Gloucestershire

Two of the main manufacturers of rocking horses – and competitors – featured in two salerooms recently.

Although catalogued by Smiths of Newent (20% buyer’s premium) as a chair from the early 19th century Empire period, this ebonised mahogany, gilt and polychrome side chair is more probably from the mid-Victorian period.

The recent release of 'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain' starring Benedict Cumberbatch provided a topical spin to this rare Amphora pottery model.

Pedal cars are regular visitors to salerooms but rarer powered versions were also produced for children to use, partly for road safety training

Before the crash of the R101 during its maiden voyage to France in October 1930, there had been great excitement around the potential of the airship.

Christopher Dresser created a number of daring geometric designs for silver and silver-plated toast racks in the late 1870s and early 1880s, both for Hukin & Heath and for James Dixon & Son.

Two very different lots from a November 10 sale held by Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) are noted here.

Modern British sculptures were the main attraction at Wotton Auction Rooms’ (18% buyer’s premium) recent sale at Stouts Hill Manor.

On May 6, 1954 - the day British middle-distance athlete Roger Bannister (1929-2018) ran the first ever sub-four-minute mile - there were five official timekeepers plus a sixth watch manned by race commentator Norris McWhirter (1925-2004).

There has been a weekly Friday antiques and collectors’ market in Cirencester’s 19th century Corn Hall in Market Square for more than 40 years.

A suffragette’s true identity may have been uncovered by an auction house.

A silver war badge issued to Lance-Corporal Harold Sandford Mugford of the Machine Gun Corps was a surprise highlight of a Gloucestershire sale.

Painted with an image of an urn to the front cover of its vellucent binding and with a view of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire to the rear, the Book of Common Prayer & Book of Psalmes shown below was printed in 1774 by T Wright & W Gill for the University of Oxford.

Portraits by James Sharples (1751-1811) appear to make less money than you might expect given the calibre of his sitters.

A small portrait sketch of a young boy by George Henry Harlow (1787-1819) drew lively interest at the recent Fine Art & Antiques sale in Gloucestershire.

Distinguished naval officer admired by Nelson was also a talented watercolour painter

A great many of the lots that brought prices in the £1000-10,000 range in a recent Cheltenham sale were multiples of varying size – some running to as many as a hundred volumes – but noted here are a couple with that same Spetchley Park provenance that can be more precisely defined.

After the James Macintyre & Co factory was awarded a gold medal at the St Louis International Exhibition in 1904, Moorcroft pottery was sold in the US by a number of boutique retailers including Shreve & Co of San Francisco and Tiffany in New York.

Your starter for 10 – can you identify the artist of these still-lifes? Samuel Peploe, right?

Two micro-mosaic pictures took a six-figure sum at a Cirencester saleroom – 10-times their low estimate.