The sale of 23^rd/24^th August was well attended with many new faces, presumably belonging to holiday makers visiting the area and also local families taking advantage of the school break.

A number of interesting items had been entered from a local farmhouse where generations of the same family had farmed for some two hundred years. The Victorian walnut bedroom suite comprising a half tester bedstead, a Duchess dressing table, a marble topped washstand and a chest of drawers totalled £1,850. A highly unusual jardinere stand with coromandel wood top supported by an elephant’s shin bone was keenly contested by telephone bidders to £1,050.

Also from the farmhouse were a trio of 19^th century English school naïve school paintings on canvas in landscape settings, these had been stored in the farmhouse attic and had suffered accordingly. However, they had great potential and this was recognised by several buyers leading to a final price of just over a £1,000 for the three, a similar oil painting of a springer spaniel sold for £320.

Silver was selling as strongly as ever this month with highlights of the fifty lots strong section being the £1,050 paid for a collection of mixed flatware totalling 50 ounces, £400 for an American tea caddy dating from 1876, £510 for a pair of corinthium column candlesticks, £490 for a silver cup with acorn finial dating from 1835 and £500 for a silver three piece tea set weighing 27 ounces. Jewellery and watches were also selling extremely strongly, results including a 9ct gold Rolex pocket watch at £500, a gent’s chronometer believed to be by Jaeger at £380, an Edwardian bracelet with enamelled links showing flags of countries of the empire £300 and two 9ct gold necklaces at £380.

Other prices of note over the two days were £1,650 for a French kingwood vitrine with painted decoration of a romantic couple, £520 for a 19^th century longcase clock with rocking ship automatom, £1,250 for a set of eight volumes (bound as four) of W Lewin’s “The Birds of Great Britain”, £600 for a Leica camera and accessories and £500 for a Jaeger Le Coultre Atmos mantle clock.

The September sale promises to be large and interesting with an extensive volume of good quality furniture and effects already in hand including two private collections of Moorcroft ceramics.

Lot 796 - £1,250

Lot 1418 - £1,050

Lot 1424 - £1,050