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A rare blue and white version of William De Morgan’s design of a kingfisher catching a fish while perched on a branch appeared at the latest Arts & Crafts sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury.

Dealer, collector, author, military historian – Shamus Wade amassed the remarkable collection of toy soldiers and figures which was recently sold at Special Auction Services of Greenham, near Newbury.

Documented in the book ‘The Allure of Toy Ships: American & European Nautical Toys from the 19th and 20th Centuries’, the Richard T. Claus collection is widely acknowledged as the best toy boat collection in America and, some say, rivals the very best in Europe.

Among the clocks sold in London this summer, there were some of the glitziest and most expensive timekeepers to go under the hammer in recent times, many of them made for the Chinese market.

A pair of 19th or early 20th century Chinese porcelain fish bowls found in a barn on the grounds of a local country house are on sale at Reeman Dansie’s two-day auction on July 31-August 1 in Colchester.

On July 31, Capes Dunn’s Northern Artists sale in Manchester will include ‘Woman Walking’ by L.S. Lowry (1887-1976).

This Titanic postcard has been consigned to White Star Line specialists Henry Aldridge & Son to be included in their sale on July 28 in Devizes, Wiltshire.

A small collection of railwayana from the estate of the late Stephen Crook, a Carlisle-based collector and railway photographer, will be included at Thomson, Roddick & Medcalf’s sale on August 2 in Carlisle.

This stunning pair of 19th century blue john pedestal urns was the outstanding star at Tennants’ £1.8m summer sale at Leyburn.

Nearly one in five of all sales by LAPADA dealers are now online, according to the fine art and antique dealer association’s latest survey, covering 2011.

This Saturday, Provenance Auction House of Cape Town will sell the first instalment of an extraordinary collection of 300 bells formed by the late Keith Blumgart.

Christie’s first half results for 2012 show that the focus of competition at the top end of the international auction business remains the private sales market and online auctions.

This slipware charger by Bernard Leach has been acquired by the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston.

Home owners who have valuable antiques are being warned by police to be vigilant after three burglaries in the space of three days in the Brighton and Hove area.

In 1922, Beatrix Potter, with her most famous little books already behind her, was persuaded by Anne Carroll Moore of the New York Public Library to produce a book of illustrated nursery rhymes.

Three pictures of London Zoo, produced within a few years of its opening to the public, were sold by Lawrences of Crewkerne on July 6.

Among the best Modern British pictures offered at Lawrences of Crewkerne on July 6 was Edward Burra’s (1905-76) ‘Funfair’, which was consigned from a good local collection barely 24 hours before the catalogue went to press.

This summer’s ‘Temps Fort’ sales in the French capital have thrown up an usually strong contingent of sculpture.

Over 200 items of vintage couture belonging to a former fashion model will be offered at an online auction by CJM Auctioneers on July 25.

EXHIBITION: Bruce Beasley at Pangolin London