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Long before the world became obsessed by marketing, branding and PR, garden designer Humphry Repton was way ahead of the game.

Around 1400 lots were offered in Bertoia’s mammoth auction of vintage toys in Vineland, New Jersey, including seasonal playthings for Halloween and Christmas.

Bronze Age golden jewellery and a Roman goddess kept in a margarine tub are among the discoveries dug up across the UK.

The archive of John Mollo, the concept artist behind the Star Wars franchise, came up at Bonhams this week. Leading the sale was a personal sketchbook showing some of the first hand-drawn costume designs for Darth Vader, Chewbacca and the stormtroopers.

On March 15, 1493, Christopher Columbus disembarked from his ship in Palos and headed straight to Barcelona where he recounted tales of his discovery of America to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

The ivory bill, which proposes a near-total ban on the trade in ivory, has passed its final stage in the House of Commons and is awaiting Royal Assent before it can become law next year.

The London auction calendar in early December offered a busy schedule of antiquities, sculpture and works of art sales running side-by-side with the Old Master series. Overall the sales were relatively well-received with improved selling rates on previous years. Here we select five highlights from the series.