Tennants

This Victorian cased diorama of birds of paradise native to New Guinea sold for £18,000 to lead Tennants’ (22% buyer’s premium) Natural History and Taxidermy sale in Leyburn on April 20.

North Yorkshire saleroom Tennants is selling this Kemp & Co field camera with ‘tropical’ mahogany casing and brass fittings, with an estimate of £150-250.

Whereas buying at fairs often involves a heavy dose of serendipity, buying at auction tends to be a more focused and considered affair.

A number of portraits of women from different periods of history were among the most contested pictures at sales around the country in the early part of this year.

Knowledgeable bidders spot a design by Owen Jones on offer in North Yorkshire

Estimated at £100-150, a group of six items of Second World War army kit ended up selling for £4000 at Tennants (22% buyer’s premium).

A dreamy interwar architectural portrait of Pilgrims Hall, Essex, by Rex Whistler (1905-44) generated interest at Tennants (22% buyer’s premium) of Leyburn, North Yorkshire, on March 19.

Eight different colourways of the classic Whitefriars Banjo vase were offered in a single-owner private collection at Tennants (22% buyer’s premium).

The London firm Samuel Jackson seems to have specialised in mounting other materials in silver to produce wine-coolers.

Collectors use the name ‘Snowflake’ to refer the range of Tudor Submariners produced from 1969-75.

Aubrey Beardsley and John Batten add the illustrative attractions in North Yorks sale

The Palais Royale built for Cardinal Richelieu in 1629 had a variety of uses over the years but in the 18th and early 19th century was rebuilt as a place for public recreation and social gathering.

Auction figures for firms outside London show a shake-up of the status quo

Rarely do 19th century Staffordshire figures feature among the top-selling lots at auction these days but two bare-fist boxing champions did just that.

The undoubted star of the November 24 sale at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) was the early 15th century folding almanac, or girdle book, that took £95,000.

One of around 30 known medieval English folding almanacs, and one of only a few in private hands, sold for £95,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Tennants.

Enicar watches do not have the instant brand recognition of a Rolex or Omega but they do share many of the same parts.

If ever there were a price to demonstrate just how important condition has become in the top end of the collecting market then it is the record-breaking SFr2.55m (£2.065m) for a reference CK2915 Speedmaster at Phillips (26/21% buyer's premium) in Geneva on November 5.

The strong prices for Modern British female artists keep rolling on. Among the notable results in the regions recently was a beach scene by Dorothea Sharp (1874-1955) that was among the star performers at Parker Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).

The windmill cup was the most popular of the novelty silver wager cups produced from the late 16th century until the early 18th century.