Buckinghamshire

Form, colour and condition are defining criteria in the oak market – and unfortunately this 17th century oak ‘credence’ offered by Claydon Auctioneers (19.5% buyer’s premium) in Middle Claydon, Buckinghamshire, on April 27 was a lacking on at least two fronts.

The leading contenders in the December 12 General Election are struggling to land any meaningful blows on each other, despite being more than happy to be photographed in boxing rings.

A Cecil Beaton sketch of Christian Dior working in his studio in Paris sold for £5200 (estimate £500-700) as part of the estate of society dress designer Ian Thomas (1929-93).

A sketch attributed to John Constable (1776-1837) uncovered in a Holland Park home is to be offered at auction in Maidenhead – the latest in a string of Constable sketch discoveries.

Catalogued together with an incomplete silver propelling pencil with a bloodstone terminal, a silver Art Deco pocket lighter with a timepiece sold at £5200 (estimate £100-200) at Amersham Auction Rooms (17.5% buyer’s premium) on July 11.

The collecting of English military swords is a science in itself.

A 19th century Russian shashka sword with fine niello-worked ornament sold for £6700 against an estimate of £250-450 at Amersham Auction Rooms (17.5% buyer’s premium) on August 1.

An “extremely rare” grouping of military items including a British 1899 issue leather hobnail boot with a shrapnel hole sold for £6500 at a Buckinghamshire auction on July 3.

A testimony to its popularity, the small weekly fleamarket in Buckingham has been running for more than 25 years.

When British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents were parachuted into occupied Europe in the Second World War speed was vital. Not only did they have to jump from sub-radar altitudes as low as 400ft, hitting the ground within 10-15 seconds, but they also had to make a quick getaway.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the British were clearly impressed by the French lancer regiments they encountered during the Napoleonic Wars. The first British lancer regiments were established in 1816, just a year after Waterloo.

Factors dictating the pricing of Naval General Service Medals were clearly demonstrated in the March 6 sale at Bosleys (20% buyer’s premium) in Marlow. Ten NGSMs were offered as part of a large single-owner medal collection.

Paul Treadaway, antique dealer and gilder, died on March 5 after a long illness. He will be sadly missed by his family, friends and colleagues.

Catalogued as the most valuable Silver Age comic book by far, a copy of Issue No 15 of Amazing Fantasy, the 1962 comic that saw the first appearance of Spider-Man, sold for £14,500 in a January 25 sale held by Excalibur Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) of Amersham.

It was not only in London that Eastern daggers made a big impression in UK auctions this summer.

Even in the hugely popular world of SAS medal collecting, where extraordinary deeds and great stories are taken as read, every now and again a consignment will come along with that ‘wow’ factor.