Auctions

Sphairistike, an ancient Greek term meaning skill in playing at ball, was the name Major Walter Wingfield chose for the game he patented and first advertised early in 1874.

“Germany calling, Germany calling” were the chilling opening words spoken by the upper-class British accent of William Joyce – Lord Haw Haw – and other presenters in propaganda radio broadcasts from Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

The earliest days of Tottenham Hotspur FC are revealed in a remarkable hand-written ledger coming up at auction in a November 4-5 London sale.

A large collection of Rockingham porcelain will be on display at Wentworth Woodhouse next month ahead of its sale at auction. The Rowley collection, numbering 120 lots, was assembled by a collector hailing from Sprotborough, Doncaster, who now lives in Buckinghamshire.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period October 10-16, 2019. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

Cubist work by often-overlooked artist fuels keen bidding before heading to California.

Diaries, journals and letters kept by Lady Anne Cullum (1807-95) of Hardwick House, near Bury St Edmunds, sold for a total of around £8000 in a recent East Anglian auction.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales for £3000 or under, including a Francis Bacon lithograph.

Two modestly estimated watercolours by the Victorian ornithological painter Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) emerged as the star sellers in an auction in South Yorkshire.

‘Grolieresque’ cover on 1527 edition of key Italian Renaissance work boosts auction value.

Three pieces of original artwork were the big money spinners in a Comic Book Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) timed online sale on thesaleroom.com which closed on September 1.