South-east England

The tragic story of the last of the imperial Russian family does not have an immediately obvious connection with a Yorkshire spa town but it is nonetheless a strong one.

Some collectors go for military medals. Some prefer civilian awards. An honour coming up at auction on February 22 is a fascinating example of a medal awarded to both military and civilians.

Petworth dealer Tony Wilkinson is calling on the trade to help him track down a pair of stolen Regency lustres.

It was the end of an era in Oxford when Ducker & Son, the bespoke shoemaker and home of the Oxford brogue, sadly closed down last November. The venerable 6 Turl Street store had traded in the centre of the city since 1898.

Police are appealing to the antiques trade to look out for a rose gold Victorian ring that was among a collection of jewellery stolen from a home in Godalming, Surrey.

Oxford’s sole antiques centre is hoping for a buyer to save it from closure in March.

A woman from the village of Hindhead in Surrey made a spectacular return on a £2 charity shop purchase when her small Chinese censer was knocked down at auction for £21,000.

A celebrity endorsement by actor Richard E Grant gave Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Park a boost in the run up to Christmas.

Julian Dawson is retiring from Gorringe's and held his last auction yesterday at the Lewes auction firm.

Pete Waterman, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey and Peter Snow all do it. Frank Sinatra and Peter Sellers did it. Rod Stewart apparently hires extra hotel rooms on tour to indulge in it. ‘It’ being the innocent and highly popular pastime of model railways.

Uniforms can be a hard sell at militaria auctions. Medals for example are nice and easy to display, while guns can sit high on the wall or in a cabinet, but what do you do with a full set of battledress unless you happen to be a re-enactor or happen to live in a mansion with lots of room for mannequins?

This stoneware vase designed by Henry Van De Velde for Reinhold Hanke was sold at Mallams in Oxford earlier today for £17,000.

A sixth arrest has been made by police investigating the murder of antiques dealer Robyn Mercer.

An archive of family drawings by Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) forms part of Mallams’ December 8 sale in Oxford.

Rarely seen photographs of the wedding that caused a constitutional crisis and rocked the British monarchy have been sold at £9200.

Police are appealing for information following a theft at Polesden Lacey House, a National Trust property in Surrey.

A rare dodo skeleton – the first almost complete specimen in nearly a century – has sold for £280,000 at auction.

Lewes saleroom Gorringe’s will hold all its auctions under one roof from January.

A still life by American painter Anne Estelle Rice (1877-1959) and a piece of early English furniture are among the top items on offer at Grand Auctions’ upcoming sale on December 12.