International

Diligently researched and documented by a local collector, the late William Toplis, a wide-ranging PG Wodehouse collection offered by Freeman’s of Philadelphia featured books, manuscripts, artwork and much more besides.

Five different texts from 16th century Germany are bound up in this intriguing vexierbuch.

Offering a range of antiquities, Old Masters, 19th century art, sculpture, books and manuscripts, Christie’s ‘Classic Week’ of sales in New York will take place as a series of seven online auctions next month.

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions - all held online only for now because of the coronavirus alert.

This late-18th century French school portrait of Michel Louis Melan, architect to Louis XVI, will be offered for sale in Osenat’s auction titled La Royauté à Versailles to be held in the town on May 24.

This rare and well-provenanced silver mounted and quillworked presentation pipe tomahawk is billed as a highlight of Morphy Auctions’ three-day May 27-29 sale in Denver, Pennsylvania.

Spread over four days, April 30-May 3, a comics and artwork auction held by Heritage (20% buyer’s premium) in Dallas raised over $7.5m with every lot sold.

Both American and European works are on offer in Skinner’s wide-ranging sale of paintings and sculpture to be held live online in its Marlborough rooms on May 31.

Several works by the celebrated master enamel craftsman Feodor Ruckert featured in the latest Russian works of art sale held by Doyle (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) in New York.

This unpublished carved wooden statuette from the Senufo peoples of south-east Mali, west Africa, is to be offered in a 154-lot sale of Tribal Art to be held on May 26 by Ader in its Paris, rue Favart rooms in collaboration with the Euvrard Fabre auction house.

Christie’s Paris rooms has announced a programme of 18 summer sales that it will be holding over May, June and July. These are a mixture of timed auctions and live online (huis clos) auctions.

Treadway’s (25/20/15% buyer’s premium) Spring sale in Cincinnati was led by examples of Tiffany glassware and a Gallé ceramic.

The American magician William Ellsworth Robinson not only adopted the stage name of Chung Ling Soo but stayed in character as a Chinese magician on and off stage.

Two of Ian Fleming’s books were among the highlights of a general book and manuscript sale held on April 18 at a saleroom probably better known on these pages for its specialist sales in the field of magic and conjuring.