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A Constable-esque landscape turned a few heads at Chorley’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) latest fine art and antiques sale.

The book section of a twice postponed Gloucestershire sale – one that included the rare white Chelsea owl featured on the front page of ATG No 2486 – comprised books from the library at Spetchley Park in the neighbouring county of Worcestershire.

The familiar red-lettered, yellow-cloth covers of an 1897 first of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, though now somewhat soiled, prompted a far higher than predicted bid of $21,000 (£15,150) to lead a Chicago auction of March 19 – a sum bettered only by a handful of inscribed copies.

Not to be confused with the modern Peter Rabbit series by Wedgwood, much scarcer teawares were made by the Grimwade’s factory in the 1920s.

Art hub Cromwell Place has received approval from HMRC to operate an official Customs warehouse.

Original photographs of a well-known Pre-Raphaelite beauty – the muse of William Holman Hunt and the mother of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell – sold for £2600 at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium).

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt was one of the stand-out lots in a 300-lot white-glove auction.

ATG’s pick of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com, including both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

Estimated at just £100-200, a rare automaton of a stereotypical Chinaman smoking an opium pipe sold for £7400 at McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium).

Ground level views of Ceylon offered in same sale as uplifting account of balloon voyages.

A selection of 16 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.

Sunbury Antiques Market, better known simply as Kempton due to its Surrey racecourse location, last week became the first open-air fair to return after the most recent lockdown.