This cased percussion sporting gun above was made for Prince Alfred, the fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
It was produced c.1850 by Westley Richards of London, Prince Albert’s personally appointed gunmakers, when Alfred was around 10 years old.
An identical gun was also commissioned for Alfred’s older brother, the heir to the throne, Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII), and now resides in the royal gun collection at Sandringham House.
Alfred’s gun passed by descent to Princess Alexandra at Schloss Langenburg, where it remained in the castle armoury until auctioned by Thomas Del Mar in 2014. It will go under the hammer at a sale of modern and antique guns held at Holly Hedge House in Blackheath, London, by Holts on December 13. Estimate £10,000-15,000.
Works by Edward Wadsworth (1889-1949), the Yorkshire-born artist who became a leading exponent of Vorticism, are not a common sight on the market.
This scarce ‘dazzle ship’ poster above, Englische Graphik Ausstellung, was inspired by his work with the Admiralty where Wadsworth supervised the camouflaging of many ships during the war. It was printed in 1923 to announce the exhibition of ‘English Graphic Art’ held at the British Museum.
It measures 4ft 2in x 2ft 11in (1.27m x 90cm) and is coming up at Dorset saleroom Onslows in the Vintage Posters auction on December 14, estimated at £20,000-25,000.
Known as Teddy B and Teddy G, after the duo in Seymour Eaton’s famous storybook The Roosevelt Bears, these early Steiff bears above date to c.1904 and have been in the same family since they were purchased new by the vendor’s grandfather.
They are made with a metal rod construction, which has been confirmed by X-ray, and therefore makes them some of the earliest Steiff bears in existence.
The pair are estimated at £7000-10,000 on December 13 at Dominic Winter in South Cerney.
dominicwinter.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
