International

Documented in the book ‘The Allure of Toy Ships: American & European Nautical Toys from the 19th and 20th Centuries’, the Richard T. Claus collection is widely acknowledged as the best toy boat collection in America and, some say, rivals the very best in Europe.

This Saturday, Provenance Auction House of Cape Town will sell the first instalment of an extraordinary collection of 300 bells formed by the late Keith Blumgart.

This summer’s ‘Temps Fort’ sales in the French capital have thrown up an usually strong contingent of sculpture.

George Moyer is ranked among the world’s foremost collectors of fireworks-related items.

When police raided one of the most prominent January coin sales in New York no-one was quite sure why.

As all Märklin boats were available with a variety of names and flags (trade buyers could choose these details prior to placing an order), it seems safe to assume this ocean liner named Deutschland was made for the home market.

What has been a rich summer season of American book and manuscript sales culminated when Christie’s New York saw a record for any American book or historical document.

Lalique glass is one of those areas that has an international appeal with the best pieces selling strongly wherever they crop up.

Back in early 2010 when an Apple I computer sold on eBay for $50,000 it was regarded by the vintage computer fraternity as a gross over-valuation – but by December 2010 another had fetched £110,000 in a Christie’s book sale.

ROUND UP: The pick of three lots of classic jewellery at Sotheby’s latest antiquities sale in New York from the collection built by Jan Mitchell was this 4th century BC Greek gold wreath of two olive branches bound with shoots of ribbed leaves and berries.

Australian auction house Leonard Joel have made a public challenge to competitors by offering a 105% return to sellers for the higher end of the market.

A federal judge has declared the 1977 California Resale Royalty Act unconstitutional.

The auction business often runs counter-cyclical to wider economic fortunes, so it’s no great surprise that the strong results posted in 2011 by many of Britain’s regional auctioneers have been mirrored across the Atlantic.

A new insurance company are trying to plug what they see as a gap in the market for auction guarantees between $10,000 and $1.5m.

Soon after the gallery doors close at the BRUNEAF fair in Brussels on June 10 all eyes turn to Paris where Christie’s and Sotheby’s will hold major African and Oceanic sales on succeeding days.

A string of record prices for leading names in the Contemporary art market saw the amount of money raised in the latest New York auction series heading back to boom-time levels.

Setting a record any post-War work of art ever sold at auction, Mark Rothko’s (1903-1970) oil on canvas 'Orange, Red, Yellow' sold for $77.5m (£50m) at Christie’s Contemporary art evening sale on May 8.

The latest round of Impressionist and Modern art sales in New York will forever be remembered as ‘The Scream’ series.

THE State of California has recently begun to strictly enforce a law banning the sale of ivory regardless of age. Dealers and auctioneers offering antiques made from ivory or including ivory among their constituent parts have had merchandise seized.

ATG Media, parent company of Antiques Trade Gazette has been named as one of the Top 100 companies in Europe in the Red Herring Awards, which celebrate innovation and technology in business.