London

Roman and 20th century poetry, science and sarcasm, Arctic printing, Mayan discoveries, cranes and a porcupine, as well as a miniature master of calligraphy all featured in one of the first large London book sales of the year.

The next three Frock Me vintage fashion fairs this year will be held at the Kensington Town Hall, instead of its usual venue, Chelsea Town Hall, which is being refurbished.

Christopher Howe has been dealing from the Pimlico Road area for the past 30 years but he likes to shake things up.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Dawson’s Auctioneers & Valuers is expanding into the capital with a new valuation office in north London.

Leading Roseberys’ inaugural stand-alone sale of 20th century decorative arts on January 23 – the first under new head of department Fiona Baker – was this large Art Deco ceramic vase and cover (right) by the important French Art Deco ceramicist René Buthaud (1886-1986).

London coins and medals specialist Dix Noonan Webb is changing its management structure.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Darnley Fine Art in west London specialises in paintings from the 16th-20th centuries and is a specialist in 19th century Orientalist painting of the Middle East and prints by David Roberts. The Milner Street gallery’s Adrian Pett weighs in on shifting trends – and ales.

The same French collection that brought the fine pair of Boutet pistols to the Thomas Del Mar Sale on December 6 also included a number of later Continental pistols that were rare and certainly unfamiliar to most British collectors.

A complete suit of well-matched period armour is rare indeed, so there was no doubting the star of Bonhams’ (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale in London.

Holt’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) sale in London on December 14 included two prime examples of weapons designed to get their owners out of a tight corner.

Detailed and dark, the prints of Gerald Brockhurst (1890-1978) offer striking portraits of both the famous and fictional from the first half of the 20th century.

As winter moves into spring, London will host two major events for arms and armour enthusiasts.

Dedicated to those who campaigned for 50 years for the right of women to vote, the Museum of London is currently holding an exhibition of images and objects chosen from the museum’s vast collections of suffragette material.

Portable lighters appeared in the early 20th century, with Dunhill being the most collectable name and watch lighters regarded as most covetable.

The latest recent arms and armour sales on both sides of the Atlantic serves only to reinforce the impression that pistols remain a huge favourite with collectors in this field.