UK

Italian adventurer Vincenzo Lunardi (1759-1806) first demonstrated his hot air balloon in London on September 15, 1784.

Latest auction results suggest the market is showing encouraging signs as new collectors emerge and others expand their horizons

A century on from the first Grand Prix in the UK, collectors are still competing for a share of motor-racing’s early memorabilia.

West London auction house takes second-highest result for Anglo-Indian silver thanks to tea service by a celebrated maker

South Yorkshire bottle and advertising specialist BBR Auctions set a new house record with the sale of this Prattware advertising plaque for a remarkable £45,000.

A gold memorial ring will return home to Westminster School.

Bonhams offered the Contents of Monreith House: A Historical Seat of Clan Maxwell in two July sales from its Edinburgh saleroom.

A rare 1804 album of 41 watercolours of British birds by William Weston Young (1776-1847) will be offered at Rogers Jones in Cardiff on July 27.

This 1920s advertising poster for Halifax Building Society features the text 'You choose the House We find the Money'.

Joseph Sherer entered the Royal Navy in 1811 aboard the Defiance. In 1819 he joined Hecla under Captain George Frederick Lyon taking part in Sir William Parry’s Arctic expeditions.

A silver Dent ‘explorers’ watch once owned by the imperialist Cecil Rhodes sold for £7200 at a recent sale at Hansons Holloways (28% buyer’s premium) in Banbury.

Dealers say the ‘beauty’ of choosing older dresses for your big day is you can ‘shop across a range of styles’

The small town of Frome in Somerset features regularly in regional lists of the best places to live in the UK.