UK

As a general rule prices for most pairs of Staffordshire dogs, the quintessential Victorian fireside ornament, have dipped markedly in the past generation.

Plates from a documented mid-19th century Sèvres dessert set sold for £36,000 at Golding Young & Mawer in Grantham on April 6.

A hitherto unrecorded set of four late 17th or early 18th century marble seasons statues took £230,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at Summers Place Auctions in West Sussex on March 29.

The book trade has called for institutions to be more proactive in reporting missing items after two notebooks belonging to Charles Darwin were mysteriously returned to Cambridge University Library.

Bound in blue cloth with a large embossed design to the upper cover and bearing a gilt-framed and lettered title, ‘Private Journal’, to the spine, a volume offered by Cadmore Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) was estimated at just £10-30.

Knowledgeable bidders spot a design by Owen Jones on offer in North Yorkshire

The largest showground fairs are so extensive that it would be impossible to browse items on all the stands in one day. IACF’s Newark Antiques Fair, for example, is held on an 84-acre site with up to 2500 stands.

Callum Jackson founded Jacksons Antique in 2019. He is based in Lincolnshire and recently stood at the Chelsea Antiques Fair.

The Blickensderfer Typewriter Co of Stanford, Connecticut, introduced the Niagara ‘index’ typewriter in 1902.

A couple of elegant portraits from the collection of Professor Bernard Nevill (1930-2019) drew keen interest at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium).

While the market for post-war wares by Thompson’s of Kilburn – particularly the animal and figure carvings – has grown substantially in recent years, the ‘prime period’ for Mouseman collecting remains the 1920s-30s.

Pictured and described here are six very different lots that formed part of a March 2 sale held by Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium).

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

Dealer promises to promote Nottingham specialist fair

Cats were represented in the social and religious practices of ancient Egypt for several millennia.

Bricks and mortar premises are making a comeback as visitors return to town centres

A round-up of dealer news and events