Auction Reports

Judging by recent auctions, once live acts in the circus are now thrilling eager collectors via memorabilia.

John Short, a well-known collector in the Bristol area, amassed over 50,000 autographs in his lifetime. He began obtaining signatures at stage doors in the 1960s right up until his death in 2022.

Latest sale of props from renowned company features several surprises such as Spanish revivalist chairs

The ancient game of Royal Shrovetide Football has been played in the Derbyshire town of Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday since the 17th century.

Incomparable! Delightful! The one and only! Miss Show Business Judy Garland’s All Star Variety Show – as billed at the time – opened at the Dominion Theatre in London’s Tottenham Court Road in October 17, 1957, for a four-and-a-half week run.

‘Coal’ is a dirty word in today’s world of increasingly clean energy but in terms of a model offered at auction it can still generate a strong price.

This array of jewels formed part of the first tranche of a remarkable private collection sold by Catherine Southon (23% buyer’s premium) in Chislehurst.

Liner china – ceramics associated with shipping lines and the golden age of maritime travel – can occasionally throw up surprising results.

This pair of late Georgian silver spurs are hallmarked for London 1812 and carry the maker’s mark JA, probably for the specialist buckle maker John Atkins.

A handsome 19th century kingwood and ormolu decanter box offered by Hutchinson Scott (25% buyer’s premium) in Skipton, North Yorkshire was of particular note for its armorial and an inscription to the lock reading Maharaja Duleep Singh.

Special sale focuses on the death of Nelson, the first commoner given a state funeral

Following equivalent sales in November 2024 and May 2025, Dore & Rees (25% buyer’s premium) in Frome was again offering Japanese objects at the end of last year from the wider collection of Asian works of art formed over more than half a century by Eva and Aubrey Sweet.

Demand for Japanese works was first hit by the so-called ‘Lost Decade’ that followed the collapse of the Japanese economy in 1991. However, changes in fashion, taste and legislation have also impacted prices.

Vase is thought to be from a group that share a provenance to the 1908 Japan-British Exhibition

A recent sale at Whittons (21% buyer’s premium) in Honiton, Devon, included this Meiji or Taisho (1912-26) vase by the Ando Company.

In 1782, the 20-year-old William Jones published a booklet of which he was the sole author, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery.

A selection of whimsical and distinctive Doulton Lambeth stonewares sold across three auctions in December and January

At the time of his death polar explorer and carpenter Jorgen Stubberud (1883-1980) was the last surviving member of Roald Amundsen’s successful 1910-12 expedition to the South Pole.

This marble sculpture of Napoleon as Caesar is based on a model created by the French neoclassicist Antoine-Denis Chaudet for the Sèvres porcelain manufactory in 1810.

The highlight of the latest Country House sale held by Duggleby Stephenson (25% buyer’s premium) of York was the part contents of the Kirkham Hall estate in North Yorkshire.