumental’ pair of 15-light silver candelabra made by Tiffany & Co for a member of the Vanderbilt family hammered for $230,000 (£171,565) at John Moran Auctioneers (27% buyer’s premium) in Monrovia, California.

Franz Xavier Kosler (1864-1905) made his reputation painting Arabian market scenes and the art market continues to admire them.

Two sales held just over 1000 miles apart on the same day included coveted examples of European post-war furniture.

A 9in (22cm) high vase Tiffany Studios copper and enamel vase sold for a surprise $20,000 (£14,800) at Roland Auctions (30/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on September 21.

UK bidder competes with US counterpart for horological pamphlets published in London and Madrid

A c.1891 cabinet card that captures a significant episode of both Native American and US history realised six times its low estimate at Grant Zahajko Auctions (27% buyer’s premium).

US auction house Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) enjoyed great success with its event titled Select Rarities: Exceptional Books & Manuscripts Sale.

A scarce 1928 US first edition of The House at Pooh Corner hammered for $5000 (£3720) against a guide of $500-700 at Copake Auction (25% buyer’s premium).

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.