London

A UK-based design studio trio last year took over the UK licence to the archive of Florence Broadhurst, an Australian designer whose whirlwind life came to a tragic end in 1977.

The market for both film and music posters is booming but original artwork for such designs can also be a very collectable option for buyers.

Star turn among some 120 lots of playing cards offered as part of a Stroud Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) sale was the last to be offered. A complete set of Charles Hodges’ Astronomical Playing Cards, it sold online for £3000.

Fine European porcelain specialist Serhat Ahmet has opened a new shop in London’s Cecil Court after more than five years in Grays Antique Centre.

Among several paintings by David Bomberg (1890-1957) that Beaux Arts London sold at London Art Fair (LAF) was an oil, 'Portrait of Dinora' (1952), offered for £70,000.

The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair is a destination for many dealers and collectors, but some exhibitors noticed a cautious approach from buyers at its most recent staging.

The latest staging of The London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair was marked by strong sales of carpets and fewer big-ticket sales, according to organiser and exhibitor Aaron Nejad.

January has become a month of abstinence but bountiful fairs provided a welcome break.

Three Lalique glass panels designed for the dining car of the Côte d’Azur Pullman Express train in 1928 will be offered at auction next week. The Joint Special Managers of Thomas Cook Group are the vendors.

The George Medal awarded to a brave boxer who stepped in to foil a kidnap attempt on Princess Anne is up for auction at Dix Noonan Webb in London with an estimate of £15,000-20,000 on March 4-5.

'Connect: London’s Independent Art Fair' wrapped up its second edition earlier this month, staking its place in the calendar of early fairs around the capital with rising sales and evolving strategies for organisation and selling.

The latest Impressionist & Modern auctions in London posted the lowest total for a February series in this category for a decade.

A remarkable collection of books from The Birmingham Assay Office Library will be offered at Forum Auctions in London on March 26.

Gustav Detring (1842-1913) and Constantin von Hanneken (1854-1925) were two of the most influential Germans living and working in China in the late 19th century.

Two very different lots helped Forum Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) to boost its first major sale of the year.

A UK auction record for a copper coin was set on September 24 when a rare Edward VIII 1937 pattern penny sold at Spink for £111,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium). The coin was made as a trial, ahead of the king’s abdication in December 1936, and was never released for circulation.

The complete original artworks for two of Edward Ardizzone’s much-loved children’s books were sold for £30,000 apiece at Bonhams (27.5/25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium).

This silver denarius from 43BC is struck to one side with a youthful male of Quintus Arrius, who was praetor in 72BC and propraetor in 71BC.

Spink (20% buyer’s premium) offered the only Victoria Cross group to appear at auction in 2019.