Dominic Winter

Wider spectrum of buyers means presenting catalogue entries in greater detail can pay off

Matthias Buchinger (1674-1740), the so-called ‘Little Man of Nuremberg’, was just 2ft 5in (74cm) tall. Born in Ansbach without legs and having truncated arms without fingers, he nonetheless excelled at many occupations associated with physical dexterity.

Spread over two days and running to 600 lots, a very mixed sale held by Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) included Oscar Wilde’s 'The Importance of being Earnest' as one of the literary high spots.

A terracotta sculpture of Mary Seacole (1805-81) sparked fierce competition at Dominic Winter.

English Civil War group The John Hampden Society has bought a lock of hair thought to be from the head of its eponymous patron.

South Cerney sale of nearly 900 lots mirrors the huge offerings held in Germany

The auction calendar has been much changed by Covid 19 restrictions. However, as indicated by these lots offered for sale, an increasing number of auction houses are transacting safely behind closed doors holding timed sales or ‘live online’ sales with bids taken via bidding platforms such as thesaleroom.com or over the phone. Typically purchases can either be collected safely and couriered, or stored by the auction house until the current government guidance is lifted. With auction houses set to be able to be reopen premises to the public from June 1, more and more sales are now being added to the auction calendar.

Rare works in South Cerney sale document the formative years of the Bank of England

Two Italian Mannerist chalk drawings emerged as the top sellers in a section of Old Master drawings and prints at Cirencester saleroom Dominic Winter.

Three works selling at regional sales below £1500, including a Rosalie Emslie watercolour.

This finely modelled Hellenistic white marble figure of Aphrodite sold for £60,000 (plus 24% buyer’s premium) at Dominic Winter in South Cerney on March 5. Bidding opened at £30,000, twice the low estimate, before bids were exchanged between the internet and the phones.

Early-17th century Lithuanian plan sold alongside companion Dnieper river details

Star turn among some 120 lots of playing cards offered as part of a Stroud Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) sale was the last to be offered. A complete set of Charles Hodges’ Astronomical Playing Cards, it sold online for £3000.

As ever, the most recent sale held by Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) contained a great many maps and atlases and shown below is one of the highlights.

Two ‘Frost Fair’ broadsides printed at one of the many stalls set up on the Thames during a hard 18th century winter in which London’s river froze over were sold in a recent sale held by Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium).

Bid just short of the high estimate to sell at £56,000 in a Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) sale was a rare complete set in 25 original parts of John Gould’s 'Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming Birds' of 1849-61.

Michael Faraday’s laboratory notebook from 1851 includes a series of diagrams illustrating what he called ‘magnetic lines of force’ – the magnetic field lines that are central to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.