Gloucestershire

Titled ‘In the District of Moka’, the hand-coloured litho plate shown here is one of 40 that make up a scarce folio of 1832, Thomas Bradshaw’s Views in Mauritius, or Isle of France…

As soon as the devastating power of machine guns in the First World War became clear, the British Army abandoned its earlier policy of attaching a section of just two guns to each infantry battalion or cavalry regiment.

A Distinguished Flying Cross medal group offered at Stroud Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) on November 7-8 underlines the sometimes rudimentary nature of the embyonic early war in the air.

Published in 1962, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was the first book in a popular series of lupine tales by Joan Aiken (1924-2004), a prolific and prize-winning author whose specialities included the supernatural and children’s books that involved an elaborate, alternative history of Britain.

Nine centuries after it first became a thriving art form, Limoges enamel ware remains a popular choice as evidenced by a tazza offered by Chorley’s (20% buyer’s premium).

Rude Rowlandson print is among the highlights of Gloucestershire auction.

Catching the eye in a German auction was a fine example of the most beautiful of all piscatorial plate books.

Simon Shore is a north Cotswolds dealer and agent who runs 1793 gallery in Stow on the Wold.

Plastic has gained a bad name when it comes to the environment – clogging up oceans for a start.

It may seem hard to credit nowadays, but photographs of fairies at the bottom of the Cottingley (Yorkshire) garden of two young girls, produced in 1917 as a practical joke, were taken to be genuine by many people – most famously, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Early British army uniforms were the highlight of an extensive single-owner militaria collection amassed by a long-standing Nottinghamshire family which was offered at Stroud Auctions.

An intriguing portrait by an unidentified hand of a Royal Navy admiral in a wig and blue gilt braided uniform was a star entry at Cotswold saleroom Chorley’s (20/15/12.5/10% buyer’s premium).

A selection of highlights from the Chorley's auction on July 24-25 and the Tennants sale on July 21 (also see main Auction Reports story this edition).

Sold for £2500 in a Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) sale of July 25 was an enormous archive of work produced in the 1950s and ‘60s by Leslie Starke (1905-74), a cartoonist once very popular in both the UK and US.

Private bidders were overtaken as dealers found warmth in the best traditional furniture and chattels offered at auction.

Cirencester saleroom Moore Allen & Innocent (20% buyer’s premium) enjoyed a taste of India’s fast-growing art market when three pictures by the Indian folk artist Jamini Roy (1887-1972) were scooped up for a total of £24,500.