South-west England

Heading the 800 lots of silver which opened the three-day sale at Lawrences (22% buyer’s premium) in Crewkerne was a 11¼in (28.5cm) tall flagon by Thomas Walker, Dublin, c.1750-60.

Rare appearance for quirky artist results in keen competition for work in trademark frame.

Published in 1962, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was the first book in a popular series of lupine tales by Joan Aiken (1924-2004), a prolific and prize-winning author whose specialities included the supernatural and children’s books that involved an elaborate, alternative history of Britain.

At a time when catering for niche interests is a profitable path for auctioneers, recent sales in Scotland, Ireland and England have shown that the furniture market can still come to life – provided it meets three criteria.

Modestly estimated staples of the once-booming Georgian furniture market can still bring pleasant surprises.

Nine centuries after it first became a thriving art form, Limoges enamel ware remains a popular choice as evidenced by a tazza offered by Chorley’s (20% buyer’s premium).

Rude Rowlandson print is among the highlights of Gloucestershire auction.

Catching the eye in a German auction was a fine example of the most beautiful of all piscatorial plate books.

Simon Shore is a north Cotswolds dealer and agent who runs 1793 gallery in Stow on the Wold.

Plastic has gained a bad name when it comes to the environment – clogging up oceans for a start.

It may seem hard to credit nowadays, but photographs of fairies at the bottom of the Cottingley (Yorkshire) garden of two young girls, produced in 1917 as a practical joke, were taken to be genuine by many people – most famously, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury will sell an important oil by Chinese contemporary artist Yang Fei Yun (b.1954) next month. It comes for sale from the charity established by Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick (1942-2007).

The biannual world tour of tribal lands – Alaska to New Zealand via Arizona, Africa and Taiwan – organised by auctioneer Will Hobbs at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) offered a global view of what is an active, if often unpredictable, field.

The remote rocky islands of Orkney were a source of continued inspiration for the prolific Scottish painter Stanley Cursiter (1887-1976).