UK

A reminder of football’s early days, when huge crowds watched teams from the Scottish league playing counterparts from England, this 15ct gold medal with enamelled Scottish lion rampant was a hit when offered in its spiritual home of Glasgow by McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium).

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales for under £3000 including an unusual Peter Blake work printed on tin.

Dominating a grand lecture hall of one of France’s oldest universities is a classical fresco of the god Apollo and the Muses on Parnasses, created at the turn of the 20th century by French artist Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret (1852-1929).

A sale of Modern First Editions at Bloomsbury Auctions on November 14 includes this ‘near mint’ 1950 copy of Graham Greene’s 'The Third Man and The Fallen Idol'.

Stately homes make for enticing backdrops to antiques fairs and the Grade II-Listed Himley Hall, near Dudley in Staffordshire, is no exception.

The ‘Forlorn Hope’ was well named: a band of soldiers, often volunteers, chosen to take the lead part in a military operation, such as an assault on a defended position, where the risk of casualties is high. Its usage was especially common in accounts of the Peninsular War (1808-14).

One curiosity from a book and manuscript sale held by Christie’s (25/20/13.5% buyer’s premium) on July 10, this kid glove or gauntlet represents the final challenge to trial by battle in English legal history.

The sale at Knights Sporting Auctions in Leicester on November 2-3 includes a number of items previously sold by Christie’s as duplicates from the library of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2010.

Oxford on High has been presented with the antiques retailer of the year award for Oxfordshire by Corporate LiveWire, a quarterly magazine for business professionals and the corporate finance sector.

This shako worn by an officer of the 26th Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry is a reminder of tragic times in India.

Latest sales give a snapshot of what collectors are looking for amid different styles and eras

Having stood at Guernsey airport from 1946-81, the island post box shown below came out of storage in 1988 for presentation to the late politician and lawyer Roger Perrot who died earlier this year.

Estimated at £250-350 in a November 12 motoring and cycling sale being held by Transport Collector Auctions in conjunction with Lawrences, at the latter’s Crewkerne rooms, is a 1956 first of Darell Berthon’s Racing History of the Bentley.

For many millennials, a smartphone has replaced the wristwatch as a timekeeper, but it is also their essential tool when exploring the vintage variety.

Tom Mason’s collecting bug began when his father sent him postcards and gifts from places where he was posted during the Second World War. By his early teens he had started his own collection of military memorabilia and began what would become a lifetime obsession with the American Civil War. Pen pals in the US and Canada helped him search for relics.

While some medal collectors stick rigidly to a narrow period or theme, others take a wider view. A broad taste is evident from a large group on offer in Salisbury.

Red jackets and white helmets looked lovely on the parade ground but in the modern world of warfare developing at the end of the 19th century they also made fine targets for accurate long-range rifles.

Classic summer scene by artist known for neighbourhood views makes rare appearance

As expected, the copy of Great Expectations shown below proved the star turn when Sotheby’s (25/20/13.9%) offered the splendid Charles Dickens collection formed by London accountant Lawrence Drizen.

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.