Collectables

This Victorian mother-of-pearl and abalone shell card case is carved with a portrait of George Lord Byron, the most flamboyant and notorious of the major English Romantic poets.

Two key early maps of colonial North America were offered for sale at Ramsay Cornish in Edinburgh on December 7.

Darwin and Newton impress in US auction while Adam Smith brings wealthy sums.

Comics and comic artwork selling at a very high level were evident in a three-day sale held recently in Dallas.

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.

Musical manuscript and portrait on song in salerooms.

Edward Baldwin, fourth generation and the last of the Baldwin clan to work for coin and medal dealership AH Baldwin & Sons has retired from the firm.

A collection of vintage travel posters included a number with the added advantage of local appeal when offered by Penzance auction house David Lay (18% buyer’s premium).

In a large collection of fountain pens offered at Cornish auction house Barbara Kirk (15% buyer’s premium) most well-known makers were represented, but among the rarer ones were no fewer than 19 by the Italian manufacturer Omas.

Just in time for Christmas, BP Fairs, aka Barry and Ellis Potter and family, will be holding a toy, train and collectors’ fair at the Stafford County Showground on Sunday, December 15.

On January 11-12 the specialist doll auction firm Theriault’s will be offering the collection of an American heiress, the late Huguette Clark.

Bruneau closes the year with a December 14 sale of Comics and Toys, for which Travis Landry, its director of pop culture, will join forces with ‘event entertainment company’ Altered Reality Entertainment.

Copy of only the fourth book to be printed using the new types comes to auction

A selection of books relating to conjuring dating back to the 17th century is one of the features of the latest Potter & Potter Magic sale to be held on December 14 in Chicago.

A fine-looking copy of the 1931, US first of The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett sold right on the low estimate at $60,000 (£46,875) at Christie’s New York (25/20/13.5% buyer’s premium) to match a previous auction high.