North-east England

An FA Cup winner’s medal belonging to a Newcastle United goalkeeper who won the trophy with the Magpies 100 years ago sold for £7800 on June 27.

The McClure Arctic Expedition of 1850 was one of the Franklin rescue missions but ended up with the ironic fate of getting trapped themselves.

When antiques-hunting in Northumberland, the fine market town of Morpeth is well worth a visit.

The Beehive in Alnwick, which offers the “largest second-hand vinyl collection in the North” has been owned by Mark and Sam Hobrough for seven years.

In use at Ford as a blacksmith’s forge until the 1970s, these days it is known as Old Forge Antiques where you can find gents’ vintage clothes, antiquarian books and much more.

The privately owned Ford & Etal Estates is described in tourism-speak as “one of Northumberland’s best kept secrets”.

The importance of an original box in good condition to the value of a toy is well known. But what about a display without any toy in sight, box or no box?

Antiques business takes root in a former chicken house/mushroom farm

A highlight of Anderson & Garland’s (25% buyer’s premium) recent silver sale was a particularly early and rare North Country seal top spoon.

The Scottish Borders region welcomes a new fair in the summer at Paxton House, less than a 10-minute drive from the coastal town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

The Doll & Bears Sale at Vectis (20.83% buyer’s premium) in Stockton-on-Tees included this rare Disney Donald Duck from the 1930s.

A tartan deck blanket, a pocket watch and a first-class dinner menu were all top-sellers in the latest auction of Titanic, White Star and Transport Memorabilia at Henry Aldridge & Son (plus 26.4% buyer’s premium).

Single-owner collection forms biggest dispersal of mustard pots at auction for many years

While mustard pots and caddy spoons made up much of the silver smallwork in Anderson & Garland’s (25% buyer’s premium) silver sale on November 28 (see ATG No 2619), it did also contain one notable example of a Dutch miniature.

The forthcoming sale of a collection of around 100 silver mustard pots in Newcastle highlights the connection between the northeast and the rise of the commercial trade in English mustard