South-east England

Dreweatts’ Modern and Contemporary art sale in Newbury on April 3 will offer a range of Modern British pictures, including a selection of St Ives School group works. However, one of the main highlights in this category is a wartime painting by John Armstrong (1893-1973) which carries an estimate of £20,000-30,000.

Delight as the Cotswolds association’s event successfully switches from April to February.

Regarded in their time as examples of the finest cabinet-making rather than simply reproductions, good 19th century French revivalist furniture remains in demand.

Sold for £900 by Toovey’s (24.5% buyer’s premium) on February 19 was an elaborately bound example of Monsieur Gravelot’s Almanach Iconololgique… for the year 1771.

Two Victorian stained-glass and leaded window panels entered by the same vendor trebled the estimates in selling to the same UK online bidder at Special Auction Services (17.5% buyer’s premium) on February 5.

A very rare and inscribed example of CS Lewis’ first published work, a 1919 collection of verses previewed ATG No 2377, was sold recently in Oxford for £2800. Spirits in Bondage was part of the extensive book section of a January 30-31 sale at Mallams (23% buyer’s premium).

Two single-owner collections built up over lifetimes were well received at Canterbury Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium) on February 5-6.

Good times at the Oxford rooms of Mallams (20% buyer’s premium), when all bar one of 56 clocks got away almost all going comfortably above estimates.

Drawing interest from the US was a portrait of a fierce-looking Scottish laird by John Pettie (1839-93).

Chichester dealer Rob Shaw is a regular stallholder in the George Stephenson building at IACF Newark. He is a general dealer in antiques but specialises in Chinese works of art.

A very different residence to Harold Ward’s Manthorpe House (see Mellors & Kirk story in Auction Reports this edition) supplied the very different contents to the 600-lot single-owner collection, white-glove sale held at Bellmans’ (22% buyer’s premium) Billingshurst saleroom on February 9.

Catalogued as the most valuable Silver Age comic book by far, a copy of Issue No 15 of Amazing Fantasy, the 1962 comic that saw the first appearance of Spider-Man, sold for £14,500 in a January 25 sale held by Excalibur Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) of Amersham.

A lengthy provenance was key to the success of a large watercolour by the 19th century artist David Cox (1783-1859).