Auctions

The market for antique furniture received a welcome boost last week with Christie’s sale titled Apter-Fredericks 75 Years of Important English Furniture.

Some of the most eagerly contested lots in the Aynhoe Park: The Celebration of a Modern Grand Tour sale held by Dreweatts in Oxfordshire on January 20-21 were those created by the owner of the property himself.

One of only a handful of known examples of Henry III’s gold penny – one of the most fabled coins in all of British numismatics – sold for $720,000 (£554,000) at auction in Dallas last week.

A rediscovered historical portrait by a major name can give a boost to any sale.

Cortrie in Hamburg is holding an auction of watches and vintage timepieces on February 13.

This charming early English-style station below was produced for the export market by German toy manufacturer Märklin.

As with so many other collecting areas recently, the conditions of lockdown – meaning spare money and time for the fortunate – have led to buoyant demand for toys, models and collectables.

Cases of Australian animals stand out among a family home taxidermy treasure trove

A 1640, first English language edition of Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, in a translation by Edward Dacres, was bid to $38,000 (£29,010) in a US sale.

An extensive selection of Pelham Puppets came up on the first day of the Piers Motley (18% buyer’s premium) auction in Devon on January 18-20.

Models, props, scenery and scripts linked to Gerry Anderson emerged for sale at Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Send, Surrey at the end of last year.

A local collector who consigned a pair of Chinese porcelain vases to Hargesheimer (25% buyer’s premium) in Düsseldorf was in for a substantial pre-Christmas surprise.

The collecting market for dolls’ house furniture has been enjoying a boom period if recent prices have been anything to go by.

The British Toy Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) sale on January 8 in Runcorn included several Pelham Puppets rarities.

The final part of dealer Jack Webb's collection displayed his passion for military photographs, especially daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and cartes de visite.