Latest News Articles by Ian McKay
![img_26-3.jpg](/media/88185/img_26-3.jpg?rxy=0.4073455759599332,0.29162248144220571&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133189488730000000)
Nicolas Robert hits bloom time at £355,000
23 January 2023Right at the top of the price lists for a London sale of a second portion of the library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Earl Fairhaven, was a lot that presented a handsomely bound collection of 15 very fine watercolour on vellum drawings of flowers.
![img_25-3.jpg](/media/87984/img_25-3.jpg?rxy=0.41188118811881186,0.37412587412587411&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133183449460000000)
Churchill gathers sale demand
16 January 2023An inscription bearing Winston Churchill’s signature and dated 1948 found in a single volume of his famous history of the Second World War that came to auction in Cumbria was believed to be authentic.
![img_24-1.jpg](/media/87978/img_24-1.jpg?rxy=0.50834879406307976,0.091811414392059559&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133183448730000000)
Momentous lots of Irish history sold at Fonsie Mealy
16 January 2023Easter Rising republic proclamation and Wolfe Tone’s revolutionary tract are sold on home turf.
![img_24-3.jpg](/media/87980/img_24-3.jpg?rxy=0.49796747967479676,0.18160651920838183&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133183448940000000)
Mystery lot goes from £40-60 guide to £24,000
16 January 2023A December 6 auction in Exeter was dominated by a lot estimated at just £40-60 but sold instead at £24,000.
![img_25-1.jpg](/media/87982/img_25-1.jpg?rxy=0.62919463087248317,0.61361014994232987&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133186862820000000)
Presentation copy of Paddington Bear first edition sells to American bidder
16 January 2023Having featured prominently on television in a specially made part of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Paddington Bear hardly needs any more publicity.
British and Irish book auctions: January 17-February 4, 2023
16 January 2023Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.
![img_21-3.jpg](/media/87774/img_21-3.jpg?rxy=0.45519713261648748,0.26880394574599259&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133177394910000000)
Letter details horrors of ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’
09 January 2023Thought by the auction house to be an early copy, a letter that details the horrors of the ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’ in 1756 was sold for £2900.
British and Irish book auctions: January 10-31, 2023
09 January 2023Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.
![img_21-2.jpg](/media/87773/img_21-2.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133177393880000000)
Transparencies bring to light the secrets of a French work
09 January 2023Les Portes Fermées ou Les Doubles Surprises, a rare and tiny French work of c.1820, sold for £1600 at a Newcastle auction.
![img_20-1.jpg](/media/87767/img_20-1.jpg?rxy=0.489247311827957,0.32936078006500541&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133177379640000000)
Gillray drawing stars in a satirical selection
09 January 2023Highlights from London auction also include art historian’s collection and extraordinary Orwell oddity
![img_26-1.jpg](/media/87616/img_26-1.jpg?rxy=0.39459459459459462,0.26858877086494687&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133171347860000000)
Bizet and Caxton in the mix
02 January 2023Highlights including signed opera score from a varied auction held in North Yorkshire
British and Irish book auctions: January 4-26, 2023
02 January 2023Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.
![img_26-2.jpg](/media/87617/img_26-2.jpg?rxy=0.47636363636363638,0.33097595473833097&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133171348030000000)
Don’t think twice, it’s all right to make a bid for Bob Dylan love letters
02 January 2023Running to over 150pp in all, an archive of 42 love letters sent by Bob Dylan to a high school sweetheart, Barbara Ann Hewitt, featured in a November 17 Marvels of Modern Music sale held by RR Auctions of Amherst, New Hampshire.
![img_27-1.jpg](/media/87618/img_27-1.jpg?rxy=0.3418181818181818,0.19834710743801653&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133171355990000000)
Polar explorer Scott’s farewell in his own hand
02 January 2023“We have been to the Pole and we shall die like gentlemen.”
![img_28-5.jpg](/media/87391/img_28-5.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133159246060000000)
Big catches in angling collection
19 December 2022Bonhams New York (27.5/26/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) had bidders hooked by the angling books included in its wide-ranging November 15 auction.
![img_28-1.jpg](/media/87387/img_28-1.jpg?rxy=0.49315068493150682,0.62864077669902918&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133159245570000000)
Beano No 1 and less familiar titles which still in demand
19 December 2022While a Beano No 1 will always take the headlines, not so well-known titles can also impress
British and Irish book auctions: December 20-February 23
19 December 2022Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.
![img_23-1.jpg](/media/87190/img_23-1.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133153107660000000)
Sizeable Chicago sale led by a huge 7ft wide city map
12 December 2022The creation of James T Palmatary, the engraved and framed birds-eye view or plan of Chicago of 1857 pictured above is almost 7ft wide.
![img_22-1.jpg](/media/87185/img_22-1.jpg?rxy=0.38181818181818183,0.2621870882740448&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133153156990000000)
Put in the hours for the rewards
12 December 2022Illuminated manuscript c.1470 is a highlight in Gloucestershire saleroom
Books and works on paper auction calendar: December 13-January 12, 2022
12 December 2022Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.