Estimated at £100-150, having been consigned by a private vendor local to the Leyburn firm, the Victorian brick-built town house with attached carriage house was not the main attraction. It was three pieces of small but perfectly formed rare doll’s house furniture that caused much excitement among afficionados.
The furniture included two tinware (painted metal) pieces– a circular green pedestal table and a yellow washstand – which were made in the 19th century by Evans and Cartwright, a toy manufacturer from Wolverhampton. The firm’s wares were usually made in a reddish-brown colour, thus the unusual painted colouring on these examples helped set them apart.
The third piece in demand was an 18th century painted wooden table, of which only three or four others of the type have been recorded. The style and shape of the table’s legs were particularly unusual.
While modest in appearance, these three tables certainly caused a stir in the saleroom before the lot was won by a collector bidding over the phone at the auction on July 4.
