Features

This year marks the 200th anniversary of a major milestone in the railway age: the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR).

Highlights from the extensive David Finn German toy collection sold at Special Auction Services

A single-owner private collection of pre-Second World War Bassett-Lowke maritime electric, motor, clockwork and live steam model boats is for sale on April 11-12.

One of the rarest and most colourful Lehmann toys put in a bright performance at Special Auction Services.

The Disney character was one of the first examples of using merchandise for promotion and early items are sought after by collectors

When it comes to collectables, the 007 films are on a level of their own. So much so in fact, that a Surrey auction house stages a dedicated sale.

This tinplate, clockwork Triang Minic post-war LMS railway van 80M hammered at 10 times the low estimate in the Vectis auction on March 4.

The French inventor André Romain Guilmet (1827-92) took out many patents for his ingenious designs including in 1868 the idea for a driving chain on a bicycle.

Australian-born concert pianist, composer, arranger, writer, artist and photographer Robert Weatherburn collects cameras as one of his hobbies. Here he tells ATG about his collecting

Recent auction sales shone the spotlight on pioneering photographers active in the first days of the art

Described as “exceptionally large” when offered by Chiswick Auctions (26/12% buyer’s premium), this black and white presentation photograph depicts Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie (1892-1975).

Julia Margaret Cameron was a neighbour and close friend of Alfred Tennyson on the Isle of Wight.

The personal photo album of a crew member of a post-war Antarctic whaling factory ship is for sale in April 29 at Charles Miller in London for an estimated £800-1200.

The historic but compact English city of Lichfield and historic photographic views of China are not an immediately obvious fit but two auction houses made the connection recently.

Since Patek Philippe brought out the Calatrava in the 1930s, the watch – with time-only functionality and an austere circular case shape – has been produced in many different dial and case variants.

The Universal Genève Tri-Compax (Ref 222973) is one of the classic post-war chronographs.

Affirming the continued interest in the watches made under the direction of Jean-Jacques Cartier (1919-2010) in London during the mid-60s to early 70s, Roseberys (26/25% buyer’s premium) sold two good Cartier London watches on February 5.

In 1953, the same year as the successful Mount Everest expedition were equipped with Rolex wristwatches, Rolex released the Oyster Perpetual Explorer.

Among the earliest watches in the auction titled Clocks & Watches Through the Ages held at TW Gaze (26.4% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Diss, Norfolk, on March 4 was a Dutch timekeeper from the first half the 17th century.