West Midlands

This ventriloquist’s dapper dummy was one of the surprise star turns at Halls’ (23% buyer’s premium) Shrewsbury auction.

It was when the book was in the process of being catalogued by Bretells (19% buyer’s premium) of Newport, Shropshire, that a second impression copy of Tolkien’s The Hobbit was seen to bear the author’s signature.

Gold and enamel mourning rings remembered at Birmingham auction.

Grand venues can work wonders for fair organisers helping to get punters through the door while providing an ideal backdrop for dealers to showcase their stock.

Involved in the art industry since he was 16, Steven Beale opened Trinity House Paintings in the Cotswolds village of Broadway in 2006.

Organisers of the Art & Antiques for Everyone (AAfE) fair have announced it will return this winter to its venue at the NEC in Birmingham from November 25-28.

One of the most daring air operations of the Second World War included New Zealand pilot Flight Lieutenant Maxwell Nicholas Sparks as a participant.

A Richard Winterton (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Lichfield included this 1973 Rolex Explorer II which sparked international interest.

Fellows’ Fine Jewellery sale in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter on September 30 includes an extraordinary collection of 63 mourning rings.

A collection of Belleek porcelain totalled £7600 at Cuttlestones (20% buyer’s premium) on July 21.

A mount to an ‘Indian school’ ink wash offered by Cuttlestones in Penkridge on September 2 read simply 'G Tagore'.

One of the UK’s best-loved and supported flea markets – billed as the biggest in the country – is B2B Events’ Malvern Flea & Collectors’ Market.

Watches with military associations carry a certain cachet with collectors.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Richard Winterton Auctioneers is expanding in Staffordshire with the opening of a new saleroom in Tamworth this autumn.

Oli Barling began as a collector and is now a dealer from his base in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and trades as Boula. He focuses on 18th to 20th century decorative antiques, rustic furnishings, curios and folk art from the UK and across Europe.

In the mid 1930s players making an England debut could receive a gold commemorative medal instead of their normal match fee.

LAPADA tries partnership with a different kind of fair amid latest trade challenges

Illustrated with 76 hand-coloured flags, a 1794 Signal Book for the Ships of the Line sold to an online bidder for £11,000 in a Shrewsbury sale.