One of them was a collection of late 18th century auction catalogues that sold for £7000 rather that the suggested £300-400, and the other a single 17th century playing card that took £320.
Bound into a single volume were 16 catalogues for sales of coins and medals held over a period of six years, 1786-91, each of which contained detailed manuscript entries recording the hammer prices and the purchasers’ names.
All those sales were conducted by Mr Gerrard at his house in Lichfield Street in London’s Soho district, and in these catalogues the owners’ names were in many instances clearly identified, while other relevant information was supplied regarding the collections on offer.
The volume also bore the ownership inscription of a JC Lindsay of the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth – though whether this was the original or a later owner was not determined.
Hearts captured
The playing card was a ten of hearts from a deck first issued c.1676 by the multi-talented publisher, bookseller, map, globe and instrument maker, Robert Morden.
It features a simple map of the county above a panel giving the length, breadth and circumference of the county along with its distance from London and its latitude.
These Morden cards were printed on thin but strong card from copper plates, with the suit symbols being applied later by stencil.
