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As with the overall market, Dutch furniture is much less popular than it once was and the 18th century walnut, floral marquetry and ivory-inlaid bombé bureau cabinet, below, had a couple of condition problems for bidders at Andrew Smith (19% buyer’s premium).

This oil painting of the RMS Queen Mary, below, by marine painter William McDowell (1888-1950) was taken to a multi-estimate £12,000 at Surrey saleroom John Nicholson’s (24% buyer’s premium).

Our special sales listing for classic cars, motorcycles and automobilia.

A selection of classic car stand-out lots at upcoming UK sales.

Outsold, predictably enough, by an 18th-19th century Chinese vase, two late 19th century Persian moulded pottery tiles were the eye-catchers among a buoyant Asian works of art section at Billingshurst auction house Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium).

Morphy Auctions’ March 1-2 Premier Firearms Sale in Denver, Pennsylvania, includes various other militaria categories, such as edged weapons.

A signed and inscribed first edition of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has hopes of selling for as much as $100,000 in Heritage Auctions’ Rare Book auction on March 7 in New York.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period February 8-14, 2018. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

Specialists who relaunched North Yorkshire auction house generate old-school optimism.

Private material sourced from old estates helped Gloucestershire saleroom Chorley’s (20% buyer’s premium) get the year off to a positive start.

English furniture, works of art and decorations of the most traditional kind were the object of a 365-lot, single-owner sale held by Doyle (25/20/12.5%) buyer’s premium in New York.

The entire contents of a Bordeaux town house are to be offered for sale in the city by Briscadieu on March 3.

“The selling price was really encouraging,” said Chichester auctioneer Peter Parker after an 18th century walnut chest made £5800, “but it just emphasises how polarised the market is between the top end and the rest.”

Three 19th century porcelain figures from a Peoples of Russia series consigned to Lincoln auction house Golden Young & Mawer (20% buyer’s premium) by a local vendor attracted interest from the US to Russia.

Further discoveries from recent New York and London auctions including polar rarities.

A very modestly estimated job lot of 25 or so books offered in a recent West Country auction went on to sell for £6500 – but what got some bidders excited?

An oil on canvas by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Seville, 1617-82) which has recently been examined and published by Dr Benito Navarrate Prieto, and incorporated into the body of Murillo’s work, is a highlight of the next paintings auction at Ansorena, Madrid, on March 6-8.

MADAM – I read with interest the recent article by Milton Silverman discussing a bidding contest in Europe (A lawyer writes, ATG No 2327).

In the first of a two-part report spotlighting UK auction house performance and trends in 2017, ATG reviews the hammer totals and top lots at some of the regions’ leading salerooms.

Among the lots offered in the March 9 Books and Manuscripts auction at Bonhams New York is an Isaac Newton work now with parallels to the rather more modern Harry Potter books.