Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire

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Five unusual militaria lots coming up at auction

25 October 2018

Focus on five militaria items ranging from a ship's bell marking a pioneering aircraft launch to a grasshopper brooch left as a memento for loved ones.

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Letters from Japan by 'father of studio pottery' Bernard Leach sell at Somerset auction to a Surrey museum

18 October 2018

An archive of letters by leading studio pottery maker Bernard Leach (1887-1979) has been bought at auction by a museum which holds the largest collection of his material in the country.

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Boris Karloff The Mummy 1932 film poster could set world auction record in Sotheby's online sale

16 October 2018

A film poster tagline of ‘Pratt the uncanny in The Mummy’ wouldn’t have been anywhere near as scary as ‘Karloff the uncanny in The Mummy’.

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Cambridge saleroom Cheffins says strong prices have inspired a specialist jewellery, silver and watches biannual auction

16 October 2018

Strong prices at auction for jewellery, silver and watches have tempted Cambridge saleroom Cheffins to launch a specialist sale dedicated to such items.

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Five musical options in tune at auctions in the UK and US

15 October 2018

Five auctions coming up featuring lots on a musical theme.

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Antique arms fairs combine at Olympia

15 October 2018

The next Antique Arms Fair at Olympia in west London will incorporate another key London collecting event, the long-running Park Lane Arms Fair.

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Eyes right for two striking photographs by Cameron and McCurry on offer in American auction

10 October 2018

If eyes really are the windows into the soul then two photographs taken nearly 120 years apart give the viewer plenty to ponder.

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Female art designers in focus as London travel posters come up for auction in New York

04 October 2018

If you enjoy ‘spot the difference’ competitions, a pair of British travel posters coming up at auction in the US will be of immediate interest.

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Bernie Taupin property auction reflects successful Elton John songwriting partnership

03 October 2018

For a man who left school at 15 to start work as a farm labourer and an apprentice printer for a local newspaper in Lincolnshire, Bernie Taupin certainly made the most of his future career.

Paperweight

Pick of the week: Heavyweight paperweight price at auction in Wales

17 September 2018

It was of early manufacture, looked beautiful and the condition was very good – but auctioneer Ben Rogers Jones admits to still being mystified as to why a paperweight sold for such a hefty price at his Cardiff saleroom.

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Dealers take up arms in London for Olympia fair

17 September 2018

A Maori quarterstaff and an Indian suit of armour are among the diverse highlights being shown at the next Antiques Arms Fair taking place at the Pillar Hall, Olympia.

Banknotes book

Specimen banknotes set house record at auction in Tring

17 September 2018

A book of specimen banknotes printed for locations across the world has set a house record for Tring Market Auctions (17.5% buyer’s premium) by selling for £205,000.

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Britains' Lancers ride to £11,000 result

10 September 2018

Considering that W Britain began making his revolutionary hollowcast toy soldiers only in 1893, a set dating from just three years later certainly deserves the tag ‘early’.

Banknotes

Rare specimen banknotes book sets auction record at Hertfordshire saleroom

10 September 2018

A book of specimen banknotes printed for locations across the world has set a house record for Tring Market Auctions (17.5% buyer’s premium) by selling for £205,000.

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Chicago auction held by magical memorabilia specialist saleroom conjures up enchanting stories

10 September 2018

Chicago auction house Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) is conjuring up quite a reputation for its magic memorabilia sales.

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René Lalique perfume bottle with no stopper is still a flyer at auction

10 September 2018

A classic French René Lalique perfume bottle was on offer at Virginia auction house Jeffrey S Evans on August 24-25 from the collection of the late Joan M Wentz, Germansville, Pennsylvania, which had been amassed over 50 years.

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Lefeuvre bronze sculpture has good ring to it

10 September 2018

This bronze sculpture by Louis-Albert Lefeuvre (1845- 1924), Les Fondeurs du Moyen Age, was one of the highlights of a single-owner collection sold by Alderfer Auction in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.

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Single owner portrait silhouette collection amassed for over 40 years stands out at auction in Cambridge

06 September 2018

Portrait silhouettes were all the rage in fashionable English society of the Georgian period but suffered a rapid decline in popularity in Victorian times as photography began to dominate.

Britains 1st Bomber Lancers at Vectis

Britains toy soldiers gallop into Teesside auction as Bombay Lancers set from 1896 makes £11,000

05 September 2018

In the race to offer increasingly collectable more modern toys such as Lego and Star Wars, a lot dating from 1896 sold at a Teesside auction shows older items are still in the running when rarity and condition are just right.

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Pick of the Week: Cheers to new beer label ‘record’

03 September 2018

Gary Arkell of Loddon Auctions was ready to toast a record-breaking success when lot 718 in the Berkshire saleroom’s latest auction sold for what is believed to be a record price for a beer label of £1500.