Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
Tiffany tiles tempt US bid
05 March 2018A fresh-to-market consignment involving great names of Art Nouveau/Arts & Crafts and a New York buyer determined to have it… It hasn’t taken long for newcomer Heliers Auction (18% buyer’s premium) to come up with the sort of winning combination all auctioneers hope for.
First Doctor Who script up at auction
05 March 2018The script for the very first Doctor Who episode owned by the first actor to play the role is coming up at auction in the West Midlands.
Rolex made famous by Steve McQueen makes house record hammer price at Dudley saleroom Aston's
01 March 2018A Rolex of the model made famous after being worn by King of Cool Steve McQueen has set a house record at West Midlands saleroom Aston’s Auctioneers.
Brunel technical drawing instruments are sharp seller at auction
28 February 2018Brunel stories are like buses. Or maybe horse buses, considering the era. None for ages then all at once.
Doctor Who script for very first episode owned by William Hartnell comes up at auction
27 February 2018The original Doctor Who script for the first-ever Doctor Who episode is something always likely to attract high demand at auction. Chuck in the fact that it was used and owned by the very first Doctor Who actor, William Hartnell, and it just gets better and better.
Gertrude Bell furnishings on offer at Tennants
26 February 2018Furnishings that were once part of the family home of Gertrude Bell, one of the most fascinating figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, are coming up at auction at Tennants in North Yorkshire on March 17.
Brunel Museum to use Thames Tunnel archive bought at Bonhams as centrepiece of its expansion plans
26 February 2018A fascinating archive of designs for Brunel’s Thames Tunnel sold at Bonhams was bought by a museum dedicated to the pioneering structure to form the centrepiece of a £4.5m expansion, it has been revealed.
The First World War Victoria Cross winner whose tea rooms were bombed to bits in the Second World War
23 February 2018Having suffered five wounds and been taken prisoner in the First World War, fortune could have smiled more favourably on Victoria Cross winner Corporal Sidney Day by the time the 1939-45 conflict came around.
Concorde nose cone set to soar at auction
20 February 2018A saleroom that sold a selection of items related to the Dambusters has moved on about 30 years for its latest aviation lot: a nose cone from Concorde.
French sabre presented by Lafayette in Pennsylvania sale
19 February 2018Morphy Auctions’ March 1-2 Premier Firearms Sale in Denver, Pennsylvania, includes various other militaria categories, such as edged weapons.
Great hopes for 'The Great Gatsby' at Heritage Auctions
19 February 2018A signed and inscribed first edition of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has hopes of selling for as much as $100,000 in Heritage Auctions’ Rare Book auction on March 7 in New York.
Bonhams New York offers eight-page Isaac Newton manuscript
19 February 2018Among the lots offered in the March 9 Books and Manuscripts auction at Bonhams New York is an Isaac Newton work now with parallels to the rather more modern Harry Potter books.
Islamic specialist boosts DNW coin department
19 February 2018Tim Wilkes, a leading expert in Islamic coinage, has joined the coin department at London auction house Dix Noonan Webb.
First World War imperial German militaria collection so huge it is being sold in three parts at C&T Auctioneers
15 February 2018If it takes two auctions to offer a single-owner collection, you know it must be a big one. If it takes three, it must really be quite something.
Charlie Chaplin letter to young fan who dressed up as the great star comes to auction
14 February 2018Hero worship is not just a modern-day phenomenon. Back in 1915, Charlie Chapman was so impressed by a fan letter he received that he sent a personal reply.
Latest auction house appointments
13 February 2018A round-up of people in the news, in UK and US salerooms.
Pick of the Week: First World War women's uniforms come to the fore at Kent auction
12 February 2018With the centenary of the act that enfranchised female voters aged over 30 very much in the headlines, a collection of First World War uniforms and a photo album sold by C&T Auctioneers (20% buyer’s premium) underlines the role played by women in that conflict.
Holts reloads its London auction base
12 February 2018After more than a decade of holding auctions in west London, Holts Auctioneers is relocating to a new saleroom to the south-east of the capital this March.
Auction house duo make everything rosy at an idyllic location
12 February 2018It’s lucky that Michael Scott and Paul Hodson are such firm friends, or the next War of the Roses could break out.
The enduring appeal of Rorke’s Drift valour
12 February 2018The Zulu War medal awarded to Driver Charles Robson, batman to commanding officer Lieutenant John Chard during the epic defence of Rorke’s Drift, sold for £110,000 at Dix Noonan Webb on March 2.