East Midlands

An autographed photograph of Charles Darwin (1809-82) described as “very scarce” by Hansons (26.5% buyer’s premium) sold for £8500.

A gold and cameo ring offered with an estimate of just £200-300 at Derbyshire auction house Irita Marriott (plus 28.8% buyer’s premium inc VAT) and catalogued as 19th century caught the eye of a number of jewellery dealers and bidders from as far as Paris and the US.

A vesta case decorated with a campaigning Suffragette is among the highlights at the Buxton Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair.

Hansons’ saleroom in Derbyshire has been the victim of a ram-raid break-in.

A Polynesian ladle surfaced in a Derbyshire saleroom, selling for nearly five-times its £500-700 estimate.

“Despite the awful weather we still had over 50 stalls and our indoor venue, the Memorial Hall was packed,” said Sally-Anne Swindell, organiser of the Wirksworth Antiques in the Street’s early April event in the eponymous Peak District market town.

Once ubiquitous in British seaside resorts in their day, many pre-war amusement arcade machines are now so rare that just a handful are recorded.

Winter 2024 turned out to be the wettest ever in the UK - which inevitably threw up significant challenges for fair organisers.

If specialist Karl Martin was the type to take work home with him he’d be in danger of never finding it again.

Memorabilia relating to the Victorian songwriter ‘Claribel’ returned home from Malta to be auctioned in Lincolnshire and were bought by the local museum.

It may have been catalogued as requiring restoration but a “scarce” 19th century Korean helmet still managed to sell for 82 times its low estimate at Hansons (26% buyer’s premium).

The highest price at auction for 12 years for Arthur Foord Hughes (1856-1934) came at Nottingham saleroom Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) at the start of the year.

An Arctic fox fur owned and worn by a 1930s movie star dubbed Britain’s answer to Ginger Rogers turned heads at a Derby saleroom.

The small town of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire is the perfect pitstop for antiques and vintage buyers, particularly the trade.

With clients including the Maharajah of Kutch, Queen Victoria and multiple princes and dukes, Holmes & Co was one of the top coachbuilders of the 19th century.

An ‘18th century’ bible turned out to be far more valuable as a first issue King James “He” version