South-east England

A group of five pictures by Clifford Hall (1904-73) came to Parker Fine Art Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in Farnham sale courtesy of the daughter of a collector who used to paint with the artist.

Strong competition came for two small sketches by Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929) at different regional salerooms in January.

‘Any half-good work’ by the artist-mountaineer ‘seems to get several phone lines booked’, says expert

Back in August 2023 dealer Dave Steel of Tree of Ages Antiques Fairs saddled up and took over the midweek Epsom Antiques Fair run at Epsom Racecourse by the Bayliss family of Continuity Fairs for 30 years.

First Kempton event this year will involve 100 dealers at the racecourse venue

Demand for Japanese works was first hit by the so-called ‘Lost Decade’ that followed the collapse of the Japanese economy in 1991. However, changes in fashion, taste and legislation have also impacted prices.

According to the Greeting Card Association, the UK spend on Valentine’s Day in 2024 was more than £51m with around 25 million cards sent.

A selection of whimsical and distinctive Doulton Lambeth stonewares sold across three auctions in December and January

More pieces from Britain’s biggest collection of breadboards were sold by Canterbury Auction Galleries (25% buyer’s premium) at the end of last year.

Cases boasting bronze lions decoration proved popular and were produced for two decades

This carved wooden tobacconist figure or ‘Cigar Indian’ came to Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) auction in Send, Surrey, by descent through the vendor’s family.

While not instantly familiar to many non-American readers, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (1881-1944) has never been out of print and its many reprints have sold over a million copies in the US alone.

The most important of only 23 known surviving copies of the first – and subsequently withdrawn – June 1865 edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been given jointly to Christ Church Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries.

An original illustration for one of the most entertaining works on rare book collecting hammered for £15,000 to lead Mallams’ latest Modern Art & Design auction.

An original Andy Pandy string puppet from the BBC children’s TV show of the same name first aired in 1950 caught the attention at a Kent auction 75 years later.

Paul McCartney famously sang ‘Baby, You Can Drive My Car’ with the Beatles but he could clearly drive himself.

Collection of film crew member who worked on gruelling Star Wars shoot in Norway comes for sale

A recent sale of Books, Documents & Ephemera at Stride & Son in Chichester included this 3½ x 2½in (9 x 6cm) brass and enamel cigarette case.