News Room

The Autumn Toys & Collectors Sale

The Toys and Collectors Sale at Hartleys, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, on October 1st was a successful product of sheer hard work by bidders in the room and on the book and an accurate reading of what to do with cash in a recession.  £87,500 was accumulated from 815 lots with only 91 lots (or 11%) bought in.

 

There were great results and surprises in most categories starting with the first section devoted to dolls and teddy bears.  Early on, a Parisian bisque head doll, late 19th century, with an old hair crack on its forehead and a presale lower estimate of £400 stunned the room with a final price on the phone of £5,400.  Other dolls came nowhere near this, the second best price here being £440 for a large Franz Schmidt & Co boy doll 28” high dressed in a sailor suit.

 

The teddies and other soft toys narrowed down to three lots, an early Continental musical teddy covered in very worn red and fawn plush found £520, another three coloured “Coronation” bear, c.1937, by Chad Valley in even worse condition reached £340 and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in moulded felt by Chad Valley also achieved £340.

 

A large collection of Pelham puppets from a deceased estate in Skipton, North Yorkshire, has been divided into three, a third last March, a third at this event, and the final tranche in six months time.  On this occasion the best prices were £520 for a rare “Carrot Top” ventriloquist’s doll, and more amazingly a stonking £2,400 for three early 1940’s Pelhams without boxes “Piano Player”, “Huntsman” and “Chef”.

 

The best price in the miscellanea went to a Johilco fire station set comprising two diecast fire engines with ladders and drivers and sixteen various firemen, the painted plywood and timber building labelled “Evetoy”, which exceeded the top estimate at £480.

 

Amongst the figures whose strength (if that is the right word) was in playworn job lots, a dealer box containing around a hundred rather grubbily boxed Timpo Toys Wild West Series individual figures, in mint condition inside, sold for £1,400.

 

A one-off collection from Bradford mainly comprising bicycle carbide and other lamps created a diversion in the middle of the sale.  A totally specialist area usually produces just a few highly determined bidders, and in this case the section was seen off very briskly.  The star item was a penny farthing hub mounted oil lamp “The Otto”, maker unknown, which reached £950, while four Lucas carbide lamps including two “Calcia Kings” and a “Luminator” found £320.

 

The collection of autographs followed, which can often be quite hard work as again buyers are relatively few.  However the outstanding items performed as expected.  Two Royal Approbations signed by George II reached £280, a charity dinner programme signed by Neil Armstrong, only recently making a rare appearance in the news, found £300, and two letters signed by Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin £360.

 

Diecast lots were very much in two camps, the (often heavy) lots of playworn toys and the individual usually boxed models all doing their best to get somewhere near “excellent” or “mint”.

 

Amongst the job lots, fifty playworn Corgi vehicles reached £440, forty three post war Dinky cars, racers and other items found £600, and twenty four more including a Bedford “Ovaltine” van £420.  Within the boxed or individual items, a Corgi Batmobile complete with packing and accessories graded good to excellent found £230, a Dinky 28g Kodak van, no box but fair to good reached £250, and a Dinky 919 Guy Golden Shred van, boxed and again fair to good sold for £360.

 

The Dublo model railways were plentiful, and often very modern and in excellent condition appealing very much to the trade.  Amongst the lots were several rare pieces including a Hornby Dublo 2245 electric locomotive which found £600, and twenty one Hornby Dublo Super Detail wagons including a BR horsebox, a caustic liquor bogie wagon and a United Dairies milk tank which realised £280.

 

The “O” gauge was much less plentiful but more studded with saleable composite locomotives and job lots of boxed rolling stock.  Top of the range was a Hornby Princess Elizabeth 4-6-2 electric locomotive and tender in presentation box and unusually with all its wheels intact which deserved its final bid of £1800.  A Hornby clockwork S.R. 4-4-0 locomotive in relatively playworn condition reached £320, while a carton of thirty four Hornby goods trucks including many repeats but all boxed and in unused condition found £500.

 

The end of the sale was devoted as usual to larger scale items and grown up railways.  This included two excellent scratch built radio controlled boat models of the Whitby Life Boat and a North Sea Trawler which seemed very reasonable at £340 and £400.

 

The well promoted finale however was a couple of enamelled station totem signs in North Eastern orange, for the local Ilkley station just 100 yards up the road.  They had been found abandoned by the new tenant of the Station Masters Office in 1973 after Dr Beeching had done his worst.  One sign had never been erected outside and had only slight rust marks to its rear, and sold well at £1700.  The other was rusty, discoloured, had its original bracket seized up to the rear, but still sailed past to £1,800.

 

 

 

 

Autumn Sale Report

 

 

£90,000 was the highest single price in Hartley’s autumn fine sale in Ilkley on September 14th.  It was paid for a superb copy of the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle, the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century.  Around 1400 or so copies were originally printed and it is thought only 400 or so now survive.  This example was complete and in remarkable condition for its age.  The Latin text covers the history of the world to 1493, and was part of an estate, the property of a Guiseley lady who has recently died but who could trace her family back to the 14th century.  The purchase was made over the telephone by a private buyer against intense opposition on the remaining bank of phones and within the saleroom. 

The volume was the star lot in the special section devoted to books which occurs in Ilkley every September.  Other items from the same deceased estate included seven 18th century pamphlets relating to Pontefract selling at £850, and “Loyal Volunteers of London Environs Infantry and Cavalry” 1799 by R Ackerman which found £5,200.  Also from this source were the seven volumes of the Scaitcliffe Armoury and Trophies of Antiquity which were an eclectic collection of entries, much of it pasted in, to form the list of the contents of the old family museum at Todmorden, dispersed and sold up in 1892.  The remaining volumes included all kinds of items such as a lock of Napoleon’s hair and Lord Nelson’s autograph.  The interest in these volumes which were sold separately was intense and produced a total of £14,900.

 

The sale overall was a success with excellent prices in all areas.  The total of £447,000 for 997 lots included only 17% by lot bought in.  Just over half of the total was attributed to the estate of Primrose Dampier Blackburn including the book at £90,000.  Her items included objects passed from her 14th century ancestors the Crossleys of Todmorden, as well as silver and other items from another branch the Dampiers originally of Corfe Castle in the 1500’s.

Primrose’s personal contribution to the estate together with her husband also recently deceased was the large collection of early English pottery and this started off the morning session.  amongst the pearlware creamware figures, groups and vessels were several high value prices.  A pearlware arbour group “Persaition” (sic) reached £1400, an early Staffordshire agate ware cat 4” high £1200, a Prattware model of a shepherd with his dog and a ram £1050, and a pearlware group comprising a Hurdy Gurdy Man, dancing bear, monkey and dog reached £1800.  Also from Primrose’s estate were two Chinese items, a Kangxi wine ewer modelled as a horned kylim which sold for £5600 and a 16” export porcelain punch bowl, late 18th century, which found £4000.

From elsewhere, a Pilkington’s Royal Lancastrian earthenware vase by Richard Joyce rose to £1000 and a William Moorcroft 11 ¾” vase in Iris pattern reached £1300.

 

Silver prices were in the main predictably led by the current bullion price, and this often occurred irrespective of age and shape.  For instance a tea tray of 80ozs with regimental inscription reached £1500, two four piece tea services each 55ozs found £950 each, and a tea tray of 118ozs £2200.  Another four piece tea service from Primrose’s estate dated 1847 and presented to her great grandfather Captain Atkinson by grateful passengers after a stormy voyage, 76ozs in weight, still only reached £1,850, an uplift of around £6 per ounce.  Also from Primrose was a fine set of four Corinthian column candlesticks 1764-6 selling at £4,200 and a spectacular set of three embossed caddies dated 1767/8 of 39ozs in total in its silver mounted shagreen covered case which seemed good value at £4,000.

 

A small watch section included two gents Rolex examples, an Oyster Perpetual Datejust Chronometer with all its display box, pouch etc at £1,750.  this led into the main jewellery section, which was as patchy as usual in terms of take up of often optimistically priced pieces.  Lots that did find their mark included a one carat solitaire diamond ring at £2,000, a stylish tanzanite and diamond dress ring £2,800, a pair of diamond set cufflinks £3,000, an Edwardian three stone diamond ring of 2.3cts in total £3,400, and a pear cut diamond pendant set within a border of baguettes, around 2.5cts in total, £3,000.

The afternoon started with the various picture sections and once again Primrose’s estate took the best price with her only oil painting, an enigmatic “Adoration of the Magi”, originally attributed to Marcellus Coffermans (1520-1578) but more recently suggested to be somewhat older.  Much restoration had occurred over the years, but the current result was a colourful and attractive work.  The eventual price for this was £24,000, sold to a North European trade buyer.

Also of considerable interest to European trade, particularly Italian were two consecutive items which have eventually ended up together in Germany.  A rural scene with shepherd and flock by Erminio Kremp reached £2,600 and a Coastal Scene with Shipwreck by Eugenio Amus sold for £2,000.  A View of Cagnes by Ronald Ossary Dunlop reached £1,450, a Still Life by Tim Gustard £1,500, and a Shepherd and Flock by Ernest Charles Walbourne £1,300.

The best Yorkshire picture was inevitably a typically stark Snowscene by Peter Brook only 12” square which realised £2,900.

Works of art produced several surprises especially with the combination of Primrose and Oriental.  Most noteworthy was an early 19th century soapstone figure of a dignitary 3 ½” high which left its modest pre-sale estimate far behind to sell for £6,000.  Another Chinese item was a late 19th century bronze censor 8 ½” high which found £2,200.

Longcase clocks are having a difficult time presently, some would say even more so than general furniture.  It was cheering therefore to see an eight day brass dialled clock in oak case by Henry Hindley of York, quadruple its upper estimate to fetch £4,400.  The sea captain related to Primrose who was given the tea service also owned a forty eight hour marine chronometer by Brockbank and Atkins on gimbals in mahogany case which sold for £2,500.

The architectural section was dominated by a set of stained glass windows and roundels removed from five window openings at St Mary and St Peter’s Chuch, St Helier, Jersey, and originally from the firm of Lavers, Barraud and Westlake.  Catalogued in twenty four lots and in generally good heart but in need of glass replacement in many places, the seller instructed the auctioneers to accept an offer prior to the auction as a single lot.  This was done at a figure of in excess of the upper estimate.

Still remaining in this section were a most attractive set of six mosaic wall plaques in Arts and Crafts style, c.1900, each with an angel and attributed to the Powell/Whitefriars Studio.  These created considerable interest and sold on the phone from £3,800.

Furniture Primrose’s estate was again interesting in places.  Capt. Atkinson’s mahogany campaign chest when he was in charge of the “Blenheim” found £1,650, a delightful “Vide Poche” in Kingwood with label for Howard and Sons, London, reached £1,750, and a Georgian mahogany chest of drawers bearing the label of Giles Grendy, London, seemed reasonable at £2,500.

Finally an accumulation from various sources of adzed oak furniture by Robert Thompson, the Mouseman of Kilburn, rounded off they day.  Three panelled wardrobes reached £2,200, £3,200 and £2,800, a 36” square breakfast table £1,300, a 60” refectory style table £1,200, a set of six lattice back single chairs £2,500 and a 60” sideboard £2,200.

 

 

 

Publicity Is Always Good

 

 

Publicising an auction sale does not come cheap, what with printing and postage of the catalogue at around £7,500, the professional photographer, newspaper advertising at £2,000-£3,000, internet exposure and so on.  Even then, the worry of getting the right people at the right time to exercise their best efforts to purchase is always present.

 

So it is a stroke of fortune when outside forces combine with our own programme to promote the sale of something of quality.  Such was the case when the national promotion of the expensive new gallery devoted to Dame Barbara Hepworth at Wakefield coincided with the consigning of one of her works to our Fine Arts Sale on June 22nd. The work was an oil and pencil on board entitled “Stringed Figure with Yellow”, signed and dated 1960.  The local lady owner had purchased it from Sotheby’s in 1994 with a full provenance and the current pre sale estimate of £4,000-£6,000 reflected the price she paid at the time.  The purchase price after much activity on the telephone was eventually produced in the room at £31,000 by far the best price of the sale. The auction overall was a general success with a grand total of nearly £330,000 and only 19% by lot was bought in.  There were high spots in all categories with 55 prices going into four figures.  While the Hepworth was the best Yorkshire picture price several others performed well.  Three oils by Brian Shields, known as “Braaq”, comprised “Autumn Fair at Widnes” at £3,900, “Snow Scene with Figures” at £6,800 and “I’m off Home Cos I’m Freezing” topping the bill at £10,500. 

More traditional works included a pair of local landscapes by William Mellor at £2,500, and a delightful “Summers Day, Nesfield, Near Ilkley” by Herbert Royle with cattle being driven up a local lane, which well deserved its final price of £6,500.

 

The first category of the day was ceramics, with the greatest interest reserved for early 20th century pieces.  A 9 ¼” Royal Worcester baluster vase painted with sheep by Harry Davies doubled its top estimate at £1,650, a pair of 12” William Moorcroft Florian ware vases in perfect condition reached £2,800 and another just 3 ¼” high £1,000.

 

Silver continues to maintain its higher slot within the commodity prices, ensuring that all but five lots of the 165 strong section found buyers.  A handsome Edwardian epergne of 72 ¾”ozs dated 1903 made £2,800, or £38.5 per ounce, while at the other end of the spectrum a set of 134 silver ingots “The United Nations” reached £2,500 representing £18 per ounce.

 

Gold coinage performed similarly well with sovereigns typically finding £180 each.  More desirable however were two George IV examples which sold for £430 and £360 respectively.

 

Midsummer is not traditionally the high point in the calendar for jewellery but strong bidding ensured that in this instance the majority of the higher estimated pieces found buyers.  A solitaire diamond ring of 1.8 carats of good colour and clarity reached £6,000, another of 2.3 carats and slightly yellow colour sold at £6,500.  A very attractive diamond ring comprising a 1.4ct stone encircled by a diamond set border found £3900, while the matching stud earrings went to the same buyer for a further £3000.  Finally a highly traditional three stone diamond ring of around 3 carats, went above top estimate at £3,700.

 

Each quarterly fine sale in Ilkley includes a specialist section alongside those that always appear.  For June it was “Garden and Architectural” which this year offered a full range of stone pillars, iron gates, urns, planters and garden figures.  A Coalbrookdale cast iron garden seat in fern and blackberry pattern sold well at £1,450. a 34” composition stone figure of a seated Pan reached £1,300, a late 20th century metal figure of a stag 69” high found £1,250, and a smart pair of cast iron campana urns raised on associated columns 49” high overall attracted £1,000.

 

Throughout the sale a full saleroom did not guarantee a constant flow of bids from the floor, and frequently the commissions book produced the winning or on occasions the only successful bid.  In particular this resulted in private buyers being much more in evidence than usual.

 

The works of art section produced one of the highest figures of the day with a Bergman of Austria cold painted bronze lamp base.  This was in the form of a female lute player carried within a tent on the back of a camel and led by a male companion and this trebled its lower estimate at £7,000.  A Napoleonic prisoner of war bone automaton modelled as four ladies and two children dancing reached £1,000.

 

In a relatively small clock section, an ebonised table clock by John Grant of Fleet Street, London with twin fusee movement performed as expected at £2,500.  In complete contrast a 9 ¼” Tudric pewter mantel clock with turquoise enamel dial went at a mid estimate price of £1,700, and a curious brass cased German mantel clock, late 18th century, by Weisse, Dresden rose to £1,000.

 

The final furniture section was started as usual with a run of Robert Thompson adzed oak pieces which proved to be the most reliable furniture to find buyers.  An early special commission comprising a 90” refectory table and six panel backed chairs including two elbows with untypical distressed dark finish even down to fake worm holes, was sold relatively cheaply at £4,000.  More usual was a 60” low dresser at £2,300, another at £2,000, a 60” refectory style table also at £2,000, and a 42” serving table £1,500.

 

Of the remaining furniture, the piece with the most style and dignity was an early Victorian breakfront compendium wardrobe, 91” wide, which quickly rose to £1,250.  Another breakfront piece, a two stage mahogany library bookcase, early 20th century and of relatively light colour 102” wide sold for £1,350.

 

Two totally contrasting desks finished up at very similar prices.  A Victorian pollard oak pedestal desk 54” wide with maker’s label reached £1,050 while a Danish rosewood desk with return extension by Sibast Mobler in good condition reached £1,000.

 

Finally a most unusual 19th century Dutch mahogany and floral marquetry sofa with outswept outline and raised on carved dolphin feet 88” wide doubled its lower estimate to sell for £2,400.

 

A Mixed Spring Sale

It was a very variable sale at Hartleys in Ilkley, West Yorkshire on March 30th when £270,000 was realised for 880 lots with 22% by lot bought in.  Items were fought over with determination or else they were left alone altogether.  Particular casualties in this regard were the jewellery section (41% bought in) and the pictures (38% bought in). On the other side of the coins, silver with its current rising melt price was a 96% sell out, and the weapons section was 100% sold.

The sale started with the ceramics and glass sections which took a while to gain momentum.  A pair of dependable 6” Royal Worcester vases painted with apples by Ricketts proved their worth at £1,050 and a Pilkingtons Royal Lancastrian 9 ½” lustre vase in good condition sold on estimate at £1,000. Silver has been climbing in melt price value on a weekly basis which, provided confused expectations, separating the value of the metal from that attributable to workmanship and antiquity.  The 20th century items included a pair of Baroque style candelabra which found £2,900 or £21 per ounce, a two handled tray reached £1,400 (or £17 per ounce) and a canteen of Kings pattern cutlery including stainless knives £3,800.  In contrast earlier items included a George III tankard of 1788 selling at £500 (or £46 per ounce), a Chinese white metal three piece tea service intricately embossed and decorated found £2,100 (or £91 per ounce) but a Victorian four piece tea set was back to melt price at £1,350.  Other older silver pieces included an 1851 claret jug of 42ozs selling for £1,750, a series of nine Georgian mote spoons all from the same cutlery drawer reaching a total of £1,160, and a combined marrow scoop and serving spoon of 2ozs which found £1,400. 

The watches section was dominated in sheer weight and attitude by an Omega Seamaster 1200M chronometer selling for £2,100, while only two items in the jewellery section achieved four figures comprising a pair of diamond ear studs of 0.9cts in total selling at £1,050 and a solitaire diamond ring of 1.6cts which reached £1,500.            

The end of the morning session comprised an interested section of forty lots devoted to weapons.  Much of this included a turnout of a local gentleman’s attic and every lot got away to eager buyers.  The top price of the sale occurred in this area with a superb pair of silver mounted flintlock duelling pistols by Joiner, London and hallmarked for 1776 which exceeded expectations at £5,000.  Other prices included £1750 for a pair of 22 bore percussion target pistols, a 17th century cup hilted rapier with some restoration £1,000, two mid 17th century lobster tail helmets £1,650 and £1,400, a brass barrelled flintlock blunderbuss with sprung bayonet £1,500, a mid 20th century Japanese Katana £1,300, a lovely small pair of 44 bore flintlock pocket pistols inlaid with silver £2,100 and an unusual flintlock overcoat pistol of 1770 by Moncur of Dundee £1,000. 

The afternoon session commenced with pictures, the first noteworthy results being a restful and extensive oil landscape by Alexandre Jacob which reached £1,450 and in contrast a scene of Cromwell’s Troops capturing two Royalists by R A Hillingord which trebled its estimate at £2,000. The Yorkshire oil paintings performed well, as is often the case, with a typical William Mellor View of Wharfedale selling at £3,600.  A small Snow Scene by Brian Shields “Braaq” reached £4,800, a small oil View of Cattle in a Landscape by Herbert Royle found £1,400, and an unusual study “At Night – Gala Tent” by Peter Brook sold for £1,850.  A set of three more traditional figured landscapes by William Manners rose to £1,150 and the same price was realised for a View of Beverley Minster above cottages by Mary Dawson Ellwell.

Amongst the works of art a great deal of pre sale interest was generated by a Dunhill Lucite table lighter painted in colours in tinfoil depicting two warships producing a treble estimate price of £2,600.  Less surprising was a charming 6” ivory on marble figure of “Girl with Fly” by Ferdinand Preiss which found £2,000 while a pair of matched terrestrial and celestial globes dated 1846 and 1840 8” high rose to £1,250. 

Clocks made a much better showing than of late with all bar two lots finding a buyer.  The top of the range was one of the smallest items, an eye catching pewter easel clock by Archibald Knox with enamelled dial 8” high which rose to £3,800.  A hoop and spike lantern type clock movement inscribed George Clarke, London exceeded expectations at £1,400 and the longcase clock was an eight day painted dial by Langbourne, Driffield, in mahogany and inlaid case selling for £1250. 

The section devoted to Robert “Mouseman” Thompson and similar Yorkshire furniture makers proved mainly to be another success, with thirty seven out of thirty nine items selling. These were of all shapes and sizes and were led by a bespoke sideboard 70 ½” wide made in the 1920’s and selling this time at £4,000.  A much later pair of small bookcases sold for £1,100. 

The remainder of the furniture was somewhat dominated as it turned out by a pair of Regency ebonised and gilded elbow chairs estimated at £100 - £150, which had a top price in the commission books of £600.  However a telephone duel then developed which provided an eventual final price of £4,400.  Other prices included an oak panelled and carved coffer with floral marquetry £1,900, a small oak dresser with delft rack £1,250, an immaculate baby grand piano in mahogany case by Broadwood £1,300, a George III oak dresser base with three drawers raised on cabriole legs £1,900, a 5’6” wide panelled mahogany partner’s desk £1,250 and a delicately carved Victorian walnut framed chaise longue £1,050.

 

 

A Cracking Toy Sale

Once again collectables proved to be the commodity currently in most demand at the present time, when Hartleys twice yearly toy sale was held in Ilkley on March 12th.  790 lots were offered with only 8% bought in, producing a total of £77,000.  All areas performed well and in particular, older diecast and metal figures exceeded expectations.

 

For instance, the star of the die cast section turned out to be a composite lot of twenty six mainly early Dinky models, mostly playworn or repainted but including an extremely well preserved 1930’s 22b Sports Coupe in yellow and blue as well as two rare mechanical horse box vans.  The result was a price of £1500.  Another composite lot of six early models and a quantity of various factories railway and other figures reached £580.  Single boxed item prices included £260 for a 501 Foden diesel 8 wheel wagon (red and fawn), and £220 each for a 514 Guy Slumberland van, and No 13 Halls Distemper comprising two figures with advert board.

 

The hottest item amongst the figures was a very down-at-heel collection of Britains “Racing Colours of Famous Owners”.  There were four boxed items, two jockeys with one leg apiece, seven further horses, five jockeys (offering a total of eight legs), and a sorry pile of seven box lids in various stages of disintegration.  All the paintwork was poor but nevertheless a final price of £600 was achieved.  Also from the same owner was a Britains football team with an extra goalie, two Linesmen and a goal post which sold for £380.

 

Tin plate shared a similar market with the rarer items proving their worth.  A group of four Triang Minic clockwork models including an open tourer complete with petrol can, and driver and three passengers in die cast, realised £430 while an early Bing clockwork tramcar, c.1915, with two staircases to its interior, 9 ¼” long, found £500.

 

The highest price in the sale was actually reached within the Mamod and Construction toys section.  An extensive collection of Meccano mainly in green, red and brass, amounting to well beyond a No.10 set in quantity, and all in unused condition, reached a double estimate price of £1800.  Five Meccano Aeroplane Constructor Set boxes and a quantity of parts found £340 and three Meccano aeroplanes sold for £320. 

 

The dolls and teddy bear sections were probably the most muted part of the sale but perhaps this was as much as anything a reflection on what was on offer.  There were highlights which occurred even here and amongst the bisque head dolls, an SFBJ 30” example reached £300, a J D Kestner “129” 20” high £400, and a German oriental doll, probably Kammer and Reinhardt, 12” high, £340.  A Merrythought “Pumpkin head Cheeky” bear 10” high sold for £380, and a Steiff teddy 11 ½” high, c.1910, in worn but acceptable condition found £300.

 

This section took flight when a single owner collection of 110 Pelham string puppets offered in 28 lots entered from a deceased estate in Skipton, North Yorkshire, created considerable pre-sale interest and enthusiastic bidding from inside and outside the room.  A single puppet “Carrot Top” found £440, a lot of four puppets Rancho Man, Rancho Boy, Pearl Girl and Witch, all in “Wonky Toys” boxes reached £1300, four puppets Elephant, Wolf, Poodle and Clarissa Cow rose to £600, two larger puppets Goofy and Donald Duck £290, and an excellent large version of Snow White and four of the Dwarfs £620.  Even better, this is less than half of the whole collection and more will appear at the next event on October 1st.

 

The diverse accumulation within the miscellaneous toys included a good shiny example of a J40 Austin pedal car which sold well at £1100, a Bowmans “Sea Hawk” spirit fired speed boat 28” long reached £320, a 19th century “Trick Pony” cast iron money box £260, and an Ingersoll “Dan Dare” pocket watch in steel case £320.  The autograph section produced results from disparate corners of the entertainment industry.  An album containing the autographs of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy found £250, and a 2004 England shirt signed by all eleven footballers £240.

 

The final section in the sale was devoted to model railways of various scales and larger models.  At the start, the OO gauge items offered three very playworn Trix locomotives including a maroon “Coronation” loco and tender which together sold for £500, and a Hornby Dublo 0-6-2 tank locomotive in Southern Railways malachite green, and in fair to good condition £320.

 

The mainly older O gauge railways included various locomotives such as a Hornby No 1 clockwork tank sold with ten various trucks to reach £320, a Hornby No 2 Special electric L.M.S. tank selling at £360, and another No 2 electric locomotive and tender in incomplete condition reached £315.  An “as new” Corgi Bassett-Lowke Royal Scot Class locomotive in LMS red, sold for £420, and a Kirbri locomotive service depot together with a Hornby two road clockwork engine shed reached £240.

 

A huge collection of around 7000 or 8000 photographs of buses and coaches compiled between 1965 and 2008 by Barry Newsome of Calderdale, all copiously annotated and with many boxes of colour slides and other extras, sold for £950. 

 

Finally a selection of scale models and engines was offered.  This included a rare Marklin spirit fired mobile steam engine mounted on wheels but converting to a vertical engine selling for £440, a ¾” scale gas fired traction engine with works van (housing the gas supply) £475, a 1” scale coal fired traction engine £925, and best of all, a 1” scale Maxwell Hemmens coal fired agricultural traction engine which rose to £1,550.

 

 

 

A Record in the Snow

A rousing winter sale was registered at Hartleys in Ilkley, West Yorkshire in spite of terrible weather and uncertain economic times on December 8th.  The result saw £320,000 realised from 922 lots with just 25% bought in, and a World Record auction price for a painting by Braaq.

 

There were five examples on offer at this event, the best price being £15,500 paid for a view of the golf course at St Andrews, and this is thought to be the highest price ever paid at auction for his work.  Taking second and third best prices in the whole sale were two more of his works.  “Fete Day”, a winter scene covered to the lower half with figures, reached £10,500, and a snowscene on a frozen river produced £8500.

 

Other Yorkshire oil painters included Herbert Royle who provided a small pair of Haymaking Scenes at Nesfield, Nr Ilkley, selling for £4000 whilst amongst the watercolours, a work entitled “Orchard Girl” by Albert George Stevens went more than five times its upper estimate at £2,700. 

 

The paintings from outside the county worked almost as hard with an oil river scene at dusk by Rubens Santoro reached £8,000, a pair of unnamed 18th century Italian views of classical ruins £5,600, and a colourful seascape by contemporary Scottish artist John Bellany £3,400.

 

The best watercolour price was also the largest, a panoramic view of Lake Windermere by Alfred Heaton Cooper dated 1911, 30” x 52” which found £3,200.

 

The sale started in the morning with ceramics and glass, a section which seemed to be dominated by large nude bathing figures by the Royal Worcester and Royal Dux factories.  The most saleable was a winsome 1920’s style Dux figure dressed in a bathing hat and nothing else 19” high selling for £2,000. 

 

The sale of silver was partly dominated by the sudden and unsettling rise in the metal price to around £15 or more per troy ounce.  A flatware service of around 1897 to 1940 in Rat Tail pattern reflected this at £1,600.  At the other end of the spectrum, various other items ignored such mundane calculations.  A George III tea tray of 51ozs found £1,300 but soon after, a superb early Victorian four branch centrepiece by Matthew Boulton dated 1839 and weighing 152ozs without its glass dishes, rose to £6,600.

 

A more modest centrepiece of 1881 weighing 48 1/2ozs actually sold better by weight at £2,800.  The most enigmatic piece of silver was a Charles II cup and cover indistinctly marked for London 1679 and inscribed “The Gift of Sir Edward Hales to Colonel Churchill” who later became the Duke of Marlborough in 1702, and this sold for £2,900.

 

The jewellery section at this time of year is always aimed at those eager private buyers wishing to survive the sectarian side of the Christmas season unscathed.  At least a dozen items in this area passed the four figure mark, the best being a solitaire diamond ring of 4.4 carats which reached £6,800.  Another solitaire of 2.5 carats found £3,100, and a composite diamond ring totalling 3.16 carats found £2,500. 

 

 

At the start of the furniture was a small section devoted to oak by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson.  This included a four poster double bedstead, well panelled to front, back and tester but with somewhat disappointing mouse, which sold for £3,800.  A perhaps more saleable piece in this section was an unusual cupboard with two top drawers but also with foldover top, supported by two lopers boldly bearing the mouse, turning the whole thing into a desk, which deserved its price of £2,000.

 

Amongst the remaining furniture, the most dependable investment was a George III oak dresser with associated delft rack which reached its price of £2,500.  The most classy were two very different pieces, the first being a very glitzy ebonised gilt mounted and Boulle marquetry pier cabinet, even louder in the flesh than its photograph which found £1,200, and a totally modest almost laid back, mahogany side table in the manner of Gillows, with a slightly raised back and slender fluted legs which doubled its upper estimate at £1,200.

 

Finally, an illustration of the uncertainty of the furniture market was a George III satinwood serpentine fronted chest with painted figure and flower decoration, 33” wide.  It was enthusiastically valued on first sight in the probate valuation, then came in for sale when in the hard light of day panic set in as to its condition and clearly hard life of its latter years.  Nevertheless it confounded all by reached a triple bottom estimate price of £2,200.

 

Enid Sets The Mood

 

The autumn sale of Hartleys in Ilkley on September 15th and 16th produced one of the best totals ever experienced in these rooms at £433,000.  A large number of excellent prices was levened by a fairly substantial buy-in rate of 24% caused by a poor selling rate in the areas of jewellery, low priced pictures and garden items, but the main characteristic of this event was the sale within a sale.

 Nearly £80,000 was produced by a collection of ninety lots from the estate of the late Gillian Baverstock, the elder daughter of Enid Blyton.  She had fostered her mother’s memory as well as a quantity of her literary and other effects and the result was an important offering of autographed books, publishers’ presentation volumes and most importantly nineteen lots of original typescripts.  Enid Blyton produced her work virtually spontaneously via a manual typewriter and this was born out by those items on offer.  Every lot found a buyer and most prices were inevitably leagues away from the initial cautious pre-sale estimates.  The highest price was to be expected with £6800 bid for Mrs Blyton’s oil portrait by Aubrey Claud Davidson Houston dated 1949 (when she was 52).  The typescripts varied depending on subject but mostly produced four figure prices such as £4000 for “Five Have a Wonderful Time” and the same for “Five Have Plenty of Fun”.  One of the typical presentation lots was five Famous Five volumes bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe and inscribed by the publishers which reached £1950.  There were inscribed volumes given by Enid to her daughters Gillian and Imogen, such as six in one lot based around “Claudine at St Clares”, which found £1550, and one volume awarded to Enid as 6th form English price 1913 with another volume, surely a historical literary treasure bought relatively cheaply at £250.  Other items included original book illustrations such as “The Redoubtable Mr Goon” by Joseph Abbey selling at £2400, and some of her fur coats.  The wackiest lot of all in this area was a diminutive oak gateleg table c.1920, typically worth a general sale price of £10, which was accompanied by a photo of Enid Blyton sitting alongside and reading correspondence which propelled it up to £1000. 

Two major phone buyers together with a representative of Seven Stories of Gateshead in the room took most of the main items, although there were a large number of other potential buyers present aspiring to a piece of the action.

 

The other £350,000 was a normal collective sale with several high spots including an Irish table at £26,000, a Braaq oil painting at £11,500 and twenty three lots of large and small furniture, mainly from the workshop of “Mousie” Thompson which totalled £37,000.

 The sale started quietly enough with ceramics, the section dominated by a near life size model of a negro boy by Regina Goldschieder 47 ¼” high which sold for £6000.  An 18th century English earthenware toby jug went to ten times its lower estimate at £1500 and a Hans Coper studio vase £1200. The best price in the works of art and textiles sections was the £3200 found for a fine Mahal carpet 12’ by 11’, with some wear and damage but mainly in good heart.  A semi ruinous violin by Chappuy was rescued at £1250, and an interesting set of four Continental ivory figures depicting musicians reached £1350. The Enid Blyton collection was attached to a further selection of other books and maps including Guimpel’s Abbildung der Deutschen Holzarten 1815 at £1750, Vincenzo Scamozzi’s Archetettura Universale of 1615 at £1550, and a collection of thirty seven 18th century Vue D’Optiques at £1900. The second session started with a small section of weapons including a medieval sword catalogued as possibly Viking and 13th century, but subsequently suggested to be a century later which reached £1800.  The silver was in general prosaic, the prices hovering too often around the melt price.  Occasionally there was a difference such as a pair of 1949 sauce boats which at £700 represented £40 per ounce.  Gold sovereigns appear to have levelled out at around £170 to £190 each. Within the jewellery, supply out reached demand with 55% by lot failing to sell.  Nevertheless ten prices in four figures included an emerald and diamond ring at £3600, a solitaire diamond ring of 2.85 carats also £3600, a four stone diamond ring totalling 3.6 carats selling for £4400, another solitaire diamond ring of two carats finding £3700, and another also of two carats £3000. The final session on the second day commenced with pictures, and this areas was dominated by the work of Yorkshire artists particularly of the late 20th century.  A run of three oils by Brian Shields “Braaq” from two overseas sources, comprised “The Bandstand” a view of a park with the statutory distant industrial skyline which reached £7000, and a snowscene entitled “Isn’t It good When You’ve Got Money” selling at £10,000.  Top of the range was very much a Braaq collectors Braaq, “Liverpool with Children by a brick wall”, full of the artist’s personal references, which sold for £11,500.

 

Three works by local Peter Brook (1927-2009) were “Proctors Farm” at £2500, “Old Trees” at £2700, and “Brimham Rocks” £4000.  A more traditional oil was a charming view of a young girl before a cottage by Kershaw Schofield which reached £3,400. The furniture section produced the runaway price of the sale, paid for a mid 18th century Irish mahogany card table entered by a retired local solicitor who had inherited it many years ago from a grateful client.  It was beautifully and boldly carved with a foliate frieze centred by a lion mask facing sideways, and raised on cabriole legs with detailed lion paw feet.  Much interest from Ireland resulted in a price of £26,000 paid by a Lancashire trade buyer bidding in room against a bank of telephone lines. The other major area of the furniture offering was the collection of twenty three lots of adzed oak furniture all bar one from the workshop of Robert Thompson “The Mouseman” of Kilburn gleaned from eleven different owners.  One of these provided a 72” sideboard at £2200, a 72” refectory table at £2000, a set of eight lattice back chairs including two carvers at £3600, and a 48” dresser at £2700.  Another source with 1967 dated receipts comprised another 72” table at £2700, and a 72” sideboard at £3500.  From yet another source was a 60” oak sideboard at £2400, and a pair of 19” bedside lockers at £2600.  A 36” chest of drawers reached £200, and from the same bedroom a 48” wardrobe £3000. 

Finally, the one “non-Thompson” item was a dining suite by “Acorn Man” Alan Grainger, comprising 72” dresser, 84” table and eight chairs which proved his growing respectability with a price of £3000.

 

 

 

 

 

Spring At Last

If Spring has been a long time coming, it arrived with a flourish at Hartleys March 17th Spring Fine Arts Sale in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.  A total of 786 lots in various categories produced over £224,000 with only 18% by lot bought in.  The number of telephone lines, commission bids and even sold catalogues was well above average.  One measurable statistic was the presale total of lower estimates, which allowing for bought in lots producing nil, it is always satisfying to reach on sale day.  This time this total was exceeded by 32%.

 

The best price of the sale was chosen for the catalogue cover, an attractive impressionistic oil painting by Harold Gilman “Washing Day”.  The very safe pre-sale estimate of £1,500-£2,500 was swiftly exceeded by a final telephone bid of £9,000.  Pictures performed better than usual and other oils included a pair of small river views 11” x 7 ½” by William Mellor selling at £3,600, while another singleton of his “Rydal Water” 24” x 42” found £2,700.  A typical study of a grey pony in a stable with three terriers by Edward Armfield tripled its lower estimate to make £2,600, a modern agricultural View of Moreton in the Marsh by Edward Hersey £1,250, and a pair of rural scenes with thatched cottages by Robert John Hammond £1,300.

 

The best of the watercolours were a typical pair of Lakeland Scenes by Edward Horace Thompson which found £1,600, and another pair, this time Street Scenes by Noel Harry Leaver selling for £1,350.

 

Earlier in the day, the sale kicked off with ceramics and glass, with most items selling within estimate three exceptions were a large Raku vase by Roberts 19 ¼” high selling for £1,100, a Bohemian cranberry glass bowl with enamelled panels £630 and a pair of cranberry lustre vases painted with enamelled portraits of ladies selling for £880.

 

The silver section did its best to reflect the improved price of the metal.  However the highest figure in this area was actually a silver mounted cut glass set comprising a lidded jug and two matching beakers by Charles Edwards 1884 which deserved its final price of £1,550, while an Askos wine jug by Nathan & Hayes, 1907, weighing 24ozs found £1,200.  A later piece stamped Sheffield 1933 comprised a four piece tea service, crisply shaped with ivory handles and exceeded expectations at £1,100 or £19 per ounce.  There were some rare and attractive miniature pieces including a delightful pair of menu holders featuring “Nipper” the H.M.V. dog which realised £520.

 

It is of course gold which raises the eyebrows with for instance current prices for coinage.  The best priced sovereign was an Elizabeth II 1979 example in capsule which found £210, and two 1987 three coin UK proof sets each sold for £540.  There was clearly also this factor within the price of an excellent George II pair cased watch by Sam Atkins, London, c.1746, which sold for £1,100.

 

Jewellery was the one area of the sale where the number of unsold lots was higher, in this case around 33%, mainly due to optimistic trade entries.  Even so, one or two prices took the breath away.  Notably a single stone diamond ring of 2.02cts, by dint of stubborn bidding by private buyers, doubled its lower estimate at £6,000.  A pair of two stone diamond drop earrings found £2,700, and a pair of very classy pearl and diamond ear studs again doubled their lower estimate selling at £1,700.

 

After the lunch break and the picture section there followed a brief outing of works of art and textiles,  The star of this area was a highly fashionable trunk by Louis Vuitton, much travelled but with its interior complete and at most overall in indifferent condition.  This appeared amongst a small and otherwise entirely lack lustre local deceased house clearance, and exceeded all expectations by selling at £3,500.  Also in this section was an excellent Beck binocular microscope in very well fitted carrying case which sold at £2,100 and a pair of 20th century Victorian rugs of traditional design, selling at £1,050.

 

Then followed the annual turnout of weapons, with a full spectrum ranging from lumpen wall pieces to finely worked antique pistols with one woken “sleeper”.  A pair of flintlock duelling pistols c.1785 by Gill & Knubley, London, found £2,500, another slightly later provincial pair reached £1,500, and a very clean Remington 1858 Patton .44 revolver £1,350.  The main surprise was a modest looking flintlock pistol of around 1750 by I. William, with screw off cannon barrel, 9 ¼” long overall.  It had no hammer, no pan cover spring or main spring, but against a pre-sale estimate of £200-£250, still managed to reach £3,400.

 

Finally, it was the turn of the clocks and furniture and even here amongst the currently familiar muted and modest bidding, surprises were to be had.

 

An example amongst the clocks was the contrast of two lots.  A typical relatively ornate and massive ebonised quarter chiming bracket clock produced no ripples as it sold for £1,450.  Shortly afterwards, a somewhat flat looking but otherwise standard Tudric pewter mantel clock with enamelled panel, designed by Ronald Knox, doubled its lower estimate to sell at £2,400.

 

Another was a George III mahogany tripod wine table, c.1760, purchased at the Harrogate Northern Antiques Fair in 1954.  Whilst the full retail price at the time was a modest £45, the auction on this occasion produced a price of £3,800.

 

An Arts and Crafts style wall mirror with Celtic motifs embossed to its copper frame produced £1,350, and the last lot of the day, a slender, some would say “flimsy” seven piece salon suite also inlaid in the Arts and Crafts style went to four times estimate at £1,600.

 

 

 

The Spring Toy Sale

It was an enthusiastic crowd of collectors and trade buyers which gathered at Hartleys in Ilkley, West Yorkshire on Saturday February 27th when 603 lots of toys, dolls and collectors items were on offer.  The resulting total of over £59,000 with just 15% by lot bought in was an accurate reflection of the day’s work.

 

The highlight of the sale was reserved for the last lot and comprised a 4” gauge Fowler single cylinder agricultural traction engine.  It was 71” long, weighed 11cwts and was in spanking condition, having been constructed by the owner through the early 1990s, and only actually run on six or eight occasions.  The owner having made the decision to move on “his baby”, instructed the auctioneers to fix a modest estimate of £7,000 to £9,000, which was always going to be bettered and in the event the final price was £13,500.

 

The sale started at the other end of the spectrum with dolls and teddy bears including the usual selection of bisque head and other items mainly from the early part of the 20th century.  An Armand Marseille “353” oriental baby reached £620, a Fleischmann & Bloedel 32” bisque head doll reached £460, an Alt Beck and Gottschalck shoulder head 22” doll found £440 and a French S.F.B.J. 28” bisque head sold for £420.  The best price in this section was the £1,100 paid for an excellent example of a Kammer and Rheinhardt “Mein Leibling” 20” doll.

 

Older teddy bears sold better in numbers this time than six months ago, and as expected, the rare items went well irrespective of condition.  A Merrythought Pumpkin Head in chocolate brown and gold 10” high reached £640, a 19” Jester bear, straw filled and of unknown make found £400, and a Steiff cinnamon covered bear 11” high in poor condition sold for £420.

 

A good turnout of metal figures comprised mainly civilian examples, including several lots of Britains Scouts.  One lot including a trek cart and eight other scout figures sold for £200, a Britains single figure “Village Idiot” reached £120, and an unknown maker set of three Bumblies, as inspired by Michael Bentine £130.

 

Within a small section of celebrity and sporting autographs was one lot devoted to Bill Haley and His Comets.  The story went that a young lady selected the least attractive of the Comets, the Saxophonist, to write to, in the hopes of a reply and ended up having to rebuff his advances.  The resulting correspondence and autographed photos sold for £140.

 

The tinplate toys were a reduced offering compared with last October, but included two notable items, a Lehmann horseless carriage and driver selling at £300 and a Schuco Syncromatic 5700 Packard Convertible at £380.

 

The die cast sections included the only downbeat part of the sale when a set of thirty five lots of American 1920’s and 1930’s Tootsie Toys, fifty four items in total, only found two buyers.  Otherwise the normal attention was paid to the mainly British factory items dating from the mid 1930’s to the late 1980’s.

 

Job lots of older playworn items went well as usual, the best prices being £300 for forty various Corgi saloon cars and commercials, and £250 for ten early Dinky cars.  Within the boxed items were a Spot-On A.E.C. Shell/BP tanker at £230, a collection of thirty four Matchbox Superfast Models £320, a Corgi 497 Man From Uncle Oldsmobile £260, and a Dinky 941 14 ton Mobilgas Tanker £360.  The most unusual in this area was a Dinky Spitfire lapel badge produced in 1942 to raise funds for wartime aeroplane production.  This example had metal fatigue which rendered it too big for its box but still reached £140.

 

The railway O and OO gauge lots, 130 in all, were in the main quantity rather than quality but included a OO gauge Wrenn 0-6-2 tank locomotive with a Dapol 2P which found £240, and an O gauge Hornby No.2 clockwork 4-4-4 tank locomotive £250.

 

The final lots in the sale were larger scale items and railway related pieces.  A 3 ½” gauge coal fired 0-4-0 tank locomotive sold at the second attempt at £600, a 19th century 3 ¼” gauge brass constructed “Dribbler” locomotive reached £460, and a British Railways Poster by Frank Sherwin “The Yorkshire Coast, Robin Hoods Bay” sold above estimate at £850.

 

 

December Sale Report

   The market was just the same as usual at Hartleys December 2nd and 3rd antiques and fine arts sale.  A willing crowd of trade and private buyers sought out what they wanted with enthusiasm but the low end and plentiful part of each commodity tended to be overlooked, as supply exceeded demand.

A buy-in rate of 23% by lot was reasonable in the circumstances and a total of £250,000 was achieved for the 940 lots. The sale started with ceramics and glass, an eclectic mix with no large collections of any particular factory.  Very early on the phones were busy with a Vienna circular porcelain plaque depicting King Stefan of Hungary declaring the Constitution to his people.  This renowned and well painted event sold for £1950.  Several typical items of Royal Dux were topped by an unusual figural mirror stand rising to £720 and a much damaged and poorly repaired Lenci 9 ½” earthenware female figure at £1050. The English ceramic items were headed by a rare piece of Clarice Cliff.  This was a “Lido Lady” ashtray, 6 ¼” high, in generally good condition which produced the best price of the sale at £5,100.  Other prices included a Royal Worcester comport painted by Lockyer dated 1929, selling for £820, a rare Wedgwood creamware jug dated 1790 £760 and a small Staffordshire salt glaze stoneware coffee cup of somewhat earlier date £500. 

There were two high profile lots of glass.  A Lalique “Aigrettes” pattern 9 ¾” vase sold for a predictable £2400 and a Vistosi cuboid bird with internal decoration 8” high found £3,200. Also in the first session were the metalware and works of art, and the most coveted lot in this area was a 12” terrestrial globe by John and William Carey.  The date of 1812 was not particularly early for this type of item and condition was typical in overall wear but the price in consequence was still good at £2,400.   Another rare piece was a Regency horn covered sarcophagus shaped sewing box which sold for £1,450.

The next session was devoted to silver, gold and jewellery, and was very much a session of two halves.  The silver steadily and unremarkably sold out with the help of the rising bullion price and left very little without a home.  Perhaps the two most interesting lots were a mantel clock by William Comyns dated 1909 which sold for £950 while a rare telescopic toasting fork dated 1801 with shagreen handle sold to a collector at £725.

Gold was even better behaved than silver, with sovereigns selling for anything between £135 and £150 each.  A rare Victorian East India Company gold one Mohur piece dated 1841 reached £875. Then 170 lots of jewellery came up for sale and in spite of the “Christmas Factor” the reception can only be described as lukewarm.  The prices of sold items were satisfactory but nearly 40% failed to find a buyer.  Successes included a striking aquamarine and diamond pendant necklace at £1,050, a pair of ruby and diamond ear clips £1,400, a solitaire diamond ring of ¾ carat £875, and a diamond set pair of clips with forty eight various stones totalling around 3.8cts £2,000. Interspersed were the odd gold item including a 9ct gold cigarette case of 198gms at £1,350, and an 18ct double Albert of 82gms at £960. 

The second day featured just one session offering pictures and furniture with interest polarised more so than anywhere else in sale regarding rarity versus low price and frequency. A watercolour View of the Grand Canal, Venice by Edward Alfred Goodall in spite of restored damaged reached £2,500, a pair of rural scenes by Henry J Kinnaird reached £1,200, and amongst the oil paintings, a View of Harden Beck by Fred Stead rose to £2,450 and “Springtime Nesfield Dene” by Herbert Royle reached £1,400. The clocks included one of the most delightful pieces in the sale, a French Art Deco onyx mantel clock surmounted by an ivory nude figure by Ferdinand Priess which deserved its triple top estimate price of £3,600.  Also featuring well was an 8 day longcase clock by William Winstanley, Wigan, with arched brass dial, moonphase and handsome mahogany case which sold for £2,100.

The main furniture section started with a selection of items by Robert Thompson, the “Mouseman” of Kilburn.  Some pieces were commissioned in 1948 by the Whiteley family of Pool in Wharfedale with whom Thompson was very friendly.  They included a 63” dresser base at £3,600, six panelled back chairs £1,800, and a 78” refectory style table £2,800.  From elsewhere later pieces included a 78” wide dresser with delft rack £1,200, and a small open bookcase £1,150. The largest piece of furniture and the second highest price in the sale was a Victorian mahogany breakfront bookcase with two much later added matching side wings giving a total width of nearly 14ft wide by 9ft high.  This item sold through the same rooms in 1999 at £7,600.  This time the selling price was £4,500. Other drawing room furniture items included an early Georgian walnut chest on stand £3,500, a late Victorian marquetry inlaid mahogany two tier etagere £1,000, a set of six George III mahogany side chairs with square backs £4,000, a George III mahogany trellised jardinière £1,900, and a typical Victorian burr walnut and ebonised credenza £1,550. 

Oak and other country items included two dressers, an enclosed version c.1800, 71” wide selling for £2,700, and a late 19th century open type 60” wide £1,250.  A late 17th century oak court cupboard with relatively plain and satisfying features and proportions found £2,500, and a matched set of six yew Windsor armchairs all of them displaying later work, some of it to make them more of a match, rose well past their estimate to find £2,200.

 

 

 

 

Brisk And Successful

The hoped for spin-off from the recession of small investors looking for somewhere for their cash is now evident, judging by Hartleys Toys & Collectors Sale in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, on Saturday 10th October. A full saleroom and an even fuller commissions book saw over £79,000 realised from 800 lots with less than 8% by lot bought in.

The total was not achieved by a few large single figures, but more by a steady accumulation of competitive bidding. The sale which was despatched crisply in four and a half hours single handed by auctioneer Andrew Hartley, commenced as usual with the dolls, a much more modest outing than usual with no really high prices. Indeed the best was Lot 2, a 15” Kestner “192” in original box which found £360.

The teddy bears and soft toys which followed was in direct contrast. First away was a large and very worn early Steiff pull-along bear which sold for £520, while from the same factory were a standing “Bully” bulldog with no ears, one eye and no bark which still reached £420 and a half empty early bear, badly worn but actually reasonably complete which quadrupled its lower estimate to sell at £850.

Also in this section were an early long pile Farnell teddy, 21” high, c.1930, which found £800 and the most unusual, a somewhat slim green pile Continental bear, c.1916, accompanied by a letter to Santa Claus from young Denis asking for just such an item for Christmas, which was bought by the local toy museum for £960.

Within the miscellanea (or oddities) section, the oddest were two freak show taxidermy items each in its original battered glass display case. The first was “The Smallest Dog in the World”, just a few inches long which reached £420 and the second was a kitten with eight legs, really a pair of Siamese twins “Born in Halifax in 1800” which rose to £440. Also in this section were an American cast iron money bank shaped like a Gothic building, selling for £320, and a collection of sixteen 1920’s Spears boxed table games, some of them exceedingly non-P.C. which rose to £440.

The metal construction toys included two very striking pieces, a Marklin sports car 15 ½” long at £400, and a Wells blue town car 13” long going one bid further at £420.

One major vendor of the sale was a retired toy shop owner from West Leeds, who inevitably had kept many of his favourite pieces for himself. Now with a house move looming, a hundred lots were entered in this sale with the strongest areas being metal figures and tin plate. His figures included three English horsedrawn models, a “Minic” United Dairies Van, a Coal Cart and a Gypsy Caravan, which together found £540. Three Britains Knights of Agincourt, boxed, in good condition found £320, as did eight boxed Timpo Quentin Durward figures, and also six Budgie and Morestone Noddy and Big Ears boxed figures. Much the best of his selection were seven Philip Segal boxed figures on a theme of pantomines and nursery rhymes which was competed to £1550.

The same vendor’s tin plate collection had depth as well as length, with a particularly extensive selection of fifty seven partly boxed Minic clockwork vehicles without a single repeat. The best of these was an open top “Learners Car” with four occupants which together with a similar Vauxhall tourer reached £320. His earlier models also went well including a Wells Police car with large roof mounted horn, at £380, a French hansom cab, c.1910, £460, and slightly older, a Lehmann’s Autobus which reached the front cover of the catalogue and sold for £850.

From another private owner came the best item of this section and the highest price in the sale. It was also at 1870 one of the oldest, a rare French passenger floor train by Emile Favre which was in excellent working order considering its age and deserved its final bid of £2500.

A small section devoted to rarer and generally earlier cigarette cards was in the main pedestrian although an F & J Smith set of fifty Derby Winners dated 1913 reached £270. The end of the section however caught fire with a series of J Baines of Bradford Shield Shaped Collectors Cards from c.1890-1910. Nine Military and Empire inspired cards found £230, twenty nine Football Club cards £620, thirty more reached £700 and thirty Rugby Club cards also £700.

The die cast sections in the main displayed length rather than strength, but from the lady owner of the floor train came two unboxed playworn lots comprising a 157 Jaguar XK120 and ten others selling at £380 and sixteen Dinky Commercial vehicles £400. Also from her was a composite lot of two vehicles, a 28f Palethorpes Delivery Van (1934/39) and a 22e Farm Tractor which realised £640.

Boxed diecast items included eleven Matchbox 1/75 Series Models at £300, a Corgi Gift Set No 40 Avengers complete and in excellent condition £380, and two French Dinky Commercial Models £300.

The end of the sale was devoted to model railways and scale models. Within the OO gauge lots were a Hornby Dublo three rail Mallard and tender which sold for £250, a Wrenn Ltd Edition Mallard in L.N.E.R. blue £300, and seventeen Hornby boxed trucks £400. The O gauge had a reasonable selection of locomotives and rolling stock including a Marklin clockwork 4-4-0 tender locomotive which reached £360, four Hornby items including a Seccotine wagon and an L.N.E.R. snow plough rose to £360, and a Marklin clockwork G.N.R. Atlantic tender locomotive, repainted, sold for £290.

The larger items at the end of the sale included an L.N.E.R. wall clock with repainted dial £400, and a Gauge 1 coal fired live steam 4-4-0 Briton Atlantic locomotive and tender, fully finished but unpainted and unsteamed, found £700. Nearly the last lot was one of a series of working model ships built in the 1930’s by a Bradford enthusiast. It was a model of the Destroyer H.M.S. Panther 72” long and was unusually powered by a single cylinder steam engine with flash steam boiler, not a system for the faint hearted. In only fair condition and relatively low in detail, this item sold well at £320.

 

 

 

A Successful Sale

September 9th & 10th saw the busiest sale for some time for Hartleys in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, with a grand total of £316,000 from 956 lots with only 18 ¾% by lot bought in. Indeed if it had not been for a somewhat truculent jewellery section that figure would have been nearer 14%.

Much of the fireworks occurred within the picture section which took seven of the top ten prices and in itself mirrored the difference between a good sale now and one a few years ago. Then it was the steady sale of most lots that came up for offer, now there is the double standard of high quality fresh goods hitting the jackpot while over exposed trade lots mostly at the lower end are left politely alone. Indeed, one vendor’s wife who was contacted to report on unsold lots, confessed that her husband who had been present had reported a “lack lustre” sale. Clearly as far as the auctioneer was concerned, he was standing in a different room.

Top of the tree in this area was a superb watercolour, pen and ink highlighted in gold, entitled “King Olaf” by Kay Rasmus Nielsen, dated 1913, in mint condition which sold to an American buyer for £36,000. This had been entered by a private seller from Halifax together with a few other desirable pieces. Her family had acquired a large Cheshire property after it was decommissioned by the army at the end of the war, and this item thought for long enough to be a print was acquired with the rest of the house contents. Early on, amongst the oils was a “Venetian Beauty” by Luigi da Rios which rose via two Italian phone bidders to £10,500. William Lee Hankey painted a study of the Harbour at St Tropez which reached £6,400, and another Italian painter Filippo Baratti was responsible for an interior study entitled “The Alchemist” dated 1873 which found £5,200, also to an Italian buyer.

The local private buying market paid £3,200 and £3,400 for two typical exterior studies by Ilkley painter Herbert Royle, and a large exterior of Brittany by Bertram Priestman “The Knoll by the River”, dated 1909, sold to a lady living not two miles from the saleroom at £5,200.

The sale started on Wednesday with ceramics, including sixty eight lots of Moorcroft pottery mostly from a single owner. Best amongst these were a 24” vase by Emma Bossons, selling for £1,000 and a 13” double handled vase tube lined with carp which reached £1,200.

Elsewhere, the best of the Royal Worcester, according to the buyers, was an unusual 4 ½” roundel by R. Rushton, “Bluebells View” which rose to £1,550.

One aspect amongst the works of art and silver was the odd Russian item that cropped up here and there, invariably with a large number of Russian and Eastern European buyers in hot pursuit. Most notable was a pair of Russian silver tea holders, dated for Moscow 1896-1908, weighing 17 ½ozs, which sold for £3,700. They were entered by a lady vendor who with her late husband had dealt in small antiques in the North of England for many years. Those items which were too nice to sell on were retained but are now starting to appear and several were included in parts of this sale. Also from here was a Russian cigarette case, maker M.E. Pechin, inscribed inside for St Petersburg Cricket & Lawn Tennis Club, dated 1896, in its case, which realised £1,500.

From the same collection came a spectacular Japanese ivory and Shibayana tusk lidded vase with silver mounts, 11” high, which sold for £1,550, and a bone scale model of a sailing ship, of uncertain origin which nevertheless rose to £2,700.

The biggest impact from this collection was perhaps the series of seventeen antique pocket watches, the first tranch of which had already appeared in a previous sale, which produced considerable interest and final bids well above top estimate. Most notable were an 18ct gold minute repeater chronograph pocket watch which found £1100, a painted metal pair cased verge watch by C. Pinchbeck, £1,350, a silver gilt enamel and shagreen pair cased verge watch by C. Haley at £2,100, and a gold pair cased verge watch by A. Joly, London selling for £2,200.

A small weapons section on the first day provided a quantity of interest for the specialist, from air rifles to powder flasks, the rarer pistols producing the bigger prices. Most notable were a flintlock blunderbuss pistol by W. Henshaw, London of c.1770, selling for £1,100, and a rare .38 bore Adams five shot revolver, c.1860, which found £1,200.

Other odd lots entered as single items with modest estimates also caused a stir of approval as they came up, either because of rarity or sheer quality. For instance a George II ivory comb dated 1751 and a Georgian bone alphabet board, together estimated at £80-£120, finally sold at £500. A particularly curios and large cut paper diorama, in pencil and watercolour depicting the French Admiral’s Surrender to Nelson, sold well at £2,000, and a 4 ½” Chinese soapstone figure entered with what was regarded as an optimistic estimate of £300-£350, sailed easily up to £1,250.

The jewellery at the end of the first day was perhaps too far away from Christmas to produce a positive focus, and supply probably as a result outstripped demand. Two or three high estimated items failed to sell, but half a dozen four figure prices were nevertheless achieved. A sapphire and diamond three stone ring reached £2,000, a ruby and diamond three stone ring £1,850, a classic pair of diamond stud earrings of 1.5cts reached £2,000, an aquamarine ruby and diamond dress ring reached £1,900, a solitaire diamond ring of 1.6cts found £1,500 and another solitaire of 0.75cts reached £1,000 after the sale. As they say, a girl cannot have too many rings.

Finally on the second day, after the pictures, were the architectural and garden items, the clocks and the furniture. Amongst the clocks, it was the off beat pieces which caused the greatest stir. From the vendor with the pocket watches were two interesting items. A Japanese small chamber clock with revolving dial which found £1,900, a standard repeater carriage clock sold well at £775, and a longcase clock by John Onion, Stockport £1,000. From elsewhere were an Arts & Crafts Tudric clock with pewter case for Liberty & Co which rose to £2,000, and a 19th century French gilt metal and porcelain mantel clock £1,400.

The garden and architectural section is rapidly becoming a successful feature at these rooms once or twice a year. The seller with the large Moorcroft collection also produced fifteen lots in this area, including two excellent 19th century cast iron figures of stags, 38” or so long, which sold for £1,400 and £1,350. Also from this source was a huge pair of French cast iron urns 51” high which found £1,100. From a clearance of a house and garden near Preston came a rare Doulton Lambeth terracotta figure of a recumbent lion in two halves and with some poor restoration, 60” long, dated 1905, which sold after much interest at £2,100.

Finally there was the furniture section, no longer the leading part of the sale, but nevertheless still producing eight four-figure prices. The most obvious was a splendid 17th century oak dresser base, 70” wide, which sold for £2,500. Another expected figure was the £1,150 left for a fairly early adzed oak smoker’s chair by Robert Thompson of Kilburn. A wing armchair of classical shape in mahogany, an excellent example of early George III furnishing, reached £2,300, and a carved mahogany window seat catalogued as c.1900 but believed subsequently to be an earlier piece and possibly Gillow, went well over estimate at £1,350.

 

A Blaze in June

A very successful auction sale in the face of stringent marketing conditions was held at Hartleys in Ilkley, West Yorkshire on June 17th & 18th when 1190 lots realised £330,000 with just 19 ½ % by lot bought in and fifty eight four figure prices.

The strategy of cutting main sales to just four in the year allowed a greater focus of items within each commodity and a better use of overheads. The result which offered a wide cross section of items from jewellery to garden items produced a sale so crammed that stock (the garden pieces) was literally tumbling out of the back door.

Buyers included a greater than average percentage of private bidders who are clearly looking to invest spare cash in anything rather than low interest bank accounts and the like, and the usual difference between the average and the rare in terms of a sale at all, let alone higher prices was most apparent, particularly within furniture and pictures.

An excellent offering of ceramics and jewellery as well as some interesting paintings helped to emphasise this effect.

The first day started with ceramics and contained as good a selection of Moorcroft pottery as had been seen in this area for some years. Best price was a joint first for a Florian ware 7 ¾” vase in Harebell design and a Flambe 5 ½” bowl and cover, tube lined with fish amongst reeds, each of which quadrupled the top estimate at £2,500. A 13” vase in Spanish design reached £1,750, another Flambe bowl with leaves and fruit found £1,300, as did an 8 ½” Wisteria design vase dated 1913. An 8” Flambe vase with leaves and fruit sold for £1,050 and a 9” vase with waving corn design reached £950.

Royal Worcester was also well represented including a 14” vase and cover decorated with Highland Cattle by John Stinton with damaged lid which sold on the telephone at £2000. The same buyer also secured an 8” ewer painted with cattle by James Stinton, at £1,900.

Amongst the few Continental ceramic lots were a 13” pair of brightly painted Meissen parrots with slight restoration which found £2,300 and an 18” Goldscheider female dancer selling at £1,050.

The glassware included a large pair of cranberry vases with Mary Gregory enamel which sold in March for £680, but then did not fit the purchaser’s mantel piece. In they went again, and this time sold for £950.

The viewing was dominated in both rooms by two very large bookcases each full of a different book collection. In the lower room was the Behr family library of German literature moved for safety from Kiel to Burnley before World War II. Not everyone was after runs of books in German but condition was very much an advantage. The total of around £4,500 included a best single price of £620 for twelve volumes by Naumann dated 1905.

The two most eye catching items within the works of art were a cold painted bronze lamp by J Gadek modelled as a setter by a tree, the lampshade cameo cut as a mountain scene which reached £1,300, and an intriguing pair of Russian champlevé enamelled travelling egg cups folding together to form an egg which sold for £600.

The afternoon started with 120 lots of silver, much of it behaving predictably, bearing in mind the current melt price. One lot however which totally ignored such mundane calculations was a curious tray made for the Guild of Handicrafts by Ashbee or Hart with loop handle and six circular impressions in the base (perhaps for tumblers). The item which weighed 10 ¼ ozs and was hallmarked for 1901 realised a satisfying £1,900.

The main meat of this session was the jewellery with 185 lots produced fifteen prices over £1,000. Two large single stone diamond rings dominated one end of the jewellery display and had the same effect on the price results. One of 3.66cts with good colour and clarity rose to £9,300, while the other of 5 carats, of similar colour but with an obvious inclusion, rose to £12,500. A solitaire diamond ring of 1.45cts of somewhat better overall quality found £3,000. A three stone diamond ring of 1.2cts reached £1,350 while a diamond half hoop eternity ring set with baguette stones between two borders of brilliant cut diamonds sold for £1,800.

Other types of jewellery attracted attention including a pair of diamond drop earrings of 2.5cts at £2,600, a diamond pendant in fancy setting reaching £1,350, a diamond bracelet set with nine stones totalling 1.88cts £1,200, and a sapphire and diamond three stone ring including 1.5cts of diamonds rising to £2,900. A classic double row necklace of graduated pearls with a diamond clasp of 1.3cts sold for £1,700 and a most unusual gold bangle containing a heart shaped moonstone within a rose cut diamond surround quadruped its estimate at £1,000.

Cigarette cases in precious metals in spite of the decline of that particular hobby reflected the bullion content in each case. An 18ct gold case of 187gms found £2,000, a 14ct case of 170gms £1,450, another of 182gms £1,500, and an unusual platinum case of 182gms with sapphire clasp £2,850.

The third session, on the second day started with pictures, with the top price going to a typical Industrial Town Scene by Brian Shields (“Braaq”) which produced £4,200. Hard on its heels was a most captivating watercolour study by William Heaton Cooper “Window at Winterseeds” depicting his wife looking through a window at a Winter Lakeland landscape. A full bidding book and a bank of telephones produced a final price of £3,600.

Other watercolours included “First Snowfall” by G G Kilburn selling for £1,000 “Market Day at Malines” by William Callow £1,400, “Playmates” Thatched Cottages and Children by Henry John Sylvester Stannard £1,050, a River Ravine in Summer attributed to John Callow £1,300, and a large study “Breezy Day off Dunstanbro’ Castle” by John Callow £2,400. Oil paintings included a Circle of Sir Thomas Lawrence portrait of a gentleman at £1,250, and “Summertime” with girl figures beside a river meadow by Henry John Yeend King £3,000.

Yorkshire works included a pair of small watercolours “On the Wharfe and On the Llugwy” by William Mellor £2,500, while an oil by this artist of Bolton Priory by the Wharfe reached £3,400.

Clocks and barometers are probably having a harder time than furniture at present due perhaps to the more mercurial demand of this commodity. As a result the only major sales in this area were for unusual items. An early 20th century grandmother clock with traditional eight day movement reached £1,300, and an American novelty “blinking eye” mantel clock with cast iron case in the form of a negro banjo player £1,050.

The garden and architectural section was very well received with everything from stone balls to letter boxes and virtually every lot found a buyer. The highest prices were £1,100 for a cast iron two tier fountain, £1,850 for a Coalbrookdale “Indian” design bench, and £3,400 for an extensive set of German oak library bookcases.

The furniture section had enough realism within the pre sale estimates to keep most of it moving and a buy-in rate below the sale average. Still there were a number of circular breakfast tables, chests of drawers, and the like, formally the mainstay of such an event, left standing on the day.

The earliest pieces which sold well featured a mysterious 18th century Colonial hardwood elbow chair destined by its owner for the skip, which found £1,050, an oak Westmorland style dining table with single drop leaf at £1,250, a George III mahogany secretaire chest selling for £2,000 and a handsome gilt wood pier glass which found £2,100.

Victorian items included a mahogany kneehole desk at £1,450, and an extensive and well made six piece marquetry inlaid rosewood bedroom suite at £2,100.

The 20th century furniture performed as well as anything with a striking carved mahogany three piece lounge suite which found £1,300, and a large mahogany bookcase 16ft wide by 7ft high which reached £1,400.

A run of adzed oak furniture by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson of Kilburn produced predictable interest which included a 6ft refectory table at £1,700, a 4’6” dressing table £2,200, a tallboy £2,600, a bedside cabinet £1,200 and a 4ft double wardrobe £4,000, the best furniture price on the day.

 

 

 

Don't Blame The Buyers

There is never a shortage of buyers in August, except perhaps in the jewellery sections, where buyers’ desperation does really come to a head until later in the year. Sellers frequently worry that there will not be anyone there to buy their goods at this time of the year. On the contrary the usual scene is of a full saleroom impatient for enough stock to buy and so often punters leave empty handed.

It was the typical scene at Hartleys Summer event in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, on August 13th. Demand was strong but supply was on the weak side. Intense activity, including the inevitable phone lines, was focused around a smaller number of lots with the bullion price bolstering the silver and gold, and a couple of occasional specialist sections also helping to polarise demand.

The resulting total of £161,000 for 793 lots with just 18% by lot bought in was actually a good result for what was on offer. For instance, the ceramic section which started the sale, was dominated by just one lot, a Wedgwood Fairyland lustre vase and cover 11” high. The ageing vendor had succeeded in propelling it from the top of a corner cupboard resulting in a substantial 2” chip being removed from the rim of the lid. In spite of considerable restoration the price realised was a satisfying £2,100.

The silver sections were a completely different country with nearly everything selling, much of it both pre and post 1910 at a little above the current melt price of £6.50 per troy ounce. For instance a tea tray of 70ozs dated 1940 reached £540, and a 1925 four piece tea service of 57ozs £440.

Flatware however was still struggling to come anywhere near, and a somewhat tired composite flatware service dated 1863-73 reached £700 or only £4.11 per ounce. The more interesting end of the commodity selling irrespective of its weight told a different tale and for instance an 1878 card case found £90 (or £40 per ounce) and a George III wine funnel dated 1794 reached £200 or £48 per ounce.

Gold sovereigns were predictable with older circulated examples reaching £90 or more, while a 1989 proof example in capsule and presentation case was competed up to £470.

There were several bargains to be had in the jewellery with nothing over £1,000 getting away, and it was left to the watch section to provide this, in the shape of a standard gent’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust chronometer in 18ct gold and steel case which reached £1,100.

The honours in a brisker than normal picture section was almost entirely taken by the Yorkshire section. Before this two floral Mediterranean Scenes in watercolour by Edith Helena Adie reached £660 each and a Study of a Stable Interior after Morland by Charles Edward Wilson found £750.

Yorkshireman Geoff Birks produced several works including a pencil sketch “Industrial Canal Scene” at £1,500, and a watercolour “Nowt to do” at £1,550. Another late 20th century painter consistently producing good prices is Brian Shields (Braaq), this time with an oil painted Industrial Town Scene 15” x 22” which reached £5,400.

The other lot selected to grace the catalogue cover was a pair of French patinated bronze and gilt candelabra each with four branches 23” high, with some restoration, and these sold for £1,700.

The first specialist section was devoted to weapons and militaria, with a useful total of nearly £20,000. This included a Winchester 1866 model .44 calibre carbine in excellent condition selling for £2,300, a Colt .36 calibre police revolver £840, a flintlock volunteer dragoon pistol £925, a pair of Belgian percussion pistols in later case £1,350, and a double barrelled flintlock coaching pistol in less than good condition £1,150. The section also contained the oldest item in the sale, a very rusty Viking sword blade described as in “fragile badly corroded condition”, which still sold for £2,300, and the auctioneer’s favourites, a flintlock coaching blunderbuss with spring bayonet selling for £2,500, and another from the same vendor finding £1,550.

The second specialist section comprised garden and architectural items, the second outing of its type in the year, perhaps on the basis that in the spring (and summer) a young man’s fancy turns to gardening.

Whilst much of this section was a clearance of oddities of old stone and the like, nearly all of which sold readily, the star item was a much weathered marble figure of a female minus one arm which the somewhat diminutive vendor insisted on loading with difficulty into the auctioneer’s car. At the last minute the missing arm was produced (unweathered) from the kitchen drawer, and together they produced a six times upper estimate price of £5,800.

The clock section once again had its hot spot, this time with two lots. The first was a Tycos barograph by Short and Mason, dated 1926, which sold on one of several phone lines booked to reach £1,550.

The other was a longcase clock by Thomas Cantor, Manchester with eight day movement and painted dial which found £1,250.

This just left the furniture to be dealt with, and a run of old country items was mopped up by a North Yorkshire dealer who purchased two matching yew wood Windsor chairs at £520 each, an oak side table at £800, a wall cupboard for a straight piece of wall rather than a corner £540, a small oak gateleg table £580, and a much sought after 18th century cricket table £1,350.

Other note worthy furniture items were all from the Victorian era. They included a very smart burr walnut side cabinet boasting a variety of inlays which rose to £1,250, and from the same vendor, an Edwardian mahogany and inlaid display cabinet with concave glass side panels £1,300.

From elsewhere came a Victorian rosewood centre table with ornate frieze and base £1,050, a mahogany dining table with exaggerated cabriole legs with facility to extend to 10 feet £2,900, a mahogany bureau-bookcase £1,050, a partners’ desk made by Coopers of Ilkley £1,350, and a mahogany and leaded light bookcase over 9ft wide and probably made from a larger original item £1,250.

Reflecting The Market

The June sale at Hartleys Salerooms in Ilkley, West Yorks on June 18th produced 800 lots, many seeming to sell in a minor key, but on the basis of buy-in rates produced a most successful result with only 17 ½ % (or 140 lots) unsold. With fewer than normal high profile items included within the sale, the eventual total did not quite reach the £200,000 mark with just thirty one items producing four figure prices.

The day started with ceramics and glass, a section with somewhat less depth than normal but nevertheless with its moments. An early lot was a John Ridgway “Imperial Stone China” dinner service of forty five pieces which in spite of robust use in the last 170 years reached £580. A parian ware bust of local industrialist Sir Titus Salt 22 ½” high including plinth found £520, and a pair of Meissen figures Gardener and Companion sold for £750. A series of eighteen 19th century frog mugs in a varying degree of repair from a collector in Lancashire sold well, the best prices being £300 each for two mugs, one with the Sunderland Bridge, the other with the “Iron Bridge” of 1796. From the same collection was a Ralph Wood type pearlware toby jug c.1780 9 ¾” high, without a lid and with considerable restoration which nevertheless realised £660. A pair of 4” wide Royal Worcester miniature cups and saucers painted with Kingfishers by E Barker rose to £660, and a Shelley Vogue fifteen piece coffee service found £600.

The glass section sported one major item, a Lalique vase in “Cerises” pattern opalescent glass which sold above estimate at £1400.

Silver, in spite of the rise of raw metal prices, still batted away in traditional mode, with only small unusual pieces rising above melt price. A rectangular tray dated 1943 of 41ozs reached £480 (or £11.70 per ounce), a George III teapot dated 1792 by G Smith and T Hayter of 16 1/4ozs, found £420 (or £25.7 per ounce), and a Victorian 12” hunting horn of 1899 reached £140 (or £93.3 per ounce). In contrast, two large flatware services complete with cabinet made canteens, selling at £1,200 and £1,250 could only make £6 per ounce plus the furniture value.

In contrast, but really getting no further up the scale, the gold shot away to match the current value of the raw metal, raising a total of £16,500. Sovereigns were fetching £90 - £100 each, in contrast with £60 only a matter of months ago. Krugerands and other forms of 1ozs fine gold were reaching £400 each, and at the top of the range, an Australian “Platinum Koala” set of five coins weighing 1.9ozs sold for £2,900.

The watches included a standard 18ct gold half hunter which reflected the same effect by selling at £500.

Jewellery was the usual tussle with items selling selectively to very idiosyncratic demand. Of seven four figure prices, the most notable were a diamond and sapphire pendant at £2,000, a very traditional diamond set flower brooch with large central opal at £1,800, and a most unusual late 20th century triple ring set including a central ring with single diamond of 1.75cts, which sold at £2,300.

The afternoon started with the pictures which have always sold selectively irrespective of the state of the economy. The catalogue front cover picture showed the top price of the sale, a typical semi-abstract watercolour Study of “Village and Church France” by John Piper which produced the best price of the sale at £5,800.

Within the oil paintings, a study of River Scene with Cattle Watering by David Payne found £1,350.

The Yorkshire artists generally performed well in general, with Brian Shields (Braaq) producing a pencil Street Scene at £1750, and an oil Industrial Townscape with boating pond in the foreground reached £5,600.

More traditionally, Yorkshire oils included a small Harvesting Scene at Nesfield, Ilkley by Herbert Royle at £2,100, a View of the Lledr Valley by William Henry Mander £2,800, and a small pair of Yorkshire Woodland River Views by William Mellor 18” x 12”, selling for £5,000.

A small series of paintings by recently deceased Dales painter Sheila Bownas including portraits and still lifes was led by a “Garden in Summer with Greenhouse”, 1950, 47” x 35”, which sold well at £1850. The remainder of this studio sale will follow on July 2nd.

A brief interlude of works of art and curios including a fine pewter baluster jug and three others selling at £1,100, and a beautiful English (probably South Staffordshire) enamel toilet box decorated with figures which found £950.

The furniture and clocks section produced almost palpable manifestations of trade bidders desperate to buy but unable to bid because of fears of the ruthless current market. A reasonable clock section produced no longcases over £1,000 but, because of rarity, a Continental singing bird box in tortoiseshell case reached £2,200 and another standard comb and drum musical box, with bells sold at £1,100. The best clock was a mantel timepiece by J Berry, Aberdeen, with repeater movement which reached £1,250.

The best furniture prices were scattered throughout the age range. The youngest was a mid 20th century adzed oak bedroom suite by the “King Post” man, no doubt originally apprenticed to the “Mouseman” which found £1,600. Another bedroom suite this time typical in Edwardian inlaid mahogany, found £1,200. Victorian pieces included a Steinway walnut cased upright piano at £1,800, a rosewood circular centre table at £1,000 and an eye catching Boulle and ebonised pier cabinet at £1,300.

The Georgian oak produced the most enthusiasm with an oak enclosed dresser with four drawers flanked by two cupboards 61 ½” wide reaching £2,000, a similar but more prosaic item reaching £1,700, and a fine coloured oak panelled press cupboard 66 ½” wide which passed its upper estimate to sell for £2,300.

 

The Spring Collective

The Spring Collective Sale was held at Hartleys in Ilkley on April 23rd and comprised 920 lots. Opinion based on pre-sale activities was optimistic with higher than normal requests for information and well attended viewing. The actual result was tempered by a discriminating public eager to buy in certain areas, and happy to leave it alone where goods were over estimated or lacking in demand and saleability. The resulting total of just over £210,000 was good enough, with 22% by lot bought in, but certain commodities showed up their vulnerability in the current market. Jewellery was worst affected, too many trade items at too high reserves and too far away from Christmas. Pictures were better on average, and furniture went well probably because of reduced expectations brought about by two years of relatively short commons. Silver was positively quirky with much of the mainstream selling around £10 to £20 per ounce, comparing well enough with the current melt price of £7, but some items still slipped through at less than melt price.

The silver section was unusual for the large quantity of small novelty items, with for instance an Edwardian enamel vesta case selling at £720, a George III mother of pearl panelled snuff box at £680 and a Victorian stag’s hoof mounted inkwell at £620. However in the larger items, consistency was quite absent with a Victorian four piece tea set finding £580 or £9.50 per ounce, a George III lidded jug of 1773 £800 or £28 per ounce, and a 1785 sugar basket by Hester Bateman £660 or £82 per ounce.

The sale started with ceramics and by far the most interesting item here was a rare 8” Clarice Cliff Bizarre conical bowl with cruciform lid in Autumn design which went to five times upper estimate at £2,200. Also in this section were a Chinese export porcelain basket 15” wide selling for £1,000, a pair of Royal Worcester plates painted with castles by J Stinton at £750 and a Royal Worcester Arab Stallion by Doris Lindner at £950.

The watches and jewellery were purchased selectively to produce eleven 4 figure prices, the best being a solitaire diamond ring of 1.4 carats which sold after the sale at £2,500. A diamond tennis bracelet with 33 stones adding up to 4 carats reached £2,000 as did a heart cut diamond pendant of 0.7 carats in brilliant cut diamond surround.

Paintings were in the main a good stand by with many of the best prices occurring in this area. A run of three oils by Brian Shields (or Braaq) took first prize with an industrial landscape 13” x 9 ½” reaching £7,000 and two others, similar but only 7 ½” x 10” finding £2,800 and £2,400 respectively. Two Irish works brought out the telephone bidding with a watercolour of a thatched cottage with chickens by Frank McKelvey finding £1,550 and a crayon portrait of a girl by William Connor £980. Also in the watercolours was a Scottish Coastal Scene by David West which achieved £2,100 and in the oils, a portrait of a young woman by Charles Sillem Lidderdale £4,000, a View of a Mountain Stream by James Faed £1,200, and a “Peep of the Washburn Valley” by William Mellor deserving its late price of £5,200.

Architectural and garden items were traditionally saved for Spring when a young man’s fancy should turn to the garden. Most of this section this year went predictably but one lot earned its keep, a pair of 30” 19th century Continental marble urns which sold for £3,800. This was fortunate as they had cost £400 to “dig” up and move from a garden in North Leeds.

Standard clocks are not selling well at present and it was a singing bird automaton in this section which took the best price. It was unusually in a silver case, with original carrying case, probably by Griesbaum, and reached £2,400.

Furniture performed well with only 7% having to be bought in, and no buyer (dealer or otherwise) ended up with more than a fair share of the whole.

Four figure prices included a Victorian spelter figural lamp 84 ½” high selling for £1,450, a very pretty French kingwood specimen cabinet £1,400 and a standard Georgian mahogany and brass bound cellarette £1,200. Davenports have had a poor press recently, but two sold well here, a walnut piano top version with rising top at £2,200 and another with built up fixed top £1,100. A Louis XV style Kingwood bureau plat trebled its lower estimate at £1,500, a Victorian walnut D-shaped credenza reached £1,100, and a walnut chest on chest of uncertain age £2,200.

A Victorian mahogany dining table extending with leaves to 12ft 10ins, sold for £1,850 and, the most modern higher priced furniture item, a 1930’s adzed oak chest of four long drawers by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson nearly doubled its upper estimate at £3,200.