North Yorkshire

This Victorian cased diorama of birds of paradise native to New Guinea sold for £18,000 to lead Tennants’ (22% buyer’s premium) Natural History and Taxidermy sale in Leyburn on April 20.

A Queen Anne treen nutcracker proved popular at auction.

Two views of historic British landmarks by John Martin (1789-1854) attracted interest in different parts of the country.

North Yorkshire saleroom Tennants is selling this Kemp & Co field camera with ‘tropical’ mahogany casing and brass fittings, with an estimate of £150-250.

Ripley Castle’s website describes a history of persecution, plague, loyalty, social turbulence and recklessness.

A number of portraits of women from different periods of history were among the most contested pictures at sales around the country in the early part of this year.

Knowledgeable bidders spot a design by Owen Jones on offer in North Yorkshire

Estimated at £100-150, a group of six items of Second World War army kit ended up selling for £4000 at Tennants (22% buyer’s premium).

A dreamy interwar architectural portrait of Pilgrims Hall, Essex, by Rex Whistler (1905-44) generated interest at Tennants (22% buyer’s premium) of Leyburn, North Yorkshire, on March 19.

Eight different colourways of the classic Whitefriars Banjo vase were offered in a single-owner private collection at Tennants (22% buyer’s premium).

Henry William Dee, the son of Soho silversmith Thomas William Dee (c.1792- 1869), made a speciality of producing silver novelties for Garrard, Leuchars & Son and Asprey’s and other retail goldsmiths. There was real genius here and the patterns for many were patented.

The London firm Samuel Jackson seems to have specialised in mounting other materials in silver to produce wine-coolers.

Galloway Antiques Fairs is back in North Yorkshire this spring for its Duncombe Park event.

Collectors use the name ‘Snowflake’ to refer the range of Tudor Submariners produced from 1969-75.

Aubrey Beardsley and John Batten add the illustrative attractions in North Yorks sale

The Palais Royale built for Cardinal Richelieu in 1629 had a variety of uses over the years but in the 18th and early 19th century was rebuilt as a place for public recreation and social gathering.

The surprise lot at the sale held on December 11 by Ripon auction house Elstob & Elstob (22% buyer’s premium) was this 19th century Russian hunting dagger.

Rarely do 19th century Staffordshire figures feature among the top-selling lots at auction these days but two bare-fist boxing champions did just that.

The undoubted star of the November 24 sale at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) was the early 15th century folding almanac, or girdle book, that took £95,000.

An antiques shop is part of a now award-winning imaginative transformation of some of a North Yorkshire railway station’s disused buildings.