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Garden Antiques: How to Source & Identify, by Rupert van der Werff and Jackie Rees, published by Miller’s. ISBN 1840007133 £15.99hb

FAMILY deaths and property downsizings still account for the majority of goods sold at auction, but lifestyle options are increasingly a factor. At Andrew Hartley’s sale the decision by a local vendor to part with her Chiparus figure to pay for an extension on her new home was almost as cutting edge as the Yorkshire man who ditched this collection of modern glass, some shown left, by Lancashire master blower John Ditchfield to pay for a holiday in the Far East.

This 19th century George Jones majolica game pie dish and cover led the way at Lawrences (11% buyer’s premium) three-day event, held at their rooms in Bletchingley between February 4 and 6.

Here’s something you’re unlikely to see much this century, lifesize or otherwise: a cap-wearing boy on a go-kart, commonly known to collectors of Matchbox toys as a Soapbox Racer. It’s the cover lot of Vectis Auction Group’s Matchbox Magic 8 sale, which takes place next week at the Community Hall in Buckingham.

The doom and gloom experienced in many provincial rooms prior to Christmas was nowhere to be seen in these Sussex rooms, who, despite the snowy conditions, took a respectable hammer total just shy of £170,000.

Masterpieces of Art Nouveau Furniture: The Majorelle Catalogue c.1910, edited by Flora Klickmann, published by Dover Books, New York, and distributed in the UK by David & Charles Ltd. ISBN 0486421139. £16.95sb

Pictured right is a computer-generated image of the proposed redevelopment site at Camden Lock in north London. The project, scheduled for completion in October 2004, will include entertainment and leisure facilities, restaurants, bars, shops and offices.