London

December 10 marked a significant step in the history of specialist sporting and antique gun auction house Holts (25-20% buyer’s premium).

One fascinating section of a recent Thomas Del Mar (25% buyer’s premium) sale featured Stone Age and Viking weapons and artefacts from a European private collection.

The fact that Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) regularly made use of a magnifying glass is noted by biographers and underlined by references found in his letters.

Among the more inspired catalogue cover illustrations featured in the end-of-year book auctions was one produced by Bonhams (27.5/25/20/13.9%) for a December 4 sale.

A pair of George III sauce tureens by Daniel Smith and Robert Sharp was among the early sales on the opening day of The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair.

Bonhams has bolstered its luxury division by launching a dedicated handbag and fashion department.

It took just one sale to disperse a collection of pre-civil war silver painstakingly amassed in just over a quarter of a century at the rate of one piece a year.

Edwardian silver table bells modelled as tortoises are not too hard to find but silver pigs are a much rarer beast. Accordingly, it was surprising to see two appear on two successive days at winter sales.

William Hogarth (1697-1764) became famous in his day with the help of numerous prints he produced.

An original Queen Anne walnut wingback armchair is among the items featured in the showcase foyer at the next Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair.

Dearth of fresh works coming to the market is a challenge for Old Master auction series.

The London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA) celebrates its 10th anniversary this year on the mezzanine of the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea Park.

Sotheby’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale of art and antiques from the Regency manor house Spetchley Park in Wychavon, Worcestershire, held in London on December 11, included a range of ‘kunstkammer’ objects amassed by the Berkeley family in the 19th century.

The typical Georgian silver coffee pot is one of the great bargains of 21st century antiques collecting.

Games manifesto from 1892 and Audubon’s classic head a selection of money-spinners.

A white porcelain sculpture made in the experimental years of the Chelsea factory has been acquired for the national ceramics collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

A sale of art and antiques from a Worcestershire manor house included the rare appearance at auction of two examples of Opus Anglicanum.