Collectables

The term ‘collectables’ (or collectibles) encompasses a vast range of items in fields as diverse as arms, armour and militaria, bank notes, cameras, coins, entertainment and sporting memorabilia, stamps, taxidermy, wines and writing equipment.

Some collectables are antiques, others are classed as retro, vintage or curios but all are of value to the collector. In any of these fields, buyers seek out rarities and items with specific associations.

Alfred Swaine Taylor

Collection from the ‘father of forensic medicine’ and photography pioneer comes to auction in Suffolk

04 September 2018

The collection of photography pioneer and medical writer Alfred Swaine Taylor (1806-80) is to be offered at auction house Lacy Scott & Knight in Bury St Edmunds in October following the success of a first sale last year.

img_10-2.jpg

Pick of the Week: Cheers to new beer label ‘record’

03 September 2018

Gary Arkell of Loddon Auctions was ready to toast a record-breaking success when lot 718 in the Berkshire saleroom’s latest auction sold for what is believed to be a record price for a beer label of £1500.

img_6-1.jpg

Coin specialist Sovereign Rarities and the Royal Mint to conduct inaugural auction

03 September 2018

London coin dealership Sovereign Rarities will conduct its first auction on September 25.

Su Shi's Song Dynasty scroll

Christie’s to offer major Chinese rarity as Song Dynasty scroll is given £40m estimate

03 September 2018

An extraordinarily rare artwork by pre-eminent Chinese scholar Su Shi (1037-1101) will be offered at Christie’s Hong Kong later this year. The auctioneers are hoping that it could make a record for any Asian work of art.

img_42-3.jpg

Scenes from Lewis Carroll classic decorate 1870s envelopes on offer in Melbourne

03 September 2018

Eight envelopes from the 1870s, each decorated with a scene from Lewis Carroll’s famous book Alice in Wonderland are to be offered at Abacus Auctions’ December 1 sale of stamps, postal history and picture postcards.

img_28-1.jpg

Christie’s sale full of optical landmarks

03 September 2018

A final selection from the extremely varied Christie’s (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) major summer sale ranges from the scientific works of such giants as Newton and Galileo to the first jigsaw puzzle.

Computing in nearly 1000 lots at Sotheby's

03 September 2018

On September 18-19 Sotheby’s will offer an American library on the history of computing formed by the late Erwin Tomash (1921-2012), a sale that runs to 944 lots in all but is divided into two sections.

img_29-1.jpg

Play your Panko card at Exeter auction

03 September 2018

Complete with 48 cards and rules sheet, and still in its original, if slightly fragile case with printed label, Panko, or Votes for Women… is a sort of ‘Rummy’- inspired card game pitching Suffragists against Anti-Suffragists.

British and Irish book auctions: September 4-15, 2018

03 September 2018

Our round-up of British and Irish book sales coming up from September 4-15, 2018.

img_11-3.jpg

Gardiner Houlgate auction offers guitars galore including the acoustic that set the Bee Gees on route to stardom

03 September 2018

Gardiner Houlgate in Wiltshire is dubbing its upcoming sale “the UK’s largest-ever auction of guitars”.

Ephemera Society

The Ephemera Society Summer Fair returns to June time slot

01 September 2018

The Ephemera Society Summer Fair will return to a June date next year, in line with next summer’s series of London book and map fairs.

Carrara marble sculpture

Five Grand Tour collectables coming up at regional auctions next month

31 August 2018

Specimen marble tops, micro-mosaics, plaster intaglios and marble neoclassical sculptures – objects such as these were typical purchases for the Grand Tourists who visited the sights of classical civilization in the 18th and 19th centuries. All regularly appear at auction.

Classical Numismatic Group

Coin collector buys Classical Numismatic Group and takes over management

31 August 2018

Coin collector Mike Gasvoda has bought the assets of Classical Numismatic Group from the current partnership of Victor England and Eric McFadden.

Gold cigarette case 1 - Credit Hansons Pictoria.jpg

Why Ernest GF Brown is a strangely familiar name in Titanic auctions

29 August 2018

The Titanic market throws up many connections and coincidences within a relatively small but ever-popular collecting field, as an elegant gold Asprey cigarette case on offer at a Derbyshire auction demonstrates perfectly.

Luke Hobbs with Maurice Gibb-owned Gibson J45 (l) and Gibson doubleneck (r).jpg

Maurice Gibb Bee Gees guitars to test how deep is your pocket when bidding at auction

28 August 2018

The guitar that set the Bee Gees on the road to Saturday Night Fever and international disco stardom is to be offered at a Wiltshire sale.

Book and map fairs find same June slot

27 August 2018

In a major cooperative move, next summer’s series of London book and map fairs has been aligned to run in the same four-day stretch.

img_6-1.jpg

A Gold Rush for Heritage Auctions in Philadelphia

27 August 2018

Heritage Auctions reported a string of high-value sales as part of its numismatic auctions held alongside Philadelphia’s 'World’s Fair of Money'.

img_10-2.jpg

Pick of the Week: Early uniforms spearhead sale at Stroud Auctions

27 August 2018

Early British army uniforms were the highlight of an extensive single-owner militaria collection amassed by a long-standing Nottinghamshire family which was offered at Stroud Auctions.

1538 First Dollar of the Americas

Rare example of the ‘first dollar of the New World’ sells at Heritage’s coin auction

27 August 2018

The silver eight-Reales coins struck in Mexico City in the 1530s are sometimes referred to as the ‘first dollar of the New World’.

img_44-1.jpg

Eight bindings showing bountiful and bold designs

27 August 2018

Fine or unusual bindings, ranging in date from the 15th century to very recent times indeed, are illustrated and briefly described here – all of them drawn from mid-summer UK auctions.

Categories

News