Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
Pistols coming up at Thomas Del Mar auction show significance of an impressive provenance
02 December 2017Fine quality and condition are big factors in value for antique weapons, but an impressive provenance also fires the imagination, as two lots coming up in the Thomas Del Mar auction on December 6 demonstrate.
Victoria Cross sells for auction record at Morton & Eden and further VC sales are coming up at fellow London salerooms Dix Noonan Webb and Spink
30 November 2017Victoria Crosses are not exactly that rare at auction, despite being the highest British award for gallantry. However, the unique tales of bravery ensure demand is always high, as evident from the auction record just set at London saleroom Morton & Eden.
Rare design for 1931 Dracula film sets movie poster record – watch Heritage Auctions specialist giving an expert’s view
21 November 2017One of just two surviving movie posters for the 1931 horror classic ‘Dracula’ set a record for a movie poster at auction when it sold for a premium-inclusive $525,800 (£398,300). In this video released before the sale, director of vintage posters at Heritage, Grey Smith, discusses the film and the rarity of the poster.
Rare Richard III gold coin found by metal detectorist near Bosworth Field comes to auction
21 November 2017If you want a gold coin to have rarity value, then an example from a monarch whose reign lasted only a couple of years is a good start.
Pick of the Week: Jesse was best of the West Brom
20 November 2017One of the most comprehensive and best-preserved football memorabilia collections auctioneer Graham Budd (17.5% buyer’s premium) has ever handled netted a hammer total of £107,000 for a remarkable 47 lots including medals and caps on November 14-15.
Manchester United match programme from game watched by 8456 on a freezing February midweek afternoon
17 November 2017Love or hate Manchester United, it’s fair to say they do enjoy a bit of success. Although the past few seasons have been a relatively lean time, they can still boast 20 league titles, 17 FA and League Cups, three European Cups/Champions Leagues plus a Cup-Winners Cup and Europa League thrown in.
Mirror, mirror (and 14 more mirrors) on the wall - which is the best-seller of them all?
15 November 2017If you are into interior design and are looking for a theatrical flourish then a sale coming up at a Glasgow auction house this Friday (November 17) could be worth a moment of reflection.
Time to join the singles club
13 November 2017As auction houses expand their specialist sales programmes, separate departments can also develop if the volume of business is worth it. Not many have a dedicated single-owner department, however.
Horse whispers and festive song at Hansons
13 November 2017Not many new faces at salerooms can include among their experience “a trained horse whisperer”.
Auction of Victoria Cross at Spink marks Passchendaele centenary
13 November 2017“I died in hell – they called it Passchendaele,” Siegfried Sassoon famously wrote of the First World War carnage which ended in November 1917.
Pick of the Week: Vancouver sextant discovery
13 November 2017The name on the frame was the name of the game at Charles Miller’s November 7 auction in west London where a “rather tired and dirty” sextant sold for £28,000.
They think it's all over: football 1966 World Cup commentator's RAF medals up at auction
11 November 2017“They think it’s all over… it is now!” were the perfectly timed words uttered by TV commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme as England won the 1966 World Cup. Much less well known is that Wolstenholme (1920-2002) had a highly distinguished RAF service record in the Second World War.
Early international caps at auction won by footballer Fatty Wedlock
09 November 2017Footballer Neil Ruddock’s nickname was Razor Ruddock. Brian Kilcline became Killer Kilcline. Going back a bit further, Ron Harris roved on the pitch as Chopper Harris. Going back a lot further, Billy Wedlock’s nickname was Fatty. Or the India Rubber Man.
Art Deco transport posters unite the sleek and the speed
07 November 2017Art Deco was a style that epitomised speed and power, wrapped in a sleekness that dominated design from furniture, ceramics and glass to architecture and sculpture.
Union Flag flown by British officer who led Canadians ashore on D-Day up at auction
02 November 2017As noted often recently in Antiques Trade Gazette, successive waves of original American D-Day flags have stormed into salerooms despite their fragile nature, with consignors tempted by the high prices they fetch at auction.
Film poster collectors get their teeth into Dracula and more classic early designs
01 November 2017Have you heard of the famous actor Béla Ferenc Dezsö Blaskó? Probably not in that form, but you may know him better as Bela Lugosi. If you collect film posters, you will certainly know his most famous role.
Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell memorabilia at auction
30 October 2017In September 1966, John Graham ‘Mitch’ Mitchell was invited to ‘come and have a play’ with a newly arrived American guitarist in London named Jimi Hendrix.
Pick of the Week: Nelson’s chair of command
30 October 2017The large pockets once inserted at the side of this leather armchair – now sealed up – give a clue to the role of the famous person who once sat on it. The chair’s nickname of ‘The Emma’ is another big hint.
Lively furniture demand boosts Lewes and Crewkerne auctions
30 October 2017With impressive bids from UK, Continental and US buyers on lots from paperweights and 17th century oak carvings to snuff boxes, and surprisingly high bids on fine English furniture, the Autumn Fine Sale at Gorringe’s (21% buyer’s premium) topped the £1m hammer mark.
Five goal England football hero Supermac sells his memorabilia collection
26 October 2017Football trivia time: who was the last player to score five goals for England in a game – but never played for the national team at Wembley ever again?