Daleks exterminate auction estimate
A Doctor Who archive of photographs and copies of plans from The Power of the Daleks – the missing third episode of the fourth season – has been sold at auction in south London.
The collection, estimated at £800-1200, was hammered down at £4600 at Roseberys (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in West Norwood on March 21.
The Power of the Daleks had been first broadcast by the BBC in November and December 1966 but the master tapes of all six episodes were erased in the late 1960s, while the copies kept for foreign sales on 16mm film were destroyed in 1974.
Their destruction meant that the only information to survive on the series was limited to stills photography and films made by fans when the programmes were broadcast.
The collection was owned by the late production designer and art director, Derek Dodd (1937-2018), who made set designs for The Power of the Daleks and The Wheel in Space.
Rediscovered Elgar work emerges
A rediscovered melody by Sir Edward Elgar has been bought by a private buyer at a Richard Winterton (buyer’s premium 17.5%) auction.
It was found in an autograph book. The book had been collected by Lydia Tabb (1897-1983), a matron and fundraiser for the children’s charity Barnardo’s who died in 1983, and the items were consigned by her family.
The autograph album dates from 1923 and contains about 69 signatures including five prime ministers and authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, HG Wells, Sir JM Barrie and Rudyard Kipling.
Rediscovered Elgar melody manuscript – £5400 at Richard Winterton.
The 1924 Elgar manuscript and the autograph collection were sold as two separate lots with the manuscript hammered down at £5400 and the autograph collection at £3600 at the March 26 Library sale in Lichfield.
Shippers welcome EU permit change
Art shippers have welcomed a new European Union law that creates a grace period for UK hauliers until the end of 2019.
The change means that for UK hauliers permits will not be required for the vast majority of journeys to the EU for the rest of this year.
Mike McGrellis, transport manager at shipping firm Gander & White, said: “The limited number of ECMT [European Conference of Ministers of Transport] permits were allocated to essential goods carriers only, so this decision allows for an overhaul of the system to be made so that all UK-based hauliers can continue to operate in the EU in the case of a no-deal Brexit.”
SOFAA dinner details released
The SOFAA dinner, at which members of the auctioneer association and their guests gather every two years, takes place on Wednesday, June 19, at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, Knightsbridge, London.
The speaker is confirmed as Dr Susanna Avery-Quash, senior research curator (history of collecting) at the National Gallery, London.
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The most viewed stories for week March 28-April 3 on antiquestradegazette.com
1 Sotheby’s and dealer reach out-of-court settlement over disputed Hals painting
2 Golding Young & Mawer to sell Stamford dealership 800-lot collection without reserve
3 Mega sleepers awakened at regional auctions across mercurial March
4 Giambologna bronze brings 100 times estimate in Paris
5 Remarkable collection of ancient engraved gems comes to auction in New York
In Numbers
$487m
The amount of online sales US auction house Heritage made last year – more than Christie’s ($250m) and Sotheby’s ($200m) combined – according to the seventh annual Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2019.
