London

THIS summer's Kensington Church Street Open Evening on June 29 proved a notable success for the many visitors who enjoyed the hospitality and company of the street's many dealers.

There was nothing dull or predictable about the coin sale at Spink on June 29 when an expectant crowd gathered to witness the sale of one of the rarest of English Medieval coins: the gold Double Leopard florin of Edward III which was minted for only a few months in 1344.

More suited to the wall than the bed and more a piece of social history than a functional textile, this 19th century appliqué felt coverlet reaped the rewards when it sold for £24,000 (plus premium) at Kerry Taylor auctions in association with Sotheby's on June 26.

Record turnover at London flagship sales but the buzz of the 1980s has gone

A panel of judges, including interior designers Alidad and Kit Kemp and representatives from World of Interiors and Homes & Gardens, deemed Guinevere Antiques to have the best stand of The Summer Fair, Olympia.

Compiled in the second half of the 15th century, the Fechtbuch of Hans Talhoffer (fl. 1435-82), the most celebrated and experienced fighting-master of the age, is a veritable encyclopaedia of medieval combat.

Given today’s obsession with celebrity, especially Royal celebrity, it was always on the cards that Christie’s sale last week of Princess Margaret’s jewellery, silver and other personal belongings was going to make much more than the £2m-3m predicted.

As if they will need it, some of the lots included in Christie’s June 13-14 sale of items from the collection of HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1930-2002) have received a little posthumous pepping up.

This is the month the trade in London really goes into overdrive, starting this week with the opening of The Summer Fair, Olympia on Thursday (June 8). Olympia is just one of four major London June fairs and these are complemented by an increasing number of dealer exhibitions around the capital.

LONDON-based organisers Gay Hutson and Angela ‘Bunny’ Wynn are relaunching their February Art on Paper as a broader-based international art fair. The first 20/21 International Art Fair will be held at The Royal College of Art, Kensington from February 22 to 25, 2007.

Pottery specialist to leave landmark Kensington Church Street premises for Mount Street

THE launch of a new collecting agency for the artist’s resale levy has broken the monopoly of The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS). The Bridgeman Art Library, one of the world’s leading sources of fine art images, told ATG that they have set up a new company called Artists’ Collecting Society (ACS) to collect the levy on behalf of artists in the UK.

“This was the earliest Cup Final programme I’ve ever seen,” said Graham Budd (15% buyer’s premium), referring to lot 747 in his sale on May 9-10 in association with Sotheby’s Olympia.

Edinburgh auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull unveiled two new appointments at the official opening of their new London office on Tuesday, March 9.

2007 fixture will be cut to three days

PHILLIPS de Pury & Company are to open a new London saleroom and hold a special Contemporary Art and Design auction on October 14 during the Frieze fair.

LESS than two months remains to find the final £116,057 towards the £1.4m price of a unique portrait of the 17th century poet John Donne.

All Bank of England banknotes issued prior to the early 1800s are rare but the note, pictured here, dated 30 August 1705, is believed to be the oldest in private hands.

Art London moves from its summer slot to autumn and also changes location for its eighth staging.

CAPTAIN Thomas Bowrey’s principal claim to fame has been as the author of a 1701 English-Malay dictionary. Despite criticism of its clumsy errors, eccentricities of transliteration and quaint dialogues, this remained a standard reference for over 100 years.