UK

A significant collection of Ian Fleming’s books, typescripts and assorted autograph material raised close on £1m at Sotheby’s.

What is perhaps the earliest dated piece of Irish glass sold at auction in Lewes.

Closing the year in some style, a patinated and parcel gilt bronze ‘double size’ figure of St George set a new auction record for Sir Alfred Gilbert (1854-1934) at Bonhams.

Demand for independent condition reports soared during lockdown, according to one restoration firm.

A handwritten account of the battle of Rorke’s Drift by Lt John Chard of the Royal Engineers, who led the renowned stand against the Zulu attack, sold for a hammer price of £140,000.

As the UK auction calendar ramps back up for the new year, expect sales to be held with no viewings or viewings by appointment.

The surprise lot at Thomson Roddick (18% buyer’s premium) was one in which the principal attraction may well have been a penny broadside of 1826.

The name William Beilby (1740-1819) is typically associated with the best of English glass and particularly the enamelling workshop operated from Amen Corner in Newcastle in the 1760s-70s.

Bid to a record £1900 in a Norfolk auction was a 1905, two-volume first of 'My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions'.

'Coming Home from the Marshes', 1886, by pioneering photographer PH Emerson (1856-1936) in his series 'Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads', is among the works offered in a solo show on the artist at London’s Michael Hoppen Gallery until the end of this month.

This 1928 ink and watercolour of stained glass for Stockton on the Forest in North Yorkshire is offered at Abbott and Holder for £350.

Two businesses from the West Country tell us how trade was going before the latest coronavirus restrictions

As with other sectors of the art and antiques market, Contemporary art can certainly produce dramatic bidding battles for under-valued material at auction.

Our regular listing of British and Irish book and works on paper sales.