Peter Wilson

Our weekly selection from salerooms.

Four military maps encompassing Siam (Thailand), Hong Kong, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia took an unexpected £3700 at the Peter Wilson (22% buyer’s premium) Arms, Militaria, Medals & Firearms auction earlier this year.

London became the training ground for many young South African artists during the inter-war years. Among them was Cape Town painter Freida Lock (1902-62) who attended Heatherley School of Art and the Central School of Art where she was introduced to the works of post-Impressionists such as Van Gogh, Cézanne and Braque.

Three works selling at regional sales below £3500, including a print of 'Lowry Walking on Swinton Moss' by Harold Riley.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a Trevor Grimshaw steam train.

Red jackets and white helmets looked lovely on the parade ground but in the modern world of warfare developing at the end of the 19th century they also made fine targets for accurate long-range rifles.

“Although hailing from the north west of England and having close ties to many of the important Northern artists, Geoffrey Key (b.1941) has never really strived to be associated with this school and as such has a more universal, broader appeal and freedom to expand his painting horizon.”

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales below £2000, including a pen and ink wash by Paul Sandby.

Until electricity became commonplace in homes, the power source of choice for the gramophone was a spring motor that required frequent winding. One unusual solution to silent interludes at the dinner dance was to power the device by hot air.

Benefiting from the continuing fashion for late 19th century novelty mantel clocks, a gilt-brass and steel example by Guilmet made the running at Peter Wilson (22% buyer’s premium) of Nantwich.

When it comes to buying limited-edition prints by LS Lowry (1887-1976), those produced by one publisher in particular stand out above the rest for collectors.

Never wholly out of demand since top Victorian upholsterer Howard & Sons began producing furniture from its Soho premises, these built-for-comfort sofas and armchairs continue to excel whenever offered at auction.

With Bonhams the only one of the ‘big three’ in this market, other salerooms carve out a role...

Perhaps the rarest of all Beswick’s output is the pit pony figure Spirit of Whitfield.