Entertainment Memorabilia

This pastoral scene titled 'Where is this bower beside the silver Thames?' features on a poster to promote the London Underground by the well-known French Art Deco artist Jean Dupas.

Backing up his upbeat view of the future for salerooms (ATG No 2444) veteran auctioneer Chris Ewbank enjoyed a 99% success rate at the latest outing for his Sports & Entertainment specialist department.

Aston’s Auctioneers & Valuers in Dudley is to close and its final sale – a sci-fi toy collection – will be held next month.

This c.1912 poster from the Buffalo Bill-Pawnee Bill film Company advertises a three-reel silent film by Paul Panzer on the life of the Wild West showman and depicts him on horseback with a Native American family and a tepee.

Although a smaller affair than the much better-known Isle of Wight festival of the same year, the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music, held on June 27-28, 1970, at the Shepton Mallet showground, boasted perhaps the greatest UK music festival line-up of all time.

The response among Sixties regulars at a north London pub to the fly poster, below, advertising a gig by the High Numbers may well have been: The who?

The artist John Hurford was a key figure in the British psychedelia movement of the late 1960s.

Only around five examples of this rare ‘Big Beat’ concert poster are thought to exist. It advertises a 1958 tour by Rock and Roll promoter Alan Freed, whose photo appears at the top above the 16 different 1950s top musical acts (all also pictured).

As foreign travel is greatly restricted for now, we can feast our eyes instead on this extravagant poster of the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco.

A section of maritime antiques offered at Adam Partridge (20% buyer’s premium) in Liverpool included an otherwise pedestrian Spode cup and saucer made c.1910.

This Star Wars Kenner Blue Snaggletooth action figure, undented toe version, complete with original weapon, is estimated at £80-120 in the Special Auction Services October 27 Toys for the Collector sale.

It’s admittedly not much to look at and just 2 x 3½in (5 x 8.5cm), but if you are a Star Wars collector this badge on offer estimated at £4000-6000 at East Bristol Auctions on July 24 means a great deal.

A memento of the last great age of transatlantic ocean travel can be found at the sale of Peter Karbstein in Düsseldorf on July 11.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including a Star Wars action figure droid from 'The Empire Strikes Back' making over 50-times estimate.

The American magician William Ellsworth Robinson not only adopted the stage name of Chung Ling Soo but stayed in character as a Chinese magician on and off stage.

The sale held by Swan Fine Art (20% buyer’s premium) in Tetsworth on May 6 included a fine-quality ventriloquist’s doll, c.1930.