Pick of the Week

An important piece of Irish marquetry furniture scheduled to sell in County Louth last week was withdrawn from sale at the 11th hour after a deal was struck with the National Museum of Ireland.

A spectacular pair of English giltwood and lacquer cabinets emerged for sale in Germany.

When it comes to the value of classic railway station signs, key factors include: is the site now disused? Was it from a holiday resort? Is it an early design?

The phenomenon of rubbing a wet finger around the rim of a wine goblet to produce a note is as old as glassmaking.

This intricate gold filigree and gemset sceptre was presented to Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, by the Mexican city of San Juan del Rio.

A timed online sale of sporting memorabilia that closed on August 27 at Graham Budd was topped by a photocard of Cuthbert J Ottaway (1850-78).

A photo album containing 60 cabinet card photos of late 19th and early 20th century circus acts was among the highlights of an August 27 sale in Sarasota, Florida, conducted by Freedom Auction Company in conjunction with the Circus Historical Society.

Well known for pottery, Sally Tuffin (b.1938) is also renowned for pioneering 1960s fashion as part of the Foale and Tuffin firm.

Joseph Towne (1806-79) is best known for pioneering the creation of anatomical wax models, many of which are now displayed at a medical museum at Guy’s Hospital in London.

A single-lot auction conducted by the sealed bids process has set a record for a transfer printed pot lid.

Edmund Edgar worked as a house painter, engraver and lithographer in London.

A poignant description of life as an artist studying at the Royal Academy in the mid-19th century emerged at auction and more than doubled its estimate.

The practice of presenting gold and enamel swords and freedom boxes, already popular in England in the 18th century, became more widespread during the Napoleonic Wars.

An amazing penknife proved a cut above in a sale from the David Hayden-Wright collection of antique knives offered at west London saleroom Olympia Auctions.

Works by Reginald Pepper (fl.1970s-90s) are not very common at auction – and this is not just because he doesn’t exist.

A 14th or 15th century Persian mirror that emerged at auction in Lincolnshire took a five-figure sum.

While the achievement of Manchester City players in winning three titles in consecutive seasons – with a treble – is certainly admirable, spare a thought for Tom Wilson, a footballer of a much earlier era.

As timing goes, the sale date for an album of handwritten letters, photographs and ephemera related to Sophia Duleep Singh (1876-1948) could not have been much better.

Leading the sale at Dominic Winter on May 17 was a highly unusual Elizabethan manuscript treatise on cheese and cheese making.