1. French beetle brooch
This late 19th century French beetle brooch with an 18ct gold bar, a garnet and pearl body, ruby cabochon eyes and rose cut diamond highlights measures 2½in (6cm) long.
East Bristol Auctions expects it to bring £2000-2500 on November 3.
View the catalogue entry for French beetle brooch on thesaleroom.com.
2. Snow White toys
This full set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs soft toys is the larger of two sizes made by the Chad Valley company in 1937.
Snow White with moulded felt face, painted features and black hair style, stands 16½in (42cm) tall, while her vertically challenged companions are around 10in (25cm) high.
In generally good condition with original clothes (one lacks a shoe and Doc has lost his glasses), the set is expected to make £250-350 at C&T in Kenardington, Kent, on November 3.
View the catalogue entry for these Snow White toys on thesaleroom.com.
3. Second World War battle ensign
A white ‘battle’ ensign flown by HMS Exeter during the action which led to the scuttling of the German ‘pocket battleship’ SMS Admiral Graf Spee in the Second World War is one of the highlights of Charles Miller’s Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art auction on November 2.
Exeter, Commodore Harwood’s badly damaged flagship, limped into Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands shortly after a dramatic action with Admiral Graf Spee on December 13, 1939 (the Battle of the River Plate). After escorting Exeter to a safe mooring, the steam trawler Port Richard was pressed into service as tender (Exeter’s boats having all succumbed in action) and had to cope with her crew of 660, of which 63 had been killed and a further 23 seriously wounded.
Exeter herself was little more than a floating ruin and required emergency repairs sufficient to get her back to the UK for a full refit.
Master of the Port Richard was Joseph Lanning, a Falkland Islander by birth, who by 1939 held several positions within the community including that of a part-time harbour master and a police constable.
Lanning, who also had to deal with the Achilles, full of exhausted and wounded men, later received the 6ft 1in x 12ft 3in (1.85 x 3.73m) ensign as a sign of thanks. Later in life, he moved to the UK and proudly retained the ensign as a souvenir.
It is offered with a quantity of ephemera including a letter on Exeter stationery from Captain FS Bell and a manuscript memoir by Lanning which mentions the presentation of the ensign in 1940.
The Graf Spee was scuttled on December 17 after taking shelter in Montevideo on the River Plate estuary.
Estimate £2000-3000.
View the catalogue entry for this white ‘battle’ ensign on thesaleroom.com.
4. Fred Yates picture
This painting by Fred Yates (1922-2008) will be one of the highlights in the British and Continental Pictures and Prints Auction of more than 260 lots at Olympia Auctions in west London on November 3.
The Estuary, Cornwall, signed lower right, an oil on board measuring 28 x 30cm (11 x 11¾in), is estimated at £800-1200.
View the catalogue entry for this Fred Yates painting on thesaleroom.com.
5. Whistler print
This etching from James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s Thames Set depicts shipping at Rotherhithe (Wapping). Signed and dated 1860 in the plate, it comes for sale at the Roseberys London prints sale on November 2 with a guide of £1200-1800.
View the catalogue entry for this James Abbott McNeill Whistler etching on thesaleroom.com.