Somerset

Plucked from a box of bric-a-brac brought in for a general sale, a Commonwealth gilt brass sealing wax box sold for £5200 at Lawrences of Crewkerne. A clever pun gives a clue to its maker’s identity - and perhaps his political leanings.

Fashion and textiles designer and former singer songwriter Pearl Lowe will stall out with some of her antique finds at The Vintage Bazaar in Frome on Saturday October 19.

Archive sold in Somerset and bugle offered in Dorset reflect the first organised cycling clubs

The nursery rhyme 'Rain, rain go away' could be the response after the UK experienced in the past 18 months the fourth-wettest period since records began.

Ceramic phrenology heads have become ubiquitous following numerous reproductions. However, original 19th century models are much harder to come by.

Antiques on High on the hunt for more dealers

The gift of the private collection of the late George Withers keeps on giving.

Withers and Dailey selections follow hot on the heels of Turpin lots with plenty of fine art highlights

“He stored everything like Russian dolls, everything packed away into something else."

An auction house has existed in the Dore & Rees premises, a Victorian gothic building on Vicarage Street, Frome, since 1868.

Buyers descend on the late George Withers collection in Somerset

A French three-colour gold snuff box was a highlight of the silver and vertu section of Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne’s recent winter sale.

Picture-postcard collecting became a craze in Edwardian times and in the 21st century many of us are delighted collectors of these ‘windows on the world’.

Trapani in western Sicily has for centuries been renowned as a centre for objects mounted with carved coral, a tradition that derives from the nearby coral reefs and reached its height in the 17th and 18th centuries.

One of the most eyecatching collections of Impressionist and Modern art sold at a provincial auction at the end of last year comprised 17 lots from the late Ralph Bateman.

The Times recently ran a feature on seven of the most atmospheric towns in the UK in which to do your Christmas shopping for one-off gifts, maybe combining this joysome activity with a weekend break. Here are some art and antiques options in two of them, Ludlow in Shropshire and Frome in Somerset.