West Midlands

Stephanie Castell and Ben Cooper, of Two C’s Antique Fairs, are coming down the straight for their antiques fair in Shropshire on Saturday July 11 and Sunday July 12.

A four-page letter written by Edward ‘Bill’ Wilson to a friend during the early days of the doomed British Antarctic Expedition sold for £19,000 at Fieldings (26% buyer’s premium) in Stourbridge.

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.

A trade card featuring football player Steve Bloomer (1874-1938) went well beyond its guide of £6000-8000 as it hammered for £24,000.

The artist Alfred W Hallett (1914-86) is mostly known for his portraits, landscapes and flower paintings made in India from 1938 onwards.

A bronze by Antoine Barye dating from 1860 was among the stand-out sales at the recent staging of Classic Antique Fairs.

Kosuge (Kosuge Toy Industrial Co Ltd), with the trademark KSG in a diamond, was Matsuzo Kosuge.

This splendid image depicts Horace Brown, a former president of the Piscatorial Society.

What to buy the auctioneer who has it all?

The Ledbury Collective in the so-named design quarter in the attractive Herefordshire town was opened last year by Sarah Baldwin.

A remarkable assortment of jewellery is on offer at this spring’s Classic Antique Fairs.

Dominating the skyline in the Staffordshire city of Lichfield is the only medieval cathedral in the UK with three spires.

A first edition, first impression of The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien is a valuable proposition even without its dustjacket.

This British Aero Lubricants AMG No 1 motor oil can estimated at £100-150 sold instead via thesaleroom.com for a £1700 hammer price.

First introduced by British Railways in 1962-64 and withdrawn between 1973-77, the short-lived Class 52 diesel hydraulic locomotive has gained something of a cult status among enthusiasts.

It has been estimated there are between 500 and 1000 different types of marble-in-neck mineral water bottles based on the famous 1872 patent by Hiram Codd.

The Wurlitzer Company was founded in the US in 1856 and the Centennial 2000 jukebox model was created to commemorate the centenary anniversary.