Auctions

The best-selling book in Australian history, with more than 30 million copies purchased is 'The Thorn Birds', a novel by Colleen McCullough published in 1977.

On September 24-25, Lyon & Turnbull presents The Secret Life of Props: The Eccentric Trading Collection, a two-day single-owner auction of items that have shaped British film and television for a generation.

Portrait of first governor of Western Australia stands out in a 745-lot auction offering colonial-era items

Altar-like form of an item usually attributed to one of two Southwark makers reflects the reverence that the commodity once held

Artist’s masterpiece sold earlier this year is followed up by plates, prints and paintings from same source

Our selection of lots from 12 upcoming auctions

Auction records are tumbling this year in Australia. Strong property prices, a buoyant stock market and a government with a clear mandate – after a landslide victory for Labor in May – are all contributing to confidence among buyers.

Robert Steele and Company was a partnership formed in 1816 in Greenock, Scotland, between shipbuilder Robert Steele (1745-1830) and his two sons, James and Robert, that became associated with the term ‘Clydebuilt’ ships.

From electronics to furniture, Dieter Rams laid the foundations for modern industrial design

The Lawes Resolutions of Women’s Rights: or the Lawes Provision for Women, attributed to the English lawyer Thomas Edgar and printed in 1632 by John More, is recognised as the earliest book in the English language to compile laws relating to women.

Silver flatware once owned by the so-called Ladies of Llangollen was offered in Cheffins’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest Jewellery, Silver & Watches auction in Cambridge.

Often remembered as the matriarch of an artistically gifted family, Emma Minnie Boyd (1858-1936) was an artist in her own right, exhibiting prolifically in Australia and also at the Royal Academy of Art in London.

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

Calendars listing details of prisoners in a 17th century gaol prove popular in North Yorkshire saleroom

‘By the power of Grayskull!’ was the cry in the Masters of the Universe TV cartoon series in the 1980s. Four decades on, that power has taken toy prices to an astonishing new high.

A lot offering five WH Smith enamel advertising signs, c.1930, took the top price as memorabilia from one of the UK’s most enduring and recognisable retail brands came to auction.