Enthusiasts for this distinctive British pottery clamoured to buy a piece of its history. Bidders bought all but six of the 290 lots for a hammer total of £212,700, comfortably over the pre-sale predictions of in excess of £180,000.
The audience was a mix of trade and private buyers, but in the event the sale's main purchaser proved to be the Borough of Poole, who carried off 66 lots, spending around £88,000 including premium.
The borough came armed with an extensive shopping list and a spending pot of over £100,000, raised from a mix of donations from the general public, their own coffers and various grants and purchase funds.
They were particularly keen to acquire documentary material such as pattern books, designs and photographs, as well as key pieces of historical importance to the pottery, such as the 3ft 1in x 4ft 3in (93cm x 1.32m) tile panel depicting views of Poole, pictured right.
Made c.1930 to a design by the artist Edward Bawden, the borough went to £13,000 plus 19.5 per cent premium to secure it, making it the most expensive piece in the sale.
