Collectables

The vintage contents of a railway station buffet offered in East Yorkshire were not the most upmarket pieces – nothing made more than £2000 – but more than 400 people packed the room and online bids came from India, the US and Finland. It gave veteran auctioneer Andy Spicer only his second white-glove sell-out in 35 years on the rostrum.

Having been heavily criticised for its antiquated designs at the World Exhibition of 1900 in Paris, the Meissen porcelain factory commissioned avant-garde designers to produce more vibrant pieces.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Just under 600 lots in the extensive March 16-20 auction at Künker in Osnabrück come from the Samel collection. This highly important collection was put together by Josef Samel and his sister Angela Arluk, who were born in Poland, but settled in Munich after the war.

'La Navigation du Roy d’Ecosse' by the French cartographer Nicolas de Nicolay (1517-83) is said to be the oldest accurate map of coastal Scotland.

This mid-19th century oil of a bare-knuckle prize fight is thought to depict a famous bout between Victorian boxers William Perry (1819-88) and Tom Sayers (1826-65).

Modestly estimated at just £100-150 in a recent Carlisle sale, an 18th century manuscript notebook offering ‘An Account of the Improvements in the Gardens & Park at Cannonhall’ proved a major attraction.

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.

Featuring one historiated initial depicting a priest blessing the marriage of a couple who stand before him, a medieval guide to marital problems and resolutions made £32,000 online at Forum Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium).

Two broadsides describing and illustrating with wood engravings the executions of convicted murderers were sold online at £1600 apiece by Forum.

Comics played a significant part in a recent held by Mitchells (20% buyer’s premium) of Cockermouth, undoubtedly helped by the presence of some 30,000 Marvel comics from one private collection.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

The antique toys sale at Morphy in Denver, Pennsylvania, on Mar 10-11 includes an array of French automata with creations by makers Leopold Lambert, Gustav Vichy and Jean Roullet.

Two institutions dominated bidding for the notebooks and correspondence of a significant Regency period female author at the Cotswold Auction Company in Cheltenham last week.

Unique artwork created to feature on film posters is proving to be a strong aspect of the popular entertainment collecting field.

Sold for £4600 in a February 6 sale held in the Chichester salerooms of Stride & Son (18% buyer’s premium) was an album of cut-paper work produced by Elizabeth Cobbold c.1810-20.

A selection of upcoming entertainment lots at auctions ranging from the Fab Four in New York to James Bond in London and Tommy Cooper in Stockport.

Star turn among some 120 lots of playing cards offered as part of a Stroud Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) sale was the last to be offered. A complete set of Charles Hodges’ Astronomical Playing Cards, it sold online for £3000.

When buying back their heritage, Cardiff City FC and supporters may not be in the same financial league as Manchester United, but they were a welcome factor at Lockdales (19.5% buyer’s premium).

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.