Charles Miller

At the same time as a naval arms race was taking place in the years just before the First World War another maritime competition developed in the shape of liners.

A letter from Ernest Shackleton to a supporter, written from South Georgia on the eve of his final departure on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, was offered at Charles Miller’s (24% buyer’s premium) latest Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art sale.

Dating from March 1-October 13, 1748, a journal for sale at London maritime specialist Charles Miller’s auction on April 23 was written by Admiral John Byng (1704-57) during the final negotiations of the failed Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and some eight years before his infamous actions off the coast of Minorca.

A secret copy of a commemorative full-length bronze of Lord Nelson holding a telescope which was sculpted by Princess Louise Duchess of Argyll, the sixth child of Queen Victoria and Albert, was the top lot in maritime specialist Charles Miller’s latest auction.

It is a big move for auctioneer Charles Miller. Well, big in terms of his new premises being larger and taller. Not so big in terms of huge distance, however.

The SS Normandie was both the apogee and the nadir of the Art Deco movement.

Interest in wireless telegraphy, that was piqued when Guglielmo Marconi successfully sent a message from Poldhu, Cornwall to St John’s, Newfoundland in 1910, prompted many amateurs to build and develop their own sets based on the ‘Coherer’ principle for sending and receiving Morse code.

Despite being a copy by a little-known Norfolk painter, ‘authentic’ portrait makes remarkable price

Rising to be Admiral of the Fleet during the War of the Spanish Succession, Sir Chaloner Ogle (1680-1750) had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy.

Nelson’s life and work has been exhaustively researched and evaluated since the day he died.

London auctioneer Charles Miller holds his next Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art auction on April 25

The sale of maritime antiques at Charles Miller (24% buyer’s premium) in London on November 1 included a number of silver boating trophies from the Royal Naval Club & Royal Albert Yacht Club, Portsmouth – most of them well received by the collecting audience.

André Romain Guilmet’s industrial themed clocks, the epitome of Victorian ‘progress’, are an ever-popular series.

A microscope used by Joseph Banks (1743-1820) on Captain Cook’s first Voyage of Discovery (1768-71) is going under the hammer estimated at £30,000-50,000 on November 1.

London auctioneer overcomes power cut to complete sale including a mighty Fresnel lens

An intriguing condition report that mentions ‘water and smoke damage’ gives a clue as to what happened to this battered copy of the Encyclopedia Britannia sold in a Charles Miller (24% buyer’s premium) auction.

Trio of family paintings depicting Jervis’ finest hour bring £90,000 result for marine specialist Charles Miller

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.