Collectables

The antiquarian book trade has suffered one of its biggest-ever thefts after an audacious robbery in west London.

Sheffield Auction Gallery uses the rather euphemistic term ‘weathered patina’ when describing the condition of a Rolls-Royce it has estimated at £1000-1200 in its February 24 sale.

A rare copy of the first book printed in Antarctica has sold for £55,000 at Bonhams.

Some collectors go for military medals. Some prefer civilian awards. An honour coming up at auction on February 22 is a fascinating example of a medal awarded to both military and civilians.

Daniel Crouch Rare Books opened launched its New York City premises on Wednesday with a Burns Night celebration.

The Antiquarian Booksellers Association will participate in its first BADA fair as it gears up for its summer festival of old and rare books later this year.

It was the end of an era in Oxford when Ducker & Son, the bespoke shoemaker and home of the Oxford brogue, sadly closed down last November. The venerable 6 Turl Street store had traded in the centre of the city since 1898.

Easter Rising 1916 memorabilia may be treasured now by collectors, especially after last year’s centenary, but a medal just sold at auction in Ireland once ended up in a bin rather than proudly displayed.

What is the next collecting area about to take off when it comes to toys? As detailed often in ATG, rare Star Wars figures are now making big money. Lego is another popular market as 40 and 50-somethings settle down, get wealthier and get nostalgic about the toys they played with as kids.

Keep Calm and Carry On is the now famous instruction from the Second World War thanks to a plethora of copycat items inspired by the poster which was never officially issued.

Not many wartime flags survive to be sold at auction due to their inevitably fragile nature, but those flown by Allied forces during the D-Day landings must have been particularly precious as mementos.

An auction of 3000 items from the estate of the late antiquarian book dealer Thomas Schuster is big news for fans of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Unless you have been in a galaxy far, far away for quite some time, you will have heard of Luke Skywalker, Ewoks and Han Solo. But have you heard of a Vlix?

The beautiful Beatrix Potter children’s books are highly collectable in themselves but the author’s world provides a far wider and very popular collecting scene.

“Beautifully gilded”, “hand painted”, “much sought after”. Perhaps not words that are commonly applied to police batons, but this is how auctioneer Charles Hanson described the collection of British truncheons coming up for auction this month.

America’s previously neglected founding father Alexander Hamilton is now firmly back to prominence after the Broadway hit ‘Hamilton’, which won eleven Tony Awards last year. The show is now coming to London's West End this year.

Baldwin’s of St James’s, launched at the current The New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC), brings the auction business of numismatists AH Baldwin & Sons and St James’s Auctions together.