Collectables

Decorative Highland dirks from the late 19th century, often mounted in silver and set with cairngorms, appear for sale with some frequency.

From 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' to 'The Last Duel', films nearly always depict the Middle Ages as dark, dingy and beset by bad weather.

London poster specialist stages two shows – one held in an embassy

Top-selling lot in Halls’ (24% buyer’s premium) books and manuscripts sale on November 15 was a collection of 14 letters written by the Anglo-Irish novelist Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) between 1818-31.

Among the many highlights of the Alan and Simone Hartman collection at Bonhams New York is a copy of the monumental catalogue of the famed Bishop collection of Chinese jades. The deluxe volume, once owned by the last tsar of Russia, carries expectations of $100,000-150,000 as part of the 114-lot dispersal on December 14.

Dealer Daniel Hadden is hoping for an early Christmas present with the sale of two tree decorations that once belonged to Queen Victoria.

The Christmas Rare Books & Collectors sale at Irish auction house Fonsie Mealy on December 12-13 includes No33 of only 150 copies in a limited special edition of Bog Poems by Seamus Heaney illustrated by Barrie Cooke (London, Rainbow Press, 1975).

Pictured here are two fine 19th century presentation copies that, unexpectedly, topped sales in South Cerney and Cambridge in October.

A group of letters sent from a clipper ship captain in Shanghai during the Second Opium War (1856-60) to his sons in the Charlestown area of Boston resounded with bidders at Merrill’s Auctioneers (21% buyer’s premium) in Williston, Vermont on November 3.

Scrap of paper came as result of half a manuscript book being chewed into ‘confetti’ by Steinbeck’s dog

The writing was on the wall for the Waverley not long after it entered the market in 1895.

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions

How much would you spend on an antique or vintage chess set? Here are three examples from different periods that sold across a wide range of prices.

In September 2020, Soulis Auctions knocked down record prices at a sale of the Richard and Valerie Tucker collection of carnival shooting gallery targets.

To say that James Bond memorabilia is hugely collectable is not a statement to cause a huge shock.

The Matchbox Superfast 74a Daimler Fleetline Bus estimated at £60-80 as Lot 214 in the Vectis (27% buyer’s premium inc VAT) sale on October 31 made £35, while the version guided at £50-70 two lots later made £120.

Dispersal of renowned collection launches with the first auctions including Aldine ‘crown jewels’

The first American Civil War playset produced by Marx came in 1958 but in 1961 a real blockbuster version appeared: the Giant Blue and Gray Battle Set.

The Barbie movie might not have been such a hit if it was called Bild-Lilli instead.