An archive collected by Sir Winston Churchill’s chauffeur has been discovered in a jigsaw box by a 60-year-old clerk on furlough during a clear-out of cupboards and drawer.
The items once owned by the late Reginald Parker, personal chauffer to the British prime minister during the Second World War, includes several Post Office telegraphs and instructions from 10 Downing Street and the Grainy black and white images show Parker, one at the wheel of the PM’s limousine outside 10 Downing Street (pictured top).
The ephemera reveals that Parker lived in Buckinghamshire and retired at the age of 64 in 1949 after serving five British prime ministers during a 24-year career which began in 1925.
The archive will be offered at Etwall auction house Hansons on July 20 estimated at £250-350.
hansonsauctioneers.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
A timed sale at Burstow & Hewett closing on July 17 incluides this Danish silver pendant by Frantz Hinelberg estimated at £100-150.
A timed sale of Scandinavian silver and jewellery held by Battle auction house Burstow & Hewett closes on July 17. This Danish silver pendant by Frantz Hinelberg is estimated at £100-150.
burstowandhewett.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
This Regency ebonised bracket clock features in a timed sale held by Cheffins closing on July 17, estimated at £400-600.
This Regency ebonised bracket clock with an 8in (19cm) silvered dial signed Moreland Chester features in a timed sale held by Cheffins in Cambridge. Bids of between £400-600 are expected before the sale closes on July 17.
cheffins.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
This oak coffer set with Tudor rose hammered copper panels made c.1915 by Walter Charles Edwards is estimated £500-700 at Tayler & Fletcher on July 18.
Estimated at £500-700 on July 18 at Tayler & Fletcher of Bourton-On-The-Water, this oak coffer set with Tudor rose hammered copper panels was made c.1915 by Walter Charles Edwards. A founder member of the Guild of Handicraft in Chipping Campden, he worked primarily as a silversmith and a metalworker in copper.
taylerandfletcher.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
This rare late-19th century North American vesta case is estimated at £400-600 in the Lawrences of Crewkerne sale on July 21.
This rare late-19th century North American gold and black enamel vesta case, with bright-engraved decoration, includes the word Eureka – a reference to the San Francisco Gold Rush of 1859.
The cover is inset with a panel of quartz bearing grains of gold. It is unmarked but was probably made by Shreve & Co of San Francisco c.1865-75. At Lawrences of Crewkerne on July 21 it has an estimate of £400-600.
lawrences.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
The sale at Diamond Mills in Felixstowe, Suffolk, on July 18 includes this 4in (10cm) high early 20th century cloisonné vase from the workshop of Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845- 1927). Decorated with chrysanthemums, it has a signature tablet to the base (detail shown here).
Estimate £300-500.
diamondmills.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
A William George timed sale ending on July 19 includes this watercolour sketch of two soldiers riding towards Corfe Castle dated c.1828, with an opening bid is £170.
A William George timed sale ending on July 19 includes this sepia watercolour sketch of two soldiers riding towards Corfe Castle, Dorset. Dated c.1828, it is signed for Cecilia Montgomery (1792-1879). With a label verso for the Covent Garden Gallery, the opening bid is £170.
Chorley’s July 22-23 sale includes a Tang dynasty equestrian figure in a rare sancai and blue glaze, estimate £10,000-15,000.
Among the diverse lots of offer in Chorley’s July 22-23 sale in Prinknash Abbey is this Tang dynasty equestrian figure in a rare sancai and blue glaze.
This was in the collection of Irene and Earl Morse sold at Sotheby’s New York, in 1986, and was also in the exhibition A Thousand Years of Chinese Tomb Sculpture in Orlando, 1983.
Estimate £10,000-15,000.
chorleys.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
This Omega Speedmaster watch featuring a very unusual matt grey dial with black markers is offered at Watches of Knightsbridge on July 18 estimated at £20,000-30,000.
This Omega Speedmaster watch features a very unusual matt grey dial with black markers. It comes from a batch of prototype dials delivered by Singer (the official Omega dial maker) c.1963 but never carried over into general production.
The dials were discovered many years ago by the vendor with their batch reference sticker applied on the back and were later fitted to the correct watches from the period.
Two are offered as part of the Fine, Rare & Collectable Timepieces sale at Watches of Knightsbridge on July 18 with estimates of £20,000-30,000 each.
watchesofknightsbridge.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
This pair of mahogany wine cisterns in the 18th century style is estimated £1500-2000 at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood on July 21-22.
This pair of mahogany wine cisterns in the 18th century style with carved acanthus finials and handles each stand 3ft 5in (1.04m) high.
At Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in Exeter on July 21-22 the estimate is £1500-2000.
bhandl.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
Early silver pre-balance spring verge pair case watch with date, by Thomas Taylor, estimate £4000-6000 by Bonhams on July 21.
Watchmaker Thomas Taylor is listed as working in London from 1649-95 but very few of his wares have survived. Those that do are very good quality such as this early silver pre-balance spring verge pair case watch with date that is estimated at £4000-6000 by Bonhams on July 21. Made c.1650, the watch is described as being in exceptional condition.
bonhams.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
Ronson Art Deco bronze-cased clock with a ‘touch tip’ lighter estimated at £400-600 in Durrants’ July 17 auction.
An estimate of £400-600 has been placed on this Ronson Art Deco bronze-cased clock with a ‘touch tip’ lighter on offer at Durrants in Beccles, Suffolk, on July 17.
durrants.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
Partridge in Flight by Archibald Thorburn, estimate £12,000-18,000 at the Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood auction on July 20-21.
Charterhouse in Sherborne, Dorset, has been instructed to sell the contents of a Devon country house on July 22.
Summerfield House, Summer Lane, Exmouth, was built in the 19th century with tall bay windows and views towards the River Exe over rolling countryside.
Charterhouse auctioneer Richard Bromell said: “It has been fascinating sorting, clearing and cataloguing the contents of this country house which has not changed much during the 100 years the family have lived there.”
Highlights include two Archibald Thorburn watercolour drawings of partridges and grouse which were probably bought new by the family in 1906. The example shown here, Partridge in Flight, a watercolour, signed and dated 1905, 21½ x 2ft 6in (54 x 76cm), is estimated at £12,000-18,000.
Viewing for the auction is at Summerfield House on July 20-21, with the auction itself held behind closed doors online at the Sherborne saleroom.
charterhouse-auction.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
The Thomson Roddick sale on July 22 includes 17 lots of silver wine and spirit decanter labels with this one, by T&J Phipps, 1817, estimated at £150-180.
The Thomson Roddick sale in Carlisle on July 22 includes 17 lots of silver wine and spirit decanter labels from a private collection. Pictured is a set of three silver wine labels of “good gauge with leafage and gardrooned rectangular borders”, engraved for Claret, Madeira and Sauterne, with coronet above, by T&J Phipps, 1817.
Estimate £150-180.
The July 19 sale at Westhanger Auctions includes 13 lots by British studio potter Joanna Constantinidis, with these vases estimated at £120-180.
The July 19 sale at Westhanger Auctions in Hythe includes 13 lots by British studio potter Joanna Constantinidis (1927-2000).
Pitched at £120-180 are these two small stoneware vases, each around 3in (8cm) high, marked with the artist’s monogram to the base.
westenhangerauctioneers.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
Victorian silver sentry box vesta by Sampson Mordan, London 1886, estimated at £800-1200 in the timed auction at Wokingham Auctions ending on July 18.
The front of this Victorian silver sentry box vesta by Sampson Mordan, London 1886, is enamelled with a depiction of a Grenadier Guard.
It comes from a series of silver and enamel vesta cases depicting Soldiers of the Queen produced by Mordan around the time of Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. The Sentry Box vestas were limited to a series of perhaps 10-12 different examples made specially for the occasion.
In the timed auction at Wokingham Auctions ending on July 18 it is estimated at £800-1200.
