North America

A Texas sale generated six-figure sums for two very different lots.

Toucans were the avian best-sellers in a recent sale held by Freeman’s (26/20/12% buyer’s premium) of Philadelphia.

The centrepiece of a sell-out 762-lot toy sale held by Milestone (20% buyer’s premium) was a collection formed by Margaret and Joel Weissmann.

Swann’s sale of vintage posters in New York on August 5 will include this poster from 1919 designed by Charles Loupot to advertise Mekka cigarettes.

Remarkable sums were paid for vintage video games at Heritage Auctions – including a record-breaking $1.35m (£1m) bid for Super Mario 64.

London-made flintlocks with a solid provenance to Alexander Hamilton took to the stage at US sale

Record for a painting by the music legend David Bowie leads a look at rockstar attempts at visual art

European ceramics from renowned US collector come to the New York rostrum.

The sale of European Décor and Design to be held by Skinner in Massachusetts online from July 20-29 will include a large selection of Wedgwood ceramics.

Charles Carroll’s printed copy of the Declaration of Independence – discovered earlier this year in a Scottish family home – sold at auction in Philadelphia for $3.7m (£2.85m) plus premium.

Some lots in a recent Chicago sale were quite enormous – like a near-complete run of Limited Editions Club publications from the years 1929-2010.

A copy of Ratzer’s 'Plan of the City of New York…' offered as part of a Doyle (26/21/15% buyer’s premium) sale in the spring left much to be desired.

Kashmir sapphires have acquired a near-legendary status, due to their lustrous cornflower colour, soft velvety texture and extreme rarity.

Over a dozen fine art dealers have joined The Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) in one of the largest new member classes in the organisation’s history.

Auction Technology Group (ATG), owner of Antiques Trade Gazette and online marketplaces including thesaleroom.com, has announced the proposed acquisition of LiveAuctioneers, a major art and antiques auction marketplace in North America.

'Hunters and Dogs in the Park at Silkwood House, 1886', is an oil on canvas by British equestrian painter Edward Benjamin Herberte (1857-93).

The opening lot in Hake’s June 29-30 auction Pennsylvania, is a 1767 promissory note hand-signed by a prominent Virginia slave owner – George Washington.