London

Among the medal groups that impressed at Dix Noonan Webb's July 21 auction was one awarded to a famous recipient: RAF Group Captain Peter Townsend.

A Grand Tour portrait that came to auction directly from the family of the sitter was among the most contested lots at Bonhams’ (27.5%/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) Old Master Paintings sale on July 7.

While Christie’s had by far the top-selling Old Master drawing of the latest series (the £7.5m Leonardo da Vinci drawing of the head of a bear - see ATG No 2501), a good number of other works on paper generated better competition although sold for understandably lower prices.

An intriguing condition report that mentions ‘water and smoke damage’ gives a clue as to what happened to this battered copy of the Encyclopedia Britannia sold in a Charles Miller (24% buyer’s premium) auction.

After a difficult period because of the pandemic, the latest round of Old Master sales in London returned to some kind of normality.

In reply to Victor Burness, ex- Portobello dealer (‘…tat is hiding the arcades’, Letters, ATG No 2503).

A new high for a British army Victoria Cross as 'exceptional’ example also sets a house record for a medal at Dix Noonan Webb

Acquired six months ago from Caroline Penman by the online selling platform 2Covet, the long-established and highly regarded 'Chelsea Antiques Fair' returns to its spiritual home of Chelsea Town Hall next month for its 70th edition.

As his nickname suggests, Wing Commander Sidney Baker (1918-2007) enjoyed the finer things in life.

Letters written by Nelson to his wife make obvious his esteem for Captain Sir William Hoste KCB (1780-1828)

Separated for over a century, a trio of small panels by Sir Edward John Poynter (1836-1919) have been reunited thanks to a dealer, an auction and two Australian Victorian art collectors.

Humphrey Butler has announced the rediscovery of a bracelet from the famed suite of sapphire and diamond jewels made for a young Queen Victoria.

One of only two known copies of the first edition of the rules of football printed by the world’s first football club came to auction at Sotheby’s on July 21.

I write regarding Bridget McConnel’s comments on the unique character of Portobello (‘We need to keep unique Portobello character’, Letters, ATG No 2498).

Set of urban views takes £220,000 in a sale where ornithological works also impressed

Despite a quiet capital and diminished footfall for the second summer in a row, the latest edition of London Art Week proved to be a satisfactory outing for many participating dealers.