London

There was some good old fashioned auction drama in Ruislip on October 7 when a loose sapphire hammered for £332,000, a house record for any of the Adam Partridge salerooms.

The 300th anniversary of the birth of the English radical journalist and politician John Wilkes (1725-97) on October 17 is being marked by a small exhibition featuring items from the personal collection and stock of dealer Timothy Millett.

In the midst of the Second World War, the German artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) produced a series of small sculptural reliefs on the theme of mothers protecting their children.

An original printing plate for one of the best-known images of the abolitionist movement emerged at a recent Forum Auctions (27% buyer’s premium) sale in London.

To coincide with the V&A’s 'Marie Antoinette: Style' exhibition, portrait miniature specialist Emma Rutherford’s Limner Company is holding a ‘pop-up’ selling exhibition at Daniel Crouch Rare Books in Bury Street, Mayfair.

Any association fair has the unenviable task of attempting to be all things to all members, of attracting bigger name galleries while remaining accessible to sole operators, of maintaining the quality aesthetic that visitors expect while keeping stand costs affordable.

How sad that the Olympia winter fair has been scrapped not only because of nearly clashing with the Berkeley Square fair but also costs and the ridiculous idea of the dealers of fabulous antiques having to mix their stands with all that Christmas stuff.

When the Folk Art dealer Robert Young first met Tif Hunter over 30 years ago, he was instantly drawn to the photographer’s work.

This particularly rare American issue of the 1939 Michelin Guide was specially commissioned by the Military Intelligence Division of the War Department in Washington D.C. during the Second World War.

London jeweller Wartski has the perfect gift for Halloween: a late 17th century pendant fashioned from a lizard’s leg.

Azca Auctions in Hammersmith, west London, has announced new recruits following the departure of the founding directors earlier this summer.

Stand-out decorative items by named artists with interesting back-stories were in demand at the latest The Decorative Fair in Battersea.

Catherine Southon’s October 15 Fine Sale in Chislehurst includes this chalk caricature of the sculptor Cecil Gunthorp (1893-1983) done by one Henry Moore (1898-1986).

A private collection of children’s illustrated books formed over the past 50 years provided several stand-out lots in The Collector’s auction held by Catherine Southon (27.6% buyer’s premium inc VAT).

Wedding gift for Catherine of Aragon stands out as one of the highlights at the latest Frieze Masters