Yorkshire and the Humber

UK: CUTTING EDGE is the title of a major cutlery exhibition opening at Fairfax House in Castlegate, York, on September 1. The display, which will remain on show until December 30, before moving to the Millennium Galleries in Sheffield and then, in March next year, the Geffrye Museum in London, covers “5000 years of man and knife”.

THE wheels may be coming off RailTrack and rail shares plunging generally, but in the older parallel world of steam things could hardly be better. Looking at sales figures of 544 lots getting away out of 550 offered and a total of £383,000 on June 16 at Sheffield Railwayana Auctions, other auctioneers can only envy Ian Wright’s decision some years ago to specialise in railwayana.

UK: CORNISHWARE may be at the lower-priced end of the ceramics market but there is no shortage of enthusiasm as was evident when this 71/4in (18.5cm) jar, illustrated here, sold at £600 at the ‘Kitchenalia’ sale held by niche-market specialist BBR (10 per cent buyer’s premium) on May 20.

FOR 20 of its 27 years the annual Harrogate Antique and Fine Art Fair has been organised by West Country-based Louise Walker but with 80 exhibitors this year’s staging from May 3 to 6 is the biggest so far.

NOT one of the best silver and jewellery sales ever to have been held at Phillips, Leeds – most entries sold at under £1000 – there was nevertheless some keen buying with a very satisfactory 89 per cent success rate and the occasional prized item.

There was the familiar wide mix and flash of quality at this Dales auctioneers’ weekly sale, where the top price came from a piece over the Pennines – an 18th century yew wood dresser base that had originally graced a pub in Blackpool.

UK: THE best ever attended sale at Newent Auction Rooms (5 per cent buyer’s premium) on the March 30th – auctioneer John Parrott frankly believed numbers at the March 30 event were boosted by foot-and-mouth cancellations elsewhere – was led by this pretty Queen Anne walnut desk.

Few businesses can boast the sort of charitable contributions of Tomlinson Antiques, the furniture wholesaler of Tockwith, North Yorkshire.

UK: WHEN people talk of antiques as a sure investment a word of advice is always ‘Remember stevengraphs, think about pot lids.’

The wind has always been blowing strongly in one direction in the market for American weather vanes, and this 1930s example, left, offered at the Harrogate rooms of Morphet’s (10 per cent buyer’s premium) on March 15 was always expected to sell for a high price.

Ilkley rooms start the new year at the double UK: AGAINST a widely reported background of a slow start to the year, these West Yorkshire auctioneers got off to such a busy start that the first of their six annual one-day sales spilled over into a two-day event.

UK: ALREADY the king of the bottles and jugs collectables market which he has done so much to pioneer, Alan Blakeman’s latest successful sale of advertising collectables where some 410 lots totalled £44,651 has persuaded him to add an extra such event to the two specialist sales a year he has previously held at his South Yorkshire rooms.

UK: HARROGATE, in terms of preserved 18th century elegance, may be the North’s equivalent of Bath, but even here 21st century pressures apply.

UK: DECORATIVE pieces stood out at this 1000-lot £104,000 sale of 1000 basically general lots.

UK: FOLLOWING the liquidation of Bailey Fairs Ltd, its principal Robert Bailey has announced that he can continue organising his full roster of events as Robert Bailey Fairs Ltd.

…but Harrogate event will go ahead this month UK: LAST week Bailey Fairs Ltd went into voluntary liquidation but its principal, Robert Bailey, intends to continue organising in a limited capacity.

UK: This 61/4in (16cm) Shelley whisky jug depicting a fox-hunting scene to both sides and emblazoned entitled Watsons Scotch to the short neck was in sufficiently good condition to bring £1700 at BBR’s saleroom.

THE best bottle ever dug? This was the question that auctioneer Alan Blakeman of BBR was asking himself after an extraordinary price was tendered by an American collector at the Elsecar salerooms on July 9 for this early shaft and globe example.

Highly desirable Clarice Cliff Blue Lucerne globular vase, 6in (15cm) high, shape 370, decorated with a stylised geometric Mediterranean landscape.

UK: COLLECTABLE 20th century ceramics continue to be the target of some elaborate fakes: among the more recent additions to the 'danger' list are the series of 'Royal Doulton' Union Jack bulldogs and a 'prototype' character jug.