Features

The annual trials of watches that took place first in Greenwich and later at the Royal Observatory in Kew and the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington were an opportunity for the Admiralty to choose suitable timekeepers and for manufacturers to obtain an independent assessment of their merchandise.

Exhibitions both big and small await art and antiques lovers when they head out to museums this summer

Treasure House Fair offers a roster of top dealers, a major Surrealist loan exhibition and an organiser who believes the fair is ushering in a new generation of trade

The summer season is upon us, and the art market has risen to the occasion. There is plenty to see, plenty to buy and plenty to look forward to.

The summer selling season is upon us and many galleries have assembled some compelling reasons for you to browse and buy

Studiolo returns for its second London edition with just three works per dealer. It’s the setting that does the heavy lifting: the Cloisters and College Garden at Westminster Abbey

Even though, as a rule, big-name wristwatches still attract the highest prices, recent sales show a resilient market for pocket watches.

Dealers hold selling exhibitions, talks and tours during the second staging of this London showcase

The art produced by the British wartime prime minister was sniffed at and snubbed by critics for many years while being welcomed by dealers and auctioneers. But a new exhibition at The Wallace Collection underlines how his paintings are gradually gaining a serious status

This summer, a diverse range of noteworthy lots will go under the hammer at auction houses across the UK. Here we turn a spotlight to some of these – from a first vampire novel and Titanic launch tickets to a Duke of Wellington portrait and a Ravilious watercolour

Motor Launch 397 was one of about 500 of these 37-ton boats built by Elco during the First World War and was heavily involved with the 1918 raids on the German-held ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge.

Unusual models brings strong demand as the RAF Museum sold off items it viewed as no longer needed

If The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers are to your liking, a large single-owner collection of military medals comprising nearly 100 lots dedicated to the regiment offered in Somerset on May 28 would have caught your eye.

“The Russians opened fire on our right, on our left, and then in front...

The Spink (20% buyer’s premium) sale on April 23 that included the Rorke’s Drift medal awarded to ‘Ammunition Smith’ (see News, ATG No 2742) also featured several other notable lots.

Personal stories grab the attention of militaria collectors, transforming dry histories of dates and names, facts and figures into real-life flesh and blood tales.

During the First World War aviators of the Royal Flying Corps suffered from the cold over the Western Front. A solution was the ’fug boot’.

Richard Winterton (22% buyer’s premium) offered what was described simply as a “post Second World War” leather flying helmet with goggles and gas mask on May 21 in Tamworth.

Auction lots for a while now have demonstrated a factor which may be termed a ‘Malta premium’.

Henry Piddington (1797-1858) was an English sea captain who sailed mostly in East India and China.