Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
US library comes to auction after college closure
25 July 2024The library of Birmingham-Southern College, featuring early works on the history of North America and classics of science and literature, will be sold at Grant Zahajko Auctions in Davenport, Washington over two days on July 31-August 1.
King of Pop Michael Jackson’s drawings to appear at auction after court ruling
24 July 2024King’s Auctions of Las Vegas has been appointed by the Superior Court of California to sell a collection of original artworks signed by Michael Jackson (1958-2009).
16th century travelling clock finds its way to auction
22 July 2024This rare 16th century German travelling clock in the form of a book sold for £27,500 at Hutchinson Scott in Skipton, North Yorkshire.
Pick of the Week: Recipe book cooks up saleroom storm
22 July 2024Ralph ‘Randolphus’ Ayres is recorded as being head cook at New College, Oxford at various times in the 18th century.
Remarkable British medieval jug flies to eight times estimate
22 July 2024An outstanding example of British medieval pottery sold as part of the Stanley F Goldfein collection of ceramics drew fervent bidding at a recent US auction.
Second World War prisoner of war Rolex watch features among five lots to watch
22 July 2024With estimates from £300, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week
Hey Diddle Diddle, it’s a rare Segal Toys set
22 July 2024The range of nursery rhyme and sporting figures made by Phillip Segal Toys are among the most desirable of all hollowcast lead ‘civilians’.
Sought-after signatures include Queen star and a Saudi king
22 July 2024A landlord and tenancy agreement signed by Freddie Mercury in 1986 was among the highlights of the Autographs and Memorabilia at Chiswick Auctions (25/12% buyer’s premium).
Olympic Games posters that feature innovative design
22 July 2024The 1968 Mexico Summer Olympics were the first Games to be staged in Latin America.
Posters created as political expression in Communist-run Poland
22 July 2024Roman Cieślewicz (1930-96) and Jan Lenica (1928-2001) were both founders of the Polish School of Posters, the influential and creative artistic movement that sprang up under strict Soviet rule.
Key Mormon work was taken in the spirit intended
22 July 2024First edition of key Mormon work lists Joseph Smith as ‘author and proprietor’ of text not ‘translator’
Tiny Chinese porcelain incense box sells at over 400 times estimate
19 July 2024The latest biannual offering of Chinese, Japanese, and Indian works of art at Tremont Auctions (22% buyer’s premium) was dominated by the multi-estimate performance of a single lot.
‘A lifelong labour of love’: Hensman tile collection sells at marathon sale in Stourbridge
17 July 2024Most tile collectors tend to specialise in a particular area – a favourite factory, a period, a designer or a chosen subject matter. Roger Hensman was passionate about the subject in all its forms.
Chinese brush washer makes 200 times estimate in Norfolk
16 July 2024A Chinese monochrome brush washer in one of the most prized glazes of the Song dynasty sold for an unexpected £120,000 at auction in Norfolk.
Hey Diddle Diddle – the toy bid over the moon
16 July 2024The range of nursery rhyme and sporting figures made by Phillip Segal Toys are among the most desirable of all hollowcast lead ‘civilians’.
Georgian mahogany furniture features among four lots to watch this week
15 July 2024With estimates from £5000, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week
Mineral water bottle pops up to break record
15 July 2024A new record for any English bottle was set at specialist saleroom BBR Auctions in Elsecar, South Yorkshire.
Poetry work that awakened the genius of John Keats
15 July 2024Only 29 books from the library of John Keats are recorded - among them a 1679 printing of the collected works of the Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser given to him by the artist Joseph Severn (1793-1879).
British silver pieces from renowned Texas collection on offer
15 July 2024New Orleans dealership MS Rau has acquired 222 pieces of English silver from the collection of Texan businessman Billy Joe ‘Red’ McCombs (1927-2023).