Features

Certain areas became hubs for the manufacture of toys, such as Nuremberg and Erzgebirge in Germany.

A new American firm, LCG (Legacy Collectibles Group) Auctions, sold what it described as “the highest graded Cobra Commander GI Joe action figure in existence” in a timed sale last year.

A rare, early 20th century Fischer tin clown tricycle wind-up toy sold for a premium-inclusive $2300 (£1725) despite not being in working condition.

Prices for more traditional toys such as dolls and teddy bears may not be at the heights of years gone by, but demand remains strong for the best items and rarities.

These days, marketing a doll as Sindy’s saucy sister would be problematic. And the less said about outfits titled Hockey Honey or School Days, the better.

A rare large-scale Erzgebirge mid-19th century painted wooden market was one of the stand-out lots of the largest-ever Toys, Dolls, Dolls’ Houses and Teddy Bears sale to be staged by Special Auction Services (20% buyer’s premium) in Newbury.

Before the crash of the R101 during its maiden voyage to France in October 1930, there had been great excitement around the potential of the airship.

As in so many collecting fields, slight variations can be key when it comes to pricing of TV generation toys.

A Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund sword of £100 value took the honours at a Bonhams’ (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) sale of arms and armour.

A sword sold at Kent auction house C&T (22% buyer’s premium) belonged to a British Antarctic explorer who died in 1912 – but not with Robert Falcon Scott.

Arms and armour sales often throw out interesting talking points in the way of accessories.

The surprise lot at the sale held on December 11 by Ripon auction house Elstob & Elstob (22% buyer’s premium) was this 19th century Russian hunting dagger.

Munich auction house Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) regularly turns up showstopping lots of arms and armour and the star of the latest sales series was a weapon that was always designed to impress on every level.

The most unusual armour lot to emerge in recent sales was the late 16th century German brass parade cuirass which made £86,000 at Thomas Del Mar (20% buyer’s premium) in London on December 8.

Multi-estimate bidding is no longer just the preserve of Chinese works of art. During the recent Asian art sales, Vietnamese market objects excelled.

Indian talismanic shirts or Qur’an jama were believed to carry protective powers.

Perhaps the most identifiable production of the Daoguang period (1820-50) of the Qing empire is the medallion bowl.

Bezoars (from the Persian pād-zahr meaning ‘poison antidote’) are the calcified concretion found in the stomachs of some animals. Prized for their supposed medicinal properties, until the Enlightenment science at the beginning of the 18th century they could sell for more than their weight in gold.

The market for Chinese furniture has come on leaps and bounds in 20 years.

Leading a recent Woolley & Wallis' (25/12% buyer’s premium) sale in Salisbury were two scroll paintings by well-known 20th century Chinese artists that came by descent from Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (1883-1950).