The first section devoted to ceramics was dominated by some excellent Royal Worcester pieces, many of them from a vendor in the Wakefield area. At the top of the range were two pairs of porcelain circular plaques, the first as still life studies with fruit by R Sebright reached £4,800 while the second of highland cattle in Scottish Scenery by J Stinton rose to £5,200.

A pair of lidded vases painted with roses by H Martin found £1,200 while a pair of Coalport porcelain tureens with stands and covers in the manner of Thomas Baxter tripled their lower estimate at £1,800.

Two Pilkingtons Lancastrian vases also performed well. A 9 ¾” example reached £800 while an 11” piece exceeded expectations at £1,150.

Silver especially post 1910 will only sell well if there is quality or originality included. A pair of stylish sweetmeat dishes of 20ozs found £560 and a biscuit box of 22oz reached £420.

The most popular watch, and the most in and out of the display cabinet was an Omega Speedmaster gents watch in steel case and strap which sold well at £850. A bag of eighteen krugerands from a deceased estate in Blackburn sold in pairs for a total of £4,950 (or £275 each).

Jewellery is not a commodity which normally wins too many prizes in mid summer. A larger than normal offering in this case probably overfaced demand somewhat and the buy-in rate slipped up to 33 ½%. There were however some very useful prices established including a four stone diamond ring of 1.35cts at £1,450, an Art Deco style sapphire and diamond ring reached £1,700, and another sapphire and diamond cluster ring followed on at £1,400. A superb emerald and diamond pendant rose to £1,400 and a solitaire diamond ring of 1.05cts went away mid-estimate at £1,850.

The afternoon started with the picture sections, the best price in this area being a well painted watercolour Street Scene in Padua by William Callow. This romped away with a telephone bid at £4,600. Earlier, a view of Conway Castle by Willie Stephenson rose to £980, and a somewhat washed out set of four desert scenes by Augustus O Lamplough also sold well at £1,200.

Amongst the oil paintings a pair of genre scenes by Luigi Baldero reached £1,200, a very handsome portrait of an officer Lt. Angus Maclean, catalogued as Circle of Henry Raeburn found £1,600 and a View of the South Coast by Charles Thorneley £1,550.

Within the Yorkshire oil paintings, the best prices were deservedly achieved by two autumn landscapes with shepherd and sheep by Owen Bowen which reached £3,100 and £1,800 respectively.

The various sections of smaller works of art and similar categories followed including a useful selection of antique weapons. Amongst various pistols, long guns and other items were an English transitional percussion revolver c.1845 at £540, a small pair of 1815 pocket pistols at £525, a .50 calibre Spencer Carbine from the American Civil War at £725, and an unusual if relatively late English folding Bowie knife which sold for £700.

The two most interesting longcase clock on offer were an eight day example by John Carmichael, Greenock in 91 ½” mahogany case which sold for £1,500, and a thirty hour clock by Thomas Larby, Shotter Mill, also in mahogany case which found £1,450. Demand for barometers seems to be somewhat reduced perhaps because of further E.C. complications this time regarding Mercury, but a slender four glass wheel barometer by Maspoli, Hull achieved £1,100 and a barograph much larger than normal at 22” wide but otherwise standard in design went above estimate at £1,350.

The Georgian furniture was positively led by a satinwood and crossbanded Pembroke table of mature colour which sold well at £3,200. Of similar age were an unusual mahogany bottle waiter which reached £1,050, a plain but good quality mahogany chest of two short and three long drawers £1,200, a worthy oak and crossbanded cupboard on chest at £1,150, a good mahogany standing corner cupboard 86” high £1,200, and a mahogany and string inlaid secretaire bookcase with gothic astragal glazed doors which was competed up to £2,800.

Victorian items included a burr walnut foldover card table selling at £1,300, and from the same Lancashire residence, a burr walnut and gilt metal mounted credenza with marquetry panels which found £3,400.

The only Continental piece was a mainly 18th century Dutch walnut and marquetry inlaid bureau with the usual interior fittings which rose to £1,300, while the latest items of note were an early 20th century Maples & Co mahogany display cabinet 54” wide selling at £1,350, and, a substantial Arts and Crafts mahogany sideboard with mirror back which finished off the sale with a final bid of £1,100.

The sale commenced with ceramics, with some solid overall bidding but only one four figure price. This related to a Berlin porcelain plaque depicting a boy and girl almost luminous in candle light. There was strong bidding on the books and in the room with all four phone lines booked. Several late punters were turned away with no further lines available and they were fashionably petulant as a result. In the event two of the four lines booked came back with recorded messages wasting 50% of the potential, such is the cynicism of one section of the trade these days. The eventual price of £2,700 still nearly trebled the bottom estimate.

The silver bumped along as usual but the odd price peaked above the rest. An Arts & Crafts photo frame with turquoise enamel cabochon, Chester 1923, found £520, and a substantial oval tea tray by Elkingtons, 82ozs dated 1906 reached £1,500.

Amongst the jewellery which finished the morning session was a Victorian heart shaped diamond set vinaigrette/pendant which sold for £1400, and a tanzanite and diamond pendant reached £850.

The afternoon session commenced with pictures and soon the print section produced a reproduction in colours by John Piper “Huish Episcopi”, which went nearly five times above estimate at £950. The best map was the standard 1610 version of Yorkshire West Riding by John Speede which sold for £425.

Amongst the oil paintings two typical small studies of sheep and cattle in landscapes by Thomas Sidney Cooper dated 1880 and 1878 formerly belonging to a Yorkshire speculative builder who made his mark in the 1960’s sold well at £2,400 and £3,600. In total contrast, a genre subject of a fellow in a red coat and a tricorn hat playing his fiddle to a canary in a cage by Stephen Lewin sold steadily at £2,200.

Amongst the Yorkshire oils, several by William Mellor were topped by a View of The Wharfe Near Appletreewick at £2,700. Also in this section were two oils by Braaq (Brian Shields). A Snow Scene with many figures near housing on the edge of a town rose to £3,600, and a bleak view of an industrial townscape at sunset £1,650.

The fine arts and curios sections produced a hotpotch of 150 lots including such items as a 16” bronze seated figure of a girl by Phoebe Stabler selling at £2100, a Victorian astragal glazed case of thirty five exotic stuffed birds £550, a set of four Georgian reverse printed glass pictures of the four seasons £560, a Georgian mahogany cheese coaster £520, and the 3rd Edition of the History and Antiquities of Craven by Thomas Dunham Whitaker 1878 £380.

By far the best clock on offer was the first in the section, a very stylish bracket clock by John Coates, London with twin fusee quarter repeat movement in ebonised case which nearly doubled its upper estimate at £3,800. Longcase clocks cut very little ice during this outing but a substantial Swiss musical box with cylinder movement playing 8 airs dated 1885 sold for £1200.

Amongst the main furniture sections the 20th century took several of the honours. A set of eight late 19th century or more likely 20th century mahogany Chippendale chairs rose to £1,650, and three oak blanket boxes by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson found £1,050 and £1100 for two 41” versions and just £1,000 for a 54” example. A simple Arts & Crafts oak hall bench 44” wide with arm slots for umbrellas eventually rose in a telephone battle to £2,800 or four times upper estimate.

A Victorian burr walnut two stage bookcase with foliate marquetry inlay was well received at £2,600 and a Georgian mahogany architectural table with typically complicated accoutrements managed a final bid of £1,950.

The last item in the sale achieved the highest price. Consigned by the widow of a clerical gentleman, now moving down south from her Dales town flat, this was a table giving the appearance of a Regency mahogany foldover tea table, but with far too many legs and, to quote the porters weighing “an absolute ton”. When closed the table measured 54” by just 22”, but its Gillows type concertina action allowed it with extra leaves to extend to 112”, and this led the bidding, in spite of somewhat indifferent condition in part, to a stunning £7,600.

In fairness, the first session devoted to ceramics, glass and works of art, fared somewhat better, and produced the best mood within the sale as well as some of the best prices. The most note worthy related to an Imperial Prussian officer’s helmet allegedly taken from Kaiser Wilhelm’s yacht in 1919, and suggested to be the property of the Kaiser’s son. Provenance was on the lean side but nevertheless the selling price more than doubled bottom estimate at £5,800.

Earlier, within the ceramics section, 20th century English items produced some good results. A Royal Worcester plate depicting St Michaels Mount by H. Davis reached £1,100 and a set of four plates painted with fruit by A. Schuck from the same factory £900. A pair of 14” Royal Doulton vases decorated by Hannah Barlow sold as expected at £1,300, but a considerable surprise was the set of three Shelley Mabel Lucy Attwell figures of Bride, Bridegroom and Curate, two items repaired and the other chipped, which sold for a quadruple estimate price of £1,250. The only Continental items of note was a Goldscheider figure of a girl, 34 ½” high, which found £1,300.

However, there was more activity in the glass section with a Vistosi glass bird modelled rather like an orange. This somewhat quirky item was entered on the strength of another different Vistosi bird sold for £1,100 in February. This time the result was an astonishing price of £2,700. Also in this section were a Lalique opalescent glass dish at £780 and a Galle cameo vase at £560.

Bronze figures offered during this session included a pair of 19 ¾” Marly horses at £1,200, a group entitled “Une Heure de la Nuit” by Pullett £1,450, and another figure “Muse Ses Bois” by Marioton £850. A singing bird automaton this time as two birds in a cage 20 ½” high sold well at £880, a mother of pearl and tortoiseshell tea caddy produced a price more usual for such an item three or four years ago at £900, and one real surprise, a pair of gilded metal lorgnettes offered with a similar posy holder, between them estimated at £50 - £70, romped in at £540.

The best price in the textiles went to an alphabetical sampler, with a late date of 1862 but nevertheless in excellent condition, in a modern frame which achieved £1,000.

The second session was devoted to silver and jewellery, and as usual there were few surprises amongst the silver. The two best items in this area were a 9 ¾” pair of George III cast candlesticks dated 1776 weighing 35 ½ ozs, which sold for £1,400 and salver of 1810, 57ozs, which found £950.

Auctioneer Daisy Hartley’s stated intention of kitting out all her contemporary friends with engagement rings well below High Street prices was a stage or two nearer with sales during this session. A solitaire diamond ring of 1.3cts reached £2,200, a pair of diamond drop earrings of 1.4cts found £2,100, another slightly smaller pair of studs £1,250, and a large black opal pendant £1,200.

Pictures which started the third session were in the main relatively muted, but rallied somewhat in the Yorkshire section. A quirky watercolour of figures in silhouette by Geoff W Birks reached £920, a large watercolour view of Giens, France, typical of Paul Marny deserved its price of £1,200, and an oil painted River View by William Mellor found £2,900.

The star of the longcase clocks, a fine example by Fearnley, Wigan narrowly failed to sell, and the best clock result therefore was another eight day by T. Benbow, Northwood, in mahogany case which sold for £1,700.

Dominating the architectural section was a large triptych reredos c.1930 by Christopher Webb which had been removed from St Mary Magdalene, Manningham, Bradford, which sold to London trade for £1,500.

20th Century furniture was represented at the upper end by two broadly reliable items. An Art Deco four piece walnut bedroom suite reached £1,000 and an adzed oak dining suite comprising octagonal table, four chairs and a dresser by Frederick May, but very much a Mouseman Thompson look-alike reached £2,100 in total. From the Victorian era were a set of ten mahogany balloon back chairs at £1,550, a rosewood circular occasional table with specimen marble inlaid top £1,800, and a mahogany extending dining table £1,200.

Several Georgian items featured well, including a pretty little mahogany kneehole desk at £1,450, the next lot which was a satinwood foldover table selling at £1,900, and a mahogany bureau bookcase £1,600. Country oak usually obtains a good reception in a provincial saleroom and a modest 57” dresser base with pot board reached £1,700, whilst a most attractive oak and yew crossbanded housekeeper’s cupboard, the upper stage with interesting central compartment rose to £2,000.

Another reason was a superb price for a watercolour which went well above expectations. This was a crisp but undramatic view of the Seine at Paris by Henri Harpignies, (1819-1916), a follower of Corot and the receiver of a reasonable accolade for his painting achievement during his working life. The picture was entered by a local engineering firm literally 200 yards up the road whose founder earlier in the 20th century had made a point of collecting fine paintings. This one boasted a label for the Fine Art Society dated 1959. The lot was cautiously estimated at £1,500 to £2,500 but in the event went to London trade at £17,000, possibly one of the best watercolour prices for this artist ever achieved at auction.

The sale started with the ceramics, and soon produced a big result against a low estimate with a Meissen figural group modelled as Harlequin and a lady selling for £1,300. Another lot which positively deserved its final result was a glorious pair of 19th century Staffordshire pottery grey hounds 11” high which sold for £1,200. Very much more on target was a 10 ½” Royal Crown Derby vase and cover painted with flowers by C. Gresley which sold around bottom estimate at £1,100. An 11 ½” Doulton Lambeth stoneware vase decorated by Florence Barlow reached more than expectations, selling at £900.

The choice of a weird Vistozi glass bird designed by A. Pianon for the catalogue front cover was justified by its price near top estimate at £1,050.

The most notable silver item was a gentleman’s crocodile toilet case fully fitted with every requirement in ivory and silver and marked for London 1890. One wonders how it would fare amongst the complex set of luggage charges wielded by airlines these days both cut price and otherwise, but it still managed to attract a trade buyer at £1,350.

Jewellery can be more difficult in February than it appears in December but this was no bar to some excellent prices in this sale. A factor was the low number of trade lots and the realistic approach of vendors, not least illustrated by a two diamond crossover ring of 2.2cts which topped the section at £3,200. Other prices included £1,300 for a 1.2ct diamond tie pin (purchased to turn into an engagement ring) and the same price for a three stone diamond ring of 1.2 carats. A pair of diamond stud earrings of 1.5 carats sold at mid estimate £1,850.

The start of the afternoon session produced a star lot for each of the sections. The main picture price has already been mentioned. For the metalware we have a 20” bronze of Silenus and the Infant Bacchus at £1,050, in the works of art a pair of 2nd Empire urns in fluorite and ormolu at £1,100, for the textiles an Indian silk bedspread at £820, and in the books “The Monastic Ruins of Yorkshire” by Edward Charton 1843, at £700.

Only when the furniture was wheeled on, did the trade consistently embark on a thorough mopping up operation. Assisted by some spirited private efforts there were 28 four figure prices in a total of 165 with just 13 lots unsold. This section was led by the last lot in the sale, an octagonal oak dining table by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson with rather perversely six single lattice back chairs which together sold for £6,600. Also from the Kilburn workshop were a 6ft refectory table at £2,200, a set of four lattice back chairs at £2,500, two high backed armchairs selling for £1,250, two high backed armchairs selling for £1,250 and £1,300 and a set of three twin wall lights at £820.

Of the remaining furniture earlier items included a delightful little William & Mary walnut bracket display cabinet just 35” by 32” selling for £1,500, a standard oak livery cupboard selling for the same price, a Regency rosewood sofa table which reached £2,300 and a vast D-shaped mahogany sideboard 90” wide 32” deep which doubled its lower estimate to sell at £4,200.

The Victorian furniture seemed dominated by wind out tables, large wardrobes and bureau-bookcases all of which found a buyer. The most spectacular was an Irish mahogany table 105” long comprising two D-ends each with four robustly turned legs and a centre section with pedestal on four supports. This sold to a private buyer at £1,850.

The market was typical of this time of year overlaid by the usual economic constraints which have become familiar over the last year or two.

One minor theme running through the sale was a small quantity of items originally the property of children’s author Enid Blyton, consigned for sale by her daughter, a local resident. It was interesting to see how the normal prices were “skewed” more or less by this influence of provenance.

For instance in the silver section where typically tea services and other non-novelty items struggle to get up to a melt price, the extra ingredient had little effect. However a 1920’s or 30’s walnut bureau de dame reached £720, and a much loved and similar aged grandmother clock £800, both two or three times what would otherwise have been expected. In the picture section, two original book illustrations normally the Cinderella’s of the art market also performed well. “Fairies Behaving Badly”, a pair of studies by Hilda Boswell, for the 12th Holiday Book by Enid Blyton found £560, while a “Toy Town Car Race” by Grace Lodge from the 9th Holiday Book reached £620.

The sale started with the Ceramics and Glass section and unlike October’s outing, it did not have any spectacular sections or items to rely on, but continued steadily to produce sold goods at a reasonable level. The first notable lot was a cased set of six Royal Worcester coffee cups and saucers together with coffee pot jug, bowl and spoons, the porcelain decorated with pheasants by Sedgley and this went above estimate at £2,000.

Next in the reportable area was a Copeland Parian bust “The Veiled Bride” by Monti. The price of £1,000 was normal enough except that the considerable restoration would normally have reduced this to one third of the figure.

Also in this section were a William Moorcroft “Spanish” design 10” bowl at £1,050, and a charming if somewhat monochromatic Bretby cream pottery figure of a boy with flute on separate column 48 ½” overall which rose to £1,400.

Much of the metalware was this time strictly decorative, and early on the most charming was probably an early 20th century carved ivory and gilt metal bust of Cupid by A. Leonard only 9 ¾” high which found £1,600. Later a bronze figure of the Dancing Faun by Duchemin 24 ½” high reached £1,400, a typical Art Deco spelter lamp of a dancer supporting a globe found £750, and a standard racehorse bronze “Fred Archer-Iroquois” by E. Loiseau 11” wide sold for £1,000. The works of art section was led well from the front by a Continental gilt metal cased singing bird automaton 5” wide which nearly quadrupled its bottom estimate at £1,500.

Again the textiles section was dominated by a single lot. This time it was a North West Persian carpet 17ft by 12ft of typical navy blue, red and polychrome stylised pattern. In spite of its well worn almost fragile condition this lot more than quadrupled its lower estimate at £6,500.

The jewellery section invariably performs better at this time of year, there are a lot of desperate men out there, and the commissions book has to be handled with kid gloves to ensure the right messages and only the right messages get through. The accolade went deservedly to a superb and utterly impractical Edwardian diamond and platinum foliate wreath shaped pendant which sold for £3,200. A solitaire diamond pendant of 1.75 carats reached £2,000, an attractive white gold bracelet set with nine diamonds of around 1.8 carats found £1,850, an Art Deco ring with 0.9 carat central diamond reached £1,650, a pair of diamond drop earrings £1,200, and an eye catching pair of diamond and topaz drop earrings £1,000, all of them selling to private buyers. Most unusual (or is that unfashionable) was a platinum and diamond set lorgnette which also rose to £1,000.

The second day commenced with an extended section of prints, which it is fair to say meant many punters allowed themselves a later start. However, at the end of this were some old maps including “Oxfordshire” by John Speed which rose to £460.

Amongst the pictures, whilst a North Italian 18th Century School Study of Achille and the Daughter of Lycomedes reached £1,200, the main successes here went to local painters. A typical View of Shipping in a Stiff Breeze by Thomas Bush Hardy found £1,850, and also amongst the watercolours, a View of the Wharfe by William Mellor reached £2,000. There were also some seven oils by this popular Yorkshire painter, all of which found buyers other than one pair. “On the Wharfe, Bolton Woods” found £1,800, a pair of Yorkshire and North Wales Ruins reached £4,000, and a pair of Lakeland Scenes £5,400.

The most curious lot within the pictures was a set of ten 19th century Naïve paintings of British river fish, seven had been purchased with an accompanying letter at a sale in Scotland some years ago. Two years later three more were found in a sale in North Yorkshire. The vendor was happy to have £20 a piece for them so was delighted to see them knocked down on the phone to trade at £2,100.

Two eight day longcase clocks reached relatively challenging bottom estimates with one by Richard Corless, Stockport finding £2,000 and another by Thomas Collier, Chapel Le Frith £2,500. A very pretty French enamelled onyx and gilt metal mantel clock by Mougin doubled its lower estimate at £1,050.

The furniture section performed as is currently expected these days, the desirable pieces going well, the remainder just about passing muster. Age is not necessarily the operative factor on price.

For instance from the 20th century were a pair of handsome bow fronted standing corner display cabinets at £1,250, and an adzed oak dining suite by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson which produced a 6ft table at £2,000 and a set of six lattice back single chairs at £1,900.

Victorian offerings included a mahogany dining table extending to 8 ½ ft in the manner of Gillows which reached £2,900 and a much bigger wind-out table the inner leaves in much better condition than the D-ends to make up a total length of 14ft which sold for £5,200.

A somewhat utilitarian but large mahogany bookcase with sliding doors found in a solicitor’s office cellar reached £950 as did a curious circular games table with intricate reversible top revealing balls, scoreboard and label for Wilson & Co, London.

Georgian pieces included a standard shaped mahogany chiffonier with three tier back which reached £1,400, a George III mahogany 56” bow front sideboard at £1,150, a mahogany dining table with D-ends supported on quadruped bases 87” long in total which sold well at £3,600, and a North Wales oak enclosed dresser 65” wide which sold at a lower estimate of £3,000.

A total of £237,000 was realised from 900 lots with only 16% by lot bought in. The recipe was a combination of fresh goods in most areas, two major collections one of Moorcroft pottery, the other of 17th/18th century bell metal mortars, and some particular unusual items in the furniture section.

The ceramics which started the sale produced the greatest presale interest, and as well as the Moorcroft collection, brought on some excellent results. A Royal Crown Derby dinner service with traditional Imari decoration of fifty one pieces reached £1,850, a Rockwood pottery plaque painted by McDermott found £1,500, and a Cantonese pottery garden seat £1,050. A pair of Royal Dux 16” porcelain Moorish figures reached £1,300, and a Prattware lidded Toby jug 10” high find £980. A Royal Doulton “Noke Sung” flambé bowl 12” wide sold well at £900 and pair of Morrisware pottery vases by George Cartlidge £800.

Best of the bunch however, was a superb eighteen-piece porcelain dessert service painted with classical maidens which nearly trebled its presale lower estimate at £4,200, the best price of the sale.

The Moorcroft pottery collection of twenty-nine lots, mostly from one vendor produced nearly £25,000 with seven items into four figures. Top of the range were a William Moorcroft Florianware vase 16 ½” high which found £3,200, and a pair of William Moorcroft Cornflower design bottle vases 8 ¼” high at £3,300.

Also noteworthy were a pair of 10” Moorcroft Macintyre Florian design vases at £1,250, an 8 ¾” William Moorcroft Spanish design baluster vase £2,200, a Walter Moorcroft 3 ½” vase tube lined with toadstools £1,250, a 12 ½” Walter Moorcroft Spring Flowers vase £1,050, and a 9” William Moorcroft flambé vase in Wisteria pattern £1,050.

The big surprise in the glass section was the sale of a pair of Victorian 9 ¾” turquoise urns with gilding, which rose to a six times top estimate of £1,800.

Oriental ivories held the day in the works of art, with a 21” Okimono depicting three children climbing a fruit tree reaching £2,200, while a 14” tusk hollowed out into a box with finely fret worked side panels found £1,250. Amongst the weapons, a rare flintlock pistol by John Probin, London 1780, sold for £1,000 and a Yorkshire Dragoon Guards Cavalry helmet £600. A Russian art deco figure by H. Keck in bronze and ivory reached £3,000, and a set of four gilded brass wall lights found £1,000.

The single owner mortar collection of thirty lots found buyers in all but six cases, the majority being 17th century bellmetal and mainly English. The best price of £1,250 was realised for a 6 ¼” high example by Edward Neale of Burford, dated 1690. Another by Samuel Smith, York, dated 1677 and a more usual 5 3/8” high rose to £980.

The second day commenced with pictures, and the star of the print section was an etched View of the Thames at Greenwich by William Lionel Wyllie which found £600. The best of the miniatures was an unsigned British School portrait of an early 19th century young gentleman in a tartan waistcoat selling for £520.

Amongst the watercolours, a study of Lake Como by T.M. Richardson reached £820, and a View of Runswick Bay by Rowland Henry Hill £1,000.

An oil painting of five gentlemen in an interior playing cards by H Stacy Marks rose to £1,550, but the best oil price was an excellent view of Richmond Castle in Snow by Ilkley painter Herbert Royle which deserved its final bid of £3,200.

There were several longcases in the clock section but by far the best was an example by Nathaniel Brown, Manchester with eight day movement, arched brass dial and mahogany case which reached £3,200.

Amongst the furniture, nineteen items went beyond four figures, fourteen of them significantly past their bottom and often their top estimates. Rarity and individuality was the secret, and two items in the chair section illustrated this point. An adzed oak armchair by “Mouseman” Thompson dated 1935 reached £2,400. A much less obvious late 17th century oak panelled back chair with initials R.H. was subjected to a bidding battle by two private buyers sharing the same initials and finally reached £1,350. The under bidder on the telephone pulled out saying he could carve his own name for that price.

The majority of the best furniture prices related to Georgian items. A mahogany kettle stand on tripod support found £2,200, a standard brass bound octagonal cellarette £1,150, an early oak enclosed dresser with delft rack described as 18th century and later reached £1,500, and a most unusual looking mahogany whatnot of square tapering form 67” high deserved its final bid of £3,000.

Victorian items, often the mainstay in this part of the West Riding, only excelled in comparison in a few places. A delightful mahogany duet stand found £1,200, a satinwood, inlaid and painted display cabinet with tapered legs, c.1900, sold for £2,600, and a curious black lacquered chest of two short and three long drawers realised £1,200.

The day commenced with a well received section devoted to pottery and porcelain, bidding was strong and only 10% or so was bought in. Lot 2 set the scene, an excellent Masons Ironstone dinner service of 54 pieces which doubled its pre sale estimate selling for £900.

Royal Worcester then took over as the flavour of the day. A 26” figure “The Bather Surpris’d” reached £1,250 and then a series of fourteen dessert dishes painted with fruit by R. Sebright, the last three being cracked, sold in seven lots for a total of £6,800.

The highest price for a single item followed, a Moorcroft vase brought in to the saleroom by its owner in a carrier bag with the query “Is this saleable?” It was a 9 ¼” piece at the earlier end of the William Moorcroft spectrum decorated in the Pansy design. A pre-emptive bid on the book ensured that none of the telephone lines could get near with a finishing price of £2,900, or over three times its lower estimate.

Silver, whilst more prosaic in price produce just as good a selling rate. Demand remains a conundrum as two consecutive lots illustrated. The first a tea tray of 77ozs merely stamped “sterling” reached £520 or less than £7 per ounce. Immediately following was a circular fruit bowl dated 1933 which produced £20 per ounce or £440. Later, a Queen Ann mug dated 1706, weighing 12ozs found £860 and a rare marrow scoop marked for York 1830 reached £330.

All the watches sold including a Rolex Oyster “Veriflat” gents 18ct gold watch with 9ct gold bracelet at £1,200, and an Omega diamond set lady’s watch at £1,350.

The jewellery moved less readily and the only prices of note were a pretty diamond set bangle selling for £1,000 and a two stone diamond ring of around 1.7cts, which found £1,200.

Pictures were first on the stand in the afternoon and produced the customary tug-of-war between low demand trade items, and fresh to the market and low reserved private lots. The first success attached to two typically quirky watercolours by Geoffrey W Birks which reached £1,100 each. This was then comfortably exceeded by two oil painted examples of the naïve work of Fred Yates. The first entitled “Figures Near A Market”, with a part finished study of a Cornish fishing boat on the reverse, shot up to £4,200, the best picture price of the day.

Local works included a pair of oil Lakeland Landscapes by Everett W Mellor which went on estimate at £1,800, a study of a Steam Ship at Tarbert Pier by Herbert Royle £1,150 and an excellent “Norwegian Traders in old Scarborough Harbour” by Frank Henry Mason £1,900.

The best item, in the works of art was a 24” bronze of David with the Head of Goliath after J.A. Mercie selling for £1,900, and the best clock was a longcase by Jas. Mayfield, Dublin, eight day with plain white dial and mahogany case which found £940.

The main furniture prices in a section somewhat down in numbers from the usual, was almost proportionate to age. A standard George III mahogany linen press reached £1,200.

Victorian items included a square piano by Longhurst which was battled up to £1,080, a large mahogany sideboard which had stood duty as a bar at a well known local restaurant £1,600, a late entry Victorian oak dresser £1,850, and a standard brass eagle lectern removed from a local church £2,600.

Edwardian pieces included a very pretty satinwood and painted music cabinet at £1,000 and a rosewood occasional table inset with an Italian 10 ¼” micromosaic scene which found £1,650.

The later pieces included an adzed oak coffer by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson which reached £2,900 and a fine 1971 Bluthner ebonised baby grand piano selling for £5,400.

There was barely even room to stand at the start of the first session devoted to ceramics which rapidly set the scene for frequent prices throughout the sale which outstripped expectations. The first good price was the £1,200 paid for a Rockingham plate and two matching dishes painted with flowers by Steel, and soon after, a matched pair of 10 ½” Royal Worcester vases painted with highland cattle by J Stinton reached £2,300.

A pair of Cantonese Famille Rose vases 25 ½” high, one with heavily restored rim estimated at £300 - £500 was keenly fought over, to produce a final bid of £1,750.

The best Staffordshire pieces were a salt glazed “frog” tankard dated 1781 selling for £940 and a Lloyds porcelain group of leopard and cub, with slight restoration which reached £680. From a similar era, a First Period Worcester leaf dish reached £920 and a slightly later Graingers Worcester 11” lidded vase doubled expectations at £1,100.

One particularly good result related to a pair of 13” Royal Dux vases decorated with children and geese. They were marked for the decorator “Hempel” and presumably for this reason produced a fine price of £2,100. A rare 9 ½” Moorcroft MacIntyre vase with typical tube lined floral decoration sold for £1,250.

In a small glass section, a stunning pair of gilded and blue cameo cut glass lustre vases reached £850, and a Lalique “Perruches” pattern opalescent bowl found £2,100. Later, amongst works of art and curios, two consecutive lots raised eyebrows. They were both from the workshop of Robert “Mouseman” Thompson of Kilburn, and the first, a pair of squirrel bookends quadrupled their upper estimate to find £560. Better still, a carving of a barn owl with the mouse in his claws 12 ½” high was propelled to £860.

The book section was as good as any seen in these rooms for some time mainly due to the estate mentioned at the start. The best hammer price was £1,500 for a set of fifty eight bound volumes of Studio Magazine 1910-1938, while near enough at £1,450 was a set of seven volumes of Paxtons Magazine of Botany 1834 thanks to most of its coloured illustrations being present. Also from the same estate were “Conchologia Indica, shells of British India”, 1870 by Harley & Theobald, in two volumes sold for £940, and The Antiquities of Warwickshire in two volumes 2nd Edition by Sir W Dugdale which reached £800. From a separate source was a set of twenty five volumes of The Thomas the Tank Engine series, dating to the 1960’s, some later ones being first editions, all of them signed by the author which rose to £700.

Silver continues to bump along the bottom even though the melt price is near enough £5 per ounce. More prosaic 20th century pieces may struggle to reach even this figure although mainly run of the mill lots find £7 - £9 per ounce. A pair of entrée dishes of 85ozs (Sheffield 1919), reached £820, a tea tray 92ozs (Sheffield 1922) found £880, but a George III coffee pot, London 1760, sold for £800 (or £30 per ounce), and a porringer dated 1730 found £340 (or £53 per ounce). The greatest interest in this area was reserved for a rare set of six Liberty’s enamelled coffee spoons, all different, two marked “Cimric”, four for Haseler & Co, fitted together into a case, which sold at twice the lower estimate at £1,550.

The watches and jewellery contained in the main attractive pieces rather than any big hitters. A Cartier lady’s watch with 14ct gold strap and diamond and ruby shoulders, sailed past its reserve at £2,800, a pair of diamond drop earrings of 1.4 carats £2,000, a sapphire and diamond line bracelet £2,380 and a solitaire diamond ring of 1.4 carats £2,750.

The second day started with prints and paintings and once again the Leeds consignment came up trumps, with a very good example of the first coloured oil print ever produced by George Baxter, dated 1830, which, together with another print produced a remarkable price of £2,100. Also from this estate was a portfolio of about thirty Continental Architectural Scenes which reached £1,800 and a bound set of fifty three plates “The Campagna of Rome and Pontine Marshes” by C Coleman, 1850, selling at £620.

The watercolours included a delightful work by Herbert E Butler entitled “Weighing the Fish at Polperro” which found £1,600, a view of the Venice lagoon by Wilfred Knox £1,550, another Venetian Scene by Frank Wasley £1,000, and a View Above Runswick Bay by Rowland Henry Hill £1,500.

The oil paintings were headed by a pair of English 19th century School portraits of sailing Ships which sold for £2,900 and in complete contrast, a study of Finches on Wild Cherry blossom by Vernon Ward £1,050.

The customary collection of architectural and garden items always reserved for this time of the year included the usual stone troughs and campana urns. Amongst them however was a collection of eleven late Victorian stained glass panels taken from Eastmoor, Ben Rhydding, Ilkley, a house built by George Smith, now recently demolished. The panels sold in lots for a total of £3,200.

The best price amongst the longcase clocks was astonishingly an early 20th century reproduction of a 17th century clock, the brass dial signed Eccles, Bideford, which quadrupled its lower estimate to reach £2,400.

As with the works of art sections, Robert “Mouseman” Thompson produced the big price. In this case two bespoke carved oak elbow chairs, decorated and dated 1928 were battled up to £5,400, the equal best price of the sale. Another private battle produced a price of £2,900 for an Edwardian rosewood and inlaid three piece salon suite. A pair of Victorian Gothic oak elbow chairs reached £1,200 as did a fine set of six early 20th century mahogany Georgian style dining chairs.

Good Georgian furniture is always very good when you can get it. The “not so good”, such as run of the mill bracket corner cupboards were difficult to move at any price. A small George I gilt gesso pier glass found £2,200, a mahogany low boy with considerable amendments but still a small and pretty piece reached £1,250, a far more straightforward small mahogany chest of two short and three long drawers £1,350, a George III open oak dresser, the delft rack with full height side cupboards, which sold for £1,250, a classic chest on chest, mainly of good colour, which reached £1,450 and a walnut chest on later stand £2,100.

Two Art Nouveau style inlaid mahogany display cabinets, both of interesting shape and design, sold readily at £1,000 and £1,450, while the most modern piece was a beefy reproduction oak wake table 90” wide which sold to a private buyer at £1,350.

Victorian pieces also proved their worth, and for example a rosewood circular breakfast table found £1,650, a mahogany two stage bookcase with three doors to each stage £1,250, and a massive carved walnut triple wardrobe which could not find £900 a few months ago, this time reached £1,700. The last lot of the sale, early 19th century in date comprised a two stage breakfront mahogany bookcase with a row of drawers between the stages, 88” wide and 96” high overall which deserved its final bid of £5,400.

The sale started with the ceramics section, which unusually featured a single owner collection of thirty five rare Beswick porcelain animals and figures which sold (all bar one) to gross a hammer total of £9,500. Individual prices included a trotting Shire Horse at £540, a Shorthorn Bull “Gwersylt Lord Oxford 74th” £590, a Shorthorn Cow “Eaton Wild Eyes” £680, a pair of Shorthorn Calves £740, a Cowboy on horseback probably depicting Roy Rogers and Trigger £640, and a Gamecock £800.

Amongst more traditional ceramics were a pair of Copeland porcelain plaques painted with river landscapes by W Yale which sold for £800, and a French parian bust of a lady which reached £760. The 20th century items included a 6” William Moorcroft flambé vase tube lined with fish and jellyfish, selling well at £2,900, and a 6” Macintyre Florianware bottle vase £1,850.

The second collection of the day came up next in the glass section with a glamorous array of Galle and other Art Deco pieces. Not all of them found buyers but successful bids included £900 for an 8” Galle green and etched cameo vase, £900 for a 5 ½” Daum coloured etched bowl and £1,200 for a slender 12 ¼” Tiffany Favraile iridescent vase on gilt metal base.

There was little left unsold amongst 80 lots of silver, and pre-sale interest was directed in particular towards a substantial pair of pheasant figures, only three years old, weighing 35 ½ozs which found £520. A pair of Georgian candlesnuffers on matching tray dated 1823 reached £580, and a Victorian cut glass claret jug with silver mounts found £560.

The best priced watch was a late entry which did not reach the catalogue, a lady’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual wristwatch with diamond set numbers to the dial, which reached £1,650.

Of eight four figure prices within the jewellery, two solitaire diamond rings stood out. The first weighed in at 3.5carats although the stone contained several inclusions. The ultimate price for this item was £3,000. By contrast another ring of only 1.9cts but in quality and colour much better than the first, was knocked down at £3,400.

Other jewellery prices included a pair of Art Deco style ruby sapphire and diamond set earrings at £1,550, a diamond set bracelet £1,450, and a three stone diamond ring of 1.5cts, £1,700.

The afternoon session started with pictures, warming up with the maps and prints including a bright and colourful John Speede “North and East Rydinges” which found £380.

The best prices within the pictures were all produced by Yorkshire painters. The watercolours included two by Roland Henry Hill both of which were strongly competed to four times their upper estimates. One, and East Yorkshire Village Scene reached £2,400 and the other a view of Runswick Bay found £2,600. Other watercolours included a typical study of Horses in a Stable by William Woodhouse which rose to £1,150.

Once again the oils were led by Ilkley’s own Herbert Royle, with several of his works on offer. The best was “Winter Feeding at Nesfield” which sold at £8,500 while an even more atmospheric “Coastal Scene with Peat Diggers” found £3,500. Another Yorkshire artist Harold Whaley produced a bright and sunny view thought to be on the Isle of Man which doubled its upper estimate at £1,250.

Many of the clocks particularly longcases would probably be described as “improvers”, but one, by London maker Peter Grimalde with unusual mahogany case deserved its final bid of £1,950.

A very small Regency bracket clock by Budgen, Croydon found £1,800 but best of all was a massive Victorian bracket clock with triple train movement originally installed at the Yorick Club, The Strand, which sold for £2,800.

Finally, the furniture was offered and as in December sales bucked the trend with only ten lots failing to find a buyer out of a total of 120.

Probably the two most satisfying prices related to very stylish if totally different items. The first was an adzed oak armchair by Robert Thompson, the “Mouseman” at his best with a 1935 piece which deserved its price of £1,100. The other was an Art Nouveau style mahogany and marquetry inlaid escritoire by Shapland and Petty of Barnstable which took no surprises with the final bid of £5,400.

Of seven linen presses and cupboards on chests, the purest with the most attractively panelled doors found £1,500. Of the three main mahogany sideboards, a George III example with replaced drawers (consequent on burglary some years ago) reached £1,550, another demi-lune piece with replaced legs sold for £1,450, but the third, not subject to any major interference rose to £2,200. From the same local deceased estate as the last item came the best looking chest of drawers, a George III chest of two short and three long graduated drawers, satisfactorily neat at 32” wide, which sold for £1,400.

The “Collectables” part of the sale included in the main a small but interesting section devoted to celebrity autographs which spanned a wide spectrum of study. This began with a typical example of Laurel & Hardy’s P.R. work from the early 1950’s, given to the receptionist at the York Station Hotel and inscribed “Thank You Joan”, which sold for £240. The sale then moved on to a scrap of paper signed by William Joyce “Lord Haw Haw” before he was hanged for treason, and donated to the joiner that built his gallows, this selling for £200.

This was followed by a major item in the sale, a letter written by Theodor Uhlig to concertmeister Schubert, and most importantly postscripted by Richard Wagner, all in July 1851. A letter from the music critic of the Times discovering this item and another from him to the then owner between them produced a final price of £1,500 achieved via the telephone from a bidder in Israel. Finally from the same buyer, came the bid of £540 for an early manuscript letter from Charlie Chaplin which included a signed photograph and envelope.

In the toys proper, a useful tin plate section produced some early German items. A Lehmann battleship St Vincent 13 ½” long reached £270 a Lehmann “Oh My” dancing Negro found £240, while an English Bowman “Snipe” speed boat c.1928, 23” long, sold for £250. A rather later item, a Post War German Schuco MAC 700 stunt motorbike rider 8” long reached £360 and another early post war piece a chromium plated “Silver Bullet” speed car 22” long found £380.

The Dublo section of the model railways was headed by three very saleable Hornby Dublo 3 rail locomotives. These were a Co-Co diesel “St Paddy” at £240, a City of Liverpool in B.R. red £280, and “Dorchester” in B.R. green £200. All were in fair to good condition. Also in fair condition was a Hornby Dublo EDG 16 train set with 0-6-2 B.R. tank locomotive, which sold for £120.

Within a smaller “O” gauge section a job lot including seven Hornby wagons, and various other items reached £210. A Hornby clockwork train set with No.1 LNER special locomotive and tender sold for £420, and A No.2 signal gantry in relatively ruinous original box £250.

Three Gauge I items, of indeterminate age sold comfortably above estimate. A Bing 4-4-0 Jupiter locomotive and tender in fair to poor condition sold for £400, a teak finish “Speisewagen” with Marklin trademark £400, and another bogie luggage van and a tool wagon (incomplete) also bearing Marklin trademarks £270.

All of the above represented less than 60% of the sale. The other 40% was the extended start of the sale, comprising dolls, teddy bears and accessories. Amongst the bears, the best price was realised for a fine old Steiff bear on wheels (three rather than four), 32” long and in somewhat worn condition. This nevertheless realised £560. In better shape were an English 25” pre war bear at £280 and a Chad Valley 15” pre war bear at £260.

Many of the best prices amongst the dolls were paid for the bisque head examples mainly dating around 1910 to 1925. The best of these was a Simon and Halbig oriental doll 21” tall numbered 1329 selling for £1,000. A Kammer & Reinhardt 26” girl doll reached £420, a Simon and Halbig “Jutta” doll 26” high numbered 1349 £320, a French 15” shoulder head fashion doll found £720, and a Max Oscar Arnold doll 30” high marked 54/14 reached £600.

One particular surprise amongst this section was a composite lot of two very rudimentary wooden items. It comprised a late 18th century doll with inset glass eyes, brown wig, no arms and jointed legs, 12 ½”, together with a crude wooden stump doll (no arms or legs), 8” tall, together these somewhat unpromising items collected £800.

Finally, the best price, not just in this section but in the whole sale was paid for a superb English poured wax shoulder head doll 30” high. This item dating from around 1860 had fixed blue glass eyes, well coloured and modelled features, wax covered arms, hands and lower limbs and was dressed in original blue trimmed cream muslin dress. This excellent item deserved its final price of £1,900.

It seems that the vendors for the latter are so disciplined by the media in their expectations that reserves have become the sensible mathematics that auctioneers always intended them to be. The pure logistics of the commodity bear this out practically and a 19th century grand piano reserved at £700 was allowed to go after the sale by the vendor at just £300.

The sale started with ceramics to include a pair of fairly ordinary turn of the last century 18” Chinese vases selling at £1,450, and then shortly after a pearlware money box dated 1842 finding £1,250. Next was the fourth best day’s price for a Goldschieder terracotta figural table lamp 33” high which sold for £3,700.

A run of three Royal Doulton ovoid Sung vases by Noke culled from a clearance in North Bradford comprised a 7 ¾” item decorated with peacock at £1,200, another with fish £900 and a 9 ¼” vase with Arabs grape picking at £2,100.

Other ceramic prices included a Royal Worcester group “The Picnic” £760, and a 12” Doulton Lambeth vase by Mary Ann Thomson £1,300.

The best glass price was reserved for four various early 20th century light shades which together realised £520.

The silver sections bumped along as usual, with two contrasting prices illustrating the general mood for this commodity. An Edwardian jewel box by Wm Comyns & Sons with enamelled crest reached £980, while a massive and decorative Edwardian tea tray of 96ozs found only £880.

The jewellery section provided considerable meat to bite on, although the star lot, a splendid 5ct solitaire diamond ring only found a buyer after the sale at £10,000. Ten four figure prices of items which did sell included a stylish diamond drop pendant at £2,000, a solitaire diamond ring of 1.3cts £1,750, a five stone diamond ring of 2.5ct £2,500, a diamond pendant modelled as a Celtic cross (1.88cts) £1,750, and a three stone diamond ring of 2.6cts £3,000.

The afternoon commenced with metalware and works of art, the first item of note being an Art Deco spelter and “plastik” group of lady and greyhounds 26 ½” wide signed D H Chiparus which reached £1,150. Two bronzes from the same home as the Sung vases comprised an 11” bull after Rosa Bonheur selling at £850, and a group of mare and foal 12” wide signed I. Bonheur which reached £4,600.

The most prosaic part of the sale, the pictures, followed with little of note to report. An etching after Salvador Dali “Toulose Lautrec” found £660 and a portrait of the Countess of Rosse attributed to Van der Wyn reached £1,100. The Yorkshire artists saved the day with two oils by William Mellor. A view of Bolton Abbey consigned from New Zealand reached £4,800 and another “Cattle Watering on the Nidd” found £4,000.

Clocks and furniture finished the sale with the volume turned up once again. Six longcase clocks all sold including a 30 hour with painted square dial and neat inlaid case at £1,800, and an 8 day by John Ellerby, Ashburn with painted arched dial and mahogany case also at £1,800, and an 8 day by Robert Bunyan, Lincoln with brass dial and oak case at £1,150.

Amongst the furniture, honours were shared between dealers and private investors with only the odd Windsor chair and one or two other pieces being left behind.

Georgian items sold included an 18th century or earlier oak lambing chair at £800, a George III mahogany pedestal sideboard 90” wide £1,300, a heavy oak press cupboard or court cupboard £1,150, and a mahogany linen press with panelled doors and drawers below £1,150.

The fireworks however were reserved for Victorian pieces. A Kingwood vitrine found £1,800, a Welmar baby grand piano in walnut case sold well at £1,050, a mahogany extending dining table winding out to 118” on baluster legs £1,450, and a substantial partners mahogany pedestal desk 66” by 45” with interesting shaped side panels £2,400.

The best result however was produced by a pair of walnut inlaid and gilt metal mounted pier cabinets which went to 3 ½ times the upper estimate at £2,800.

Different commodities produced differing results, with furniture leading the way in the difficulty stakes. Ceramics were in general reasonable with occasional disappointments. Silver has bumped along for so long that it has become in the main comfortably predictable. Jewellery has a reasonable strand of private buyers attracted to the better (albeit reasonably priced) lots compared to buying in the high street. Pictures are selling if you discount the (often mediocre) trade entries.

Best of all however are collectables, not influenced by the house market and other more general economic forces, but instead linked to more fun buying and the availability of “fritter” money in the proverbial mattress.

The day started with ceramics, and the most expensive single item here was a Della Robbia terracotta vase 13 ¾” high which sold for £1,200. An identical item with different decoration and (crucially) a modicum of restoration was withdrawn at £1050. Another lot which sold well was a Spode earthenware part dinner service of seventy three pieces which went to five times its lower estimate at £1,250.

Royal Worcester was as usual steady source of revenue although there were no spectacular individual pieces. A 5” pot pourri painted by James Stinton reached £500, a flower bowl 7” high with landscapes by W Powell found £640, and a pair of Worcester plates, one painted with Raphaels Madonna and Child sold for £720.

Other ceramics prices included a Berlin plaque depicting a young girl and an old lady leaving church £840, a Clarice Cliff 16” oblong charger £640 and a pair of 10” Minton Seccesionist vases £560.

One of the headline grabbing pieces of this sale occurred soon after in the silver section. A Victorian vinaigrette was purchased in a car boot sale for a few pounds by the vendor who was more than happy to see it in the catalogue with a pre-sale estimate of £150 - £250. It was made in 1842 by Nathaniel Mills, and more importantly had a view of Holyrood Castle chased on the lid. In the event two last minute commission bids left all the telephone lines standing with a final price of £3,300.

Two other items which illustrated the perennially prosaic nature of silver sales comprised firstly a five piece matched tea and coffee service of 95ozs with dates varying from 1834 and 1890. The eventual price of £900 thus presented a figure per ounce of £9.50. By contrast a positive looking Edwardian rose bowl, well decorated, weighing 18 1/4oz and dated 1910 managed £490, or £27 per ounce. Flower arranging has irrevocably overtaken tea parties as a popular activity. Another very attractive three piece tea set of 21 1/4ozs in fully fitted case reached £420.

Next came the jewellery section with a totally different point of view represented by many private buyers who know that usually an auction price can be around one third of a full High Street retail figure. For the second time in a couple of months the section has heralded a marriage engagement, and in this instance it is believed the proposal was timed to dovetail with the pre-sale viewing. The top price in this section went to an emerald cut diamond ring, an approximate “Camilla Duchess of Cornwall” lookalike, even though at 1.75cts, not a size-alike. This doubled its presale estimate at £5,000.

Other diamond rings included a three stone diamond ring of two carats selling for £1,950, a solitaire ring of 1.4cts £1,100, and a pretty diamond cluster at £1,200. Several brooches set with diamond and other coloured gemstones sold for four figure sums and a Victorian sapphire bangle set with seventeen graduated stones totalling 7 carats reached £1,660.

The afternoon session started with the collectors’ items which gave the auctioneer by far the easiest ride of the day. Quite early on, a most unusual American copper and partly plated jug, a massive 18” high, the lid set with a moose head rose to £750. Two Art Deco items, a cold painted bronze dancer 20” high including its base, and a similar table lamp with globe shade sold predictably at £545 and £560. Somewhat more unusual were a 10” wide tortoiseshell covered workbasket which found £580 and a set of around 275 19th century Japanese Kata Gani paper stencils, selling at £2,000.

The best item in a small group of weapons was a German SS dagger collected by the vendor’s father during his national service in 1947, which sold for £1,000.

The pictures came next and once again the auctioneer had to start working for his living. There were however prices which maintained his morale. The best print prices were very diverse, the first being a large and stylish Lady with her wolfhound in an English garden by Herbert Dicksee which went to a mid estimate £660. The second was a poster entitled “Fiesta ‘88” designed by David Hockney and also signed by him, which reached £625.

Amongst the watercolours an Irish Lough Scene by Percy French was competed up to £2,000, and a pair of Lakeland Scenes by Harold Lawes reached £850. The oil paintings included a portrait of a young woman by Bernard Fleetwood Walker which found £1,150 and an 18th century Continental School Study of Madonna and Child, competed by Italian trade but eventually selling to a private buyer at £2,000.

Yorkshire art is always grouped and highlighted in these rooms often to good effect. Three watercolours by Noel Harry Leaver all emphasised his interest in North African town scenes. Selling individually they were knocked down at £1,300, £1,550 and £1,250.

Once again the Yorkshire oil paintings were dominated by two painters Herbert Royle and William Mellor. These two vary enormously in style and their buying profiles also differ. Mellor’s oils produce a relatively wide market of trade and private buyers by no means restricted to Yorkshire. Royles, which have seen excellent prices over the last few years are now attracting a narrowing field of buyers who are themselves becoming more and more selective.

Thus, of six Herbert Royles on offer, just two found buyers. They were by far the best of the bunch and both comfortably passed their lower estimate. A View of the Bluebell Woods below Nesfield reached £5,250 and another of Dene Farm Nesfield £5,800.

By contrast the three pairs of three singletons by William Mellor all bar one found buyers, and even the unsold item missed by less than 10%. Two small pairs which were accompanied by the original sale account dated 1905 found £3,000 and £4,400, while another pair of Bow Ghyll, Nr Ilkley and The Nidd Near Harrogate reached £7,600. A single View of Sheep on a Mountain Path found £2,000 and an unusual view entitled “Over near Pannal, Near Harrogate”, 30” x 20” sold for £3,300.

Another Yorkshire painter to watch is Gordon Barlow. He was a pupil and close friend of Herbert Royle and died this year. (His friend died in 1958). His work is typical of Yorkshire Dales landscape artists, much of it predictably influenced by Royle. Six examples were sold in this sale with prices varying between £95 and £420. The best price for him in these rooms was realised some years ago at £750.

The final section in the sale was devoted to clocks and furniture. The market has been poor for this commodity for some months now and perhaps partly as a reason for this the section was smaller than usual. There were however sufficient buyers to produce a dozen four figure prices, including just one in the clock section.

This was an Edwardian mahogany longcase, a neat 78 ½” high example which sold for £1,000.

The best price within the main furniture was early on, catalogued as a mid 18th century walnut framed cabriole stool with a pre-sale estimate of £600 - £900 and entered with the encouragement of the BBC Flog-It presenter where it had been spotted in one of their roadshows earlier this year. The item was competed by an Irish underbidder to an eventual price of £3,600.

Various items of Robert Thompson “Mouseman” adzed oak furniture were offered, not all of them finding buyers, probably somewhat discouraged by a slowing house market. A set of six lattice back chairs including two elbows found £2,200 and another later set of eight singles £2,200. A hall table 42” wide reached £1,400 and an 8ft refectory table £2,200.

Other furniture prices included a massive burr elm circular cricket table with later ring turned legs at £1,100, a small walnut and mahogany banded chest of four long drawers £1,350, a Regency rosewood open bookcase £1,100, a George III mahogany chest on chest £1,200 and a mid Victorian walnut straight fronted credenza £2,000.

Finally bridging the gap between collectables and furniture were two Art Deco lots in this section. The first was a burr walnut demi-lune cocktail cabinet with stylish satinwood interior which found £760 and the other was an Evestaff “mini-piano”, black painted with chromium banding and matching stool which astonished everyone at a final figure of £1,300.

The most newsworthy items in the sale were always going to be the two pairs of Royal Worcester porcelain oval plaques in the middle of the ceramic section. These were entered for sale by a retired gentleman from the Calder Valley who had inherited them through the family and was now worried about the insurance implications associated with them.

The first pair were scenes of sheep in Highland landscapes by the highly rated Harry Davies and dated for 1921. These nearly doubled their lower estimate at £27,000. The vendor had lesser aspirations regarding the second pair, this time pheasants in woodland by James Stinton dated 1922 and the lower estimate of £3,000 was left far behind by the final bid of £13,000.

Other Royal Worcester pieces featured in the sale, including a tyg painted with fruit by Chivers dated 1903 which sold for £2,500.

Remaining ceramic items which reached four figure prices were most diverse but probably more predictable. A Spode Italian pattern footbath found £1,500, a large 3 ½” high pair of Royal Dux water carriers £2,000, a massive and bold Masons ironstone ewer £1,250, a Burleighware charger decorated by Charlotte Rhead reached £1,750 and a Minton 20” majolica vase £1,000. The most modern item to sell well was a Royal Crown Derby St Leger vase, no.1 of 50, which also found £1,000.

The metal and other works of art set off briskly with a 7 ¼” Japanese inlaid bronze figure of a traveller which sold for £2,300. A curious brass tobacco box bearing the date 1709 and protected by its own combination lock had never been opened by the vendor. A lot of fiddling by the auctioneers revealed the interior and a final price of £660. A delightful little 6 ¼” ivory figure of “Innocence” signed Chiparus was always going to do well and sold for £1,400, a violin by J W Owen dated 1929 with a later bow quadrupled its lower estimate at £2,200. An Oriental ivory and fruitwood okimono 14” wide found £1,550, and a very dusty collection of Victorian novelty lantern slides sold in five lots for a total of £1,730.

In a relatively small weapons section the best price was £750 which went to a Japanese Katana with lacquered scabbard.

Once again in the jewellery section one item tended to dominate the scene, in this instance a superb diamond cluster ring which at a total of 5cts in weight contrived to be big without being at all vulgar, and deserved its price of £8,000. Other prices in this section included a Victorian diamond crescent brooch selling at £1,500, a Victorian diamond pendant brooch at £1,350, another diamond spray brooch £1,800, and a most attractive two stone diamond crossover ring of 1.9cts £2,100.

The second day comprised pictures and furniture. The best print price was £660 for a work by Sir William Russell Flint “Corisande”. A generous offering of watercolours produced just one four figure price, £1,000 for a pair of classical maidens by Herbert Horwitz. Amongst the oils, the catalogue front cover, a striking and typical view of Perthshire could only get away after the sale at £4,200. Another oil of a man asleep on a town bench, only partially attributed to William Connor, still attracted a final bid of £1,750, and another oil “Rabbits” by W Watson fielded £1,250.

With the Yorkshire picture section the tables turned somewhat, the best watercolour being a typical pair by William Manners which rose to £1,000. The Yorkshire oils were dominated by Ilkley painter Herbert Royle, with six out of seven of his works finding buyers all with four figure prices. A small Canal Scene in Skipton reached £1,600, Beamsley Beacon in Winter was £1,950, an unusual view of Nesfield Dene in Springtime £2,900, and a Study of Nesfield Woods in Snow £4,300. The two pictures to take the top prize were a view of Starbotton in Upper Wharfedale and a rare View of Burley Mill, Near Ilkley, both of which reached £7,000.

More Yorkshire style came along with a quirky study “The Old Bag Won’t Serve Me” by Braaq (Brian Shields) selling for £2,100, a pair of Welsh Scenes by William Mellor which reached £2,500, and a portrait of the racehorse “Cunning Boy” by Wright Barker at £1,600.

The regular April garden and architectural section cleared a goodly quantity of stone troughs and garden benches. The best prices in this area were £1,350 for a Coalbrookdale Medieval pattern seat (after Christopher Dresser) and £2,400 for a bronze model of the Uffizi Boar.

The clocks tended as usual to be dominated by longcases, the best two being a Welsh 8 day example by Richard Beaver in oak case, inscribed “High Water at the Mumbles” at £2,000, and another eight day by John Fletcher, Holbeck, sold after the sale at £1,250.

Furniture struggled to win any real prominence in the sale, and the chunkier items seemed the only ones to find the bigger prices. Georgian items included a well coloured oak box settle at £1,800, a walnut cabinet of many drawers with 20th century stand reaching £1,400, and early Georgian walnut chest of drawers £1,300, and a George III mahogany linen press £1,600. Earlier oak items included a much travelled refectory table at £1,300, and carved oak press cupboard selling at £1,250.

The most distinctive 20th century items were very diverse being an Edwardian mahogany and inlaid cylinder top bureau which found £1,800, and an adzed oak dresser with glazed upper section by the “Rabbit” man of Driffield selling for £1,500.

The ceramics sections started the sale but it was not until lot 284 that the four figure barrier was breached with a Minton majolica teapot modelled as a monkey hugging a coconut, which sold at £1,200. Another animal lot sold earlier when a Continental pottery bull mastiff with glass eyes, 31” long reached £900.

The usual crop of Royal Worcester porcelain sold readily enough, but without any startling prices. A pair of 12” wall pockets found £580, while a 5 ½” vase painted with fruit reached £560, as did a 6 ½” vase painted with game birds by James Stinton.

Royal Doulton figures are not seen in these sales unless rarity demands the treatment. Several figures appeared this time including “London Cry” at £900, “Folly” (HN1335) at £760 and “The Coming of Spring” (HN1723) at £720.

Other ceramic prices included a Staffordshire pottery money box modelled as Conisborough Chapel at £800, a pair of Wemyss 11 ¾” candlesticks (one repaired) at £560, and a 15” Minton Secessionist charger £660.

The best price in the glass section was the £700 paid for a 5 ¾” Lalique opalescent vase moulded in the “Poppies” pattern.

A small but well followed section of weapons produced several excellent results. Amongst the edge weapons were a Continental cup hilt rapier with old blade and 19th century hilt which sold for £580, and an Indian tulwar with very broad heavy blade which shot away at £850.

The firearms demonstrated once again that flintlock pieces are what every buyer is after. Top of the range were a superb blunderbuss with brass barrel inscribed R Rowland which found £2,700 and a pair of 8” barrelled pistols by Kelland & Co, last seen sold within the Keith Neal collection now selling at £3,200.

The second session of the sale offered silver, plate and jewellery. One of the hardest lots to value, but in the event the easiest to sell was a Turkish part canteen of cutlery for twelve settings, with 99ozs of weighable silver. The eventual price for this item was a 3 ½ times top estimate figure of £1,400.

Another matched canteen for six settings in Kings pattern dated 1834 to 1907, 67ozs, reached a more prosaic £580, a 1904 silver mounted cut glass claret jug reached the same figure and a punch bowl of 38ozs dated 1897 found £750.

The more traditional style of jewellery appeared to produce the most interest and the best prices. A circular lattice design diamond brooch/pendant, ignored two months ago now reached £1,250, a ruby and diamond three stone ring £950, a solitaire diamond ring of 1.2 carats £1,100 and another, this time 1.95 carats £1,700.

The best of them all however was a solitaire diamond ring with old cut stone of 1.8cts which sailed away to a telephone bid at £2,800.

Pictures started the second day with prints as the warm up act. The coloured map of the West Riding or Yorkshire by J Speede was always going to do well at £440. Several David Shepherd prints were offered, not all successfully but “Tiger in the Sun” found £650, and then a lithograph “Eagle” by Elizabeth Frink nearly doubled its lower estimate at £740.

Snaffles, the pseudonym of Charles Johnson Payne, produced a set of four military prints, which richly deserved their final bid of £1,250.

David Shepherd appeared again in the oil paintings section, not however with more African wild life, so the selling price did not crank up from the best print prices as might have been expected. Prosaically, “Ode to the English Elm” reached an above estimate £1,100. A more traditional and generous sized subject “His First Day’s Fishing”, a study of fisherman and his boy by J Kinnaird reached £1,450, and the choice for the cover of the catalogue, a Mountain and River Scene by Benjamin Williams Leader found £3,000.

All the main prices in the Yorkshire oils section were taken by William Mellor, a painter who was ignored in the December sale at these rooms. A Mountain Stream Near Capel Curig 17 ½” x 13 ½” reached £1,350, a pair of Landscapes with Waterfalls also 17 ½” x 13 ½”, £2,000, and another pair “On the Wharfe” and “Ingleton Force” only 11 ¾” x 8” rose to £3,500.

The furniture and clocks selection was possibly not as satisfying as usual, but buyers in the main made the most of what was available. Amongst the clock section a Georgian stick barometer reached £950, an Edwardian eight day brass dialled longcase found £1,100, and an eight day with brass dial and late carved oak case sold for £1,500.

Georgian furniture produced the best prices in all sections, starting with a walnut chest of two short and three long drawers, 18th century and later which reached £1,350. A late Georgian mahogany oblong breakfast table found £1,500, an early panelled oak side cupboard £1,200, and a particularly handsome oak standing corner cupboard £1,800. A George III mahogany bureau-bookcase with astragal glazed doors reached £1,850 and a neat and small oak dresser base with three drawers above a pot board, 55 ½”, deserved the final bid of £2,000.

Finally, another off shoot of the Robert Thompson “Mouseman” workshop, Horace Knight or the “Knight man” produced a 7ft table and six chairs which was good value at its price of £1,200.

At this event the sale commenced with an extended offering of ceramics, and included the second best price of the sale, a rare Burmantofts faience Anglo-Persian vase decorated by Louis Kramer, which doubled its lower estimate to reach £6000.

A pair of Royal Dux water carrier figures were (literally) head and shoulders above other items from this same factory at 28” high and reached £2800. Rare Burleighware chargers and plaques have started appearing at these rooms and two more identical 14” examples, decorated by Charlotte Rhead reached £1000 and £1150.

A series of 42 lots of “Fruit” Worcester entered by a deceased estate and offered without reserve was an auctioneers holiday, producing a total of over £19, 000. Most distinctive amongst these were a 9½” pot pourri by H. Ayrton at £1450 and another 10” high at £1750.

Amongst the metalware and works of art came the first embarrassment, of the sort the auctioneer can usually take on the chin when a ship’s bell clocked in at over 20 times its upper estimate. The brass bell belonging to the somewhat unwarlike sounding “HMS Mindful”, dated 1915 reached £3,300. Also in the same section were a very positive looking pair of Chinese bronze Kylin, 16” high selling at £1200, and also from the same Halifax vendor an 11” Japanese bronze group of two sumo wrestlers at £5400.

From a deceased estate in Derbyshire came a 10” Blue John urn at £2600, while the best price in a small weapons section was £800 for a Remington patent six short percussion revolver.

The jewellery lots included the best price of this sale, for a pair of classical diamond stud earrings of 4.8cts which sold to a private buyer at £6900.

The second day started with paintings and prints, 290 lots in all, much of it at the lower price end difficult to sell. There were however peaks amongst them, starting with a pair of watercolours, one of Tintern Abbey by D M Serres, at £1000, and an oil of a Welsh mountain landscape by David Bates £1200. As usual the Yorkshire artists behaved well with a watercolour of Whitby Harbour by George Weatherill selling for £1500, and another of Scarborough by John W Carmichael at £3800. An oil painting of Scarborough by William Callow reached £1250, and a view of Beamsley Beacon, Nr. Ilkley by Herbert Royle £2600.

The best picture price however was garnered after this sale when a rather dark but otherwise typical work by Charles Spencelayh of a Manchester patroness surrounded by her teaware and lace sold for £4,500.

Finally the clocks and furniture sections cantered through once again in defiance of the supposed difficult market, with 85% selling. Of nine longcase clocks eight sold, seven of them over £1000. The best prices were £1750 for a 30 hour example by S. Lomas, Poulton with painted dial in mahogany case, £1850 for an eight day with square brass dial and “Mouseman” Thompson oak case and £2100 for an eight day by B. Barton, Oldham in oak case.

There were several furniture items worthy of mention. It was for instance satisfying to see a Georgian walnut bureau 36” wide sell for £2600, and also two classic canterburies, a rosewood example at £1350 and an otherwise similar mahogany one at £1100. A 19th century Dutch bombe chest in walnut and floral marquetry reached £2600, and a Victorian mahogany breakfront bookcase 83” wide £4200.

The best furniture success was a somewhat dilapidated baby grand piano dated around 1910 by Steinway, brought down for sale from a Windermere residence. Without belittling the problems faced by a purchaser, it is fair to say that the main work needed was to the polish, the keys and other relatively superficial areas. The result was a price nearly five times the upper estimate at £5800.

It was a similar result at the autumn Antiques and Fine Arts Sale on October 6th and 7th but more difficult to attribute the genders. This time the ceramics, silver and jewellery were like jogging through treacle, the pictures eased away with some excellent moments and the clocks and furniture sold very well.

Indeed, the mathematics speak for themselves. The resulting total of £232,000 included an overall buy-in rate of 27 ½%, although only twelve lots (or 10%) of the clocks and furniture failed to find a buyer.

The ceramics started the sale with the customary strong offering of Royal Worcester. The best price here was £1,150 for a dessert dish painted with fruit by R Sebright. This price was eclipsed by the sale of a Wedgwood Fairyland lustre vase 9” high which found a quadruple upper estimate of £3,300.

Interest in the relatively strong art pottery offering was severely tempered by reserves allowing only selected items to get away. Most notable of these was a Burmantofts jardinière and stand wearing the most cheerful colouring famous with the factory which rose to £1,300.

A Moorcroft 8 ½” vase tube lined with toadstools reached £1,000 while two Troika pottery lamp bases found £720 and £660.

Amongst the metalware and works of art, much of the pre-sale interest centred around a Tudric pewter tea and coffee set on tray by Archibald Knox which passed its upper estimate to sell at £2,800. A George III mahogany apothecary’s cabinet quite loaded with secret compartments deserved its final price of a £1,200 and an Art Deco gilded bronze figure of a nude dancing girl on onyx base 11” high sold well at £3,300.

Silver was not as plentiful as is often the case but supply and demand near enough levelled out in the way we have become used to over the last couple of decades. A colonial punch bowl unmarked but covered in embossed decoration and weighing 54ozs found £1,250. An excellent Victorian presentation claret jug by Barnard of 28 1/2ozs deserved its final price of £980, while a late Victorian tea tray as usual seemed reasonable at £900 or only £7.50 per ounce.

Much of the jewellery entry failed to sell, but as usual the strictly traditional styled and aged items were snapped up. The epitome of this was a solitaire diamond ring of two carats which took the best price of £3,400. (A pre-sale condition report request had asked how many stones were in the setting).

Other jewellery prices included a very pretty Art Deco multiple diamond dress ring which seemed reasonable at £1,150, a diamond cluster ring of fourteen brilliants at £1,000, a diamond two stone crossover ring of 1.8cts £1,500 and a seven stone diamond ring £2,200.

The second day started with paintings and prints and to begin the proceedings offered an interesting selection of old maps. Best price went to a map of Cheshire by John Speede after W Smythe which rose to £500. One of the most striking watercolours was a large study of a girl by Alexander M Rossi which sold for £1,150 while a finely drawn study “Collecting Peat” only 11” by 15” by Harry Sutton Palmer doubled its lower estimate to reach £1,400. A striking study by Stanley Royle of Windmill and Cottages at Sunrise reached £1,250.

Unsigned portraits tended to dominate the oil paintings and two examples of an 18th century old gentleman and another of a young cavalier found £1,950 and £1,650 respectively.

The best oil prices were however reserved for two examples of local painter Herbert Royle. An unusual and interesting view of ferries in dock on the Western Isles found £5,000, and a more local cattle and Drover at Nesfield, Near Ilkley rose to £5,500.

The wackiest part of the sale was an offering of thirty six painted concrete garden sculptures by local artist William Anthony Jordan. The highest price here was “Kidnapped – an old gardener falling asleep ……. “, which found £600.

The clock section included thirteen long cases, eleven of which exceeded £1,000. The best price of £5,000 was shared by an eight day clock with brass dial by Whitehurst of Derby in poor condition and another by Nugent Booker, Dublin in highly polished order. Another Irish clock this time by Charles Craig found £3,400, a very smart eight day example by Fabian Robins in marquetry inlaid case reached £2,900, and another by Jo. Batty, Halifax £2,200.

Sheer size was probably the main decider for the highest furniture price which was offered by two separate commission bidders on a thoroughly renovated Victorian mahogany wind out table extending to 12 feet. The price was an upper estimate £3,500. Next along was a Bechstein grand piano in rosewood case 74” long which failed to raise any interest whatsoever four months ago, but this time shot away at £2,800.

A late Victorian rosewood and inlaid bedroom suite of three main pieces plus two chars and a pot cupboard reached £3,200, and still in the bedroom, two Victorian mahogany half tester double beds achieved £1,350 and £1,550.

An early Victorian mahogany telescopic three tier dumb waiter deserved its £1,150, a mahogany campaign chest of two short and three long drawers reached £1,150 and a George III oak low boy in very clean condition sold for £1,500.

Perhaps the main “sleeper” amongst the furniture which will no doubt reappear at an appropriate fair with a total facelift was a George III mahogany secretaire linen press. In spite of its current very poor condition it received a large amount of presale interest and finally sold after much competition at £2,500.

A reliable objective measure is to take the bottom pre-sale estimate total and compare it with the combination of actual sale total and the number of lots left.

In the sale held by Andrew Hartley in Ilkley on August 11th and 12th, a modest 957 lots realised a steady £237,000 but this figure was 17% up on the minimum total and only 13% by lot had to be bought in. Indeed within the 200 lots of clocks and furniture, only two lots failed to sell, a small spinning wheel and a pair of Art Deco wall lights.

The mood of bonhomie was at its most intense amongst the furniture, with a combination of regular trade and strangers mopping up everything in sight virtually with a smile and a song. Granted the June sale had produced a couple of dozen casualties which were rolled straight back into this event with heavily massaged reserves, and this was accompanied by a mainly private entry of fresh stock also subject to the same treatment.

The best price in the furniture section fell to a Queen Anne escritoire on chest subject to much amendment over the centuries which trebled its top estimate at £4,800.

A mainly 19th century oak dresser with delft rack and a baby grand piano by C Bechstein both from the same Ilkley first floor flat found £2,600 each. A Victorian walnut davenport with rise-and-fall action, jammed in the “rise” position, found £1,800, and an interesting and small Edwardian painted open bookcase £1,400. A George III mahogany bureau-bookcase reached £1,600 and an unusual colonial camphor wood campaign chest from a small flat in Leeds £1,200. A set of eight early 20th century Georgian style mahogany chairs from a defunct Bradford boardroom realised £1,350 and a Coalbrookdale Fern and Blackberry pattern cast iron seat found £780, a mere shadow of figures appearing three or four years ago.

A couple of months ago our valuer visited a lady in the Aire Valley in a small semi, to be confronted with no less than 23 longcase clocks. Seven of her “least favourite” arrived for this event, her best effort being a thirty hour example by Thomas Lister, Halifax, which found £1,600. Other longcase clocks in the same section included an eight day clock by William Townly, Chepstow selling at £3,800 and another by Thomas Milner, London with lacquered chinoiserie case at £1,650.

The picture section immediately preceding the furniture did not quite possess the same panache at its disposal, both nevertheless produced some excellent prices. The top price of the sale was in fact in this area and related to an oil painting of a rich winter landscape by James McIntosh Patrick which doubled its upper estimate to sell at £12,000. A view of Dean Farm, Nesfield, Nr Ilkley by Herbert Royle reached £4,000, and a dockyard scene by Richard Eurich £5,600.

Amongst the watercolours, an abstract by Richard Gear responded well to telephone bidding to find £1,600 and a watercolour by T B Hardy sold after the sale at £1,300.

The first day’s sessions included all the smaller items, starting with pottery and porcelain. The best price in the ceramics section was strikingly illustrated on the front of the catalogue, a 14” Burleigh ware charger, decorated by Charlotte Rhead which sold for £3,100. Elsewhere in this section, Royal Worcester continued to perform well with a pair of plates painted with fruit by Lockyer which reached £1,350 and a pair of twin branch figural candlesticks £1,100. A pair of 7 ½” majolica candlesticks found £780 and a 13 ½” Burmantofts faience “Viking” vase sold for £980.

The best find in the metalware section, which turned up in filthy condition in a cartoned lot for a general sale was a glorious Chinese globular cloisonné ginger jar and cover decorated with dragon and a bird which scrubbed up well at £1,050.

Two Oriental carpets from a deceased estate across the A1 comprised a Persian example 14ft by 17ft selling for £1,050 and a Kerman 18ft by 13ft sold to London at £1,300.

The silver section was smaller than usual, but once again efficient. Two small Edwardian pin cushions modelled as a parrot and a shoe sold together at £480, and a Georgian brandy pan of 1815 weighing 10ozs reached £600.

A single owner section of 54 gold coins at the end of this part of the sale produced some interesting results with 42 lots finding buyers. The range of the collection spanned 1800 years, the oldest being a Roman gold Aureus of Hadrian which found £1,050. A Robert III gold lion reached £950 and a Charles II gold guinea £1,250. Perhaps the most interesting was a gold coin bearing the head of Magnus Maximus. This Roman was a general in Gaul who was proclaimed emperor of Britain, Gaul, Spain and Africa, by his army in 383 A.D. Rome naturally reacted sternly to this, and eventually defeated him in 388 A.D. resulting in his inevitable execution by the real emperor Theodosius. The coin, minted in Germany, sold for £1,200.

In Andrew Hartley’s June 16th and 17th Sale in Ilkley, Yorkshire, a total of £285,000 was produced from 1350 lots with 28% by lot bought in. The event almost felt like a catalogue of two sales, with the ceramics at one end being greeted with great enthusiasm and the furniture at the other reflecting the enormous difficulties being experienced by the trade in maintaining a respectable turnover.

The top price of the sale appeared in the ceramics, and arrived together with several other high quality items from a deceased estate in North Yorkshire. The item concerned was a superb Royal Worcester pot pourri vase in shape No.1428, 13 ½” high, dated 1911 and painted with sheep in a highland landscape by Harry Davis. The impeccable condition of this item helped to push the final price to a double lower estimate of £11,500.

From the same deceased estate as this major piece were several more of the extensive collection of Royal Worcester featured on this occasion.

For example, a stunning pair of fruit painted plates by R Sebright reached £1,350 and a similar singleton £700.

From elsewhere a wide variety of examples of this factory also sold well. A reticulated ewer probably by H Chair, only 6 ½” high shot up to a five times upper estimate of £3,400, a seven piece miniature tea set painted with fruit found £1,050, a 12” vase painted by H Davis with shepherd and sheep reached £2,800 and a series of four equestrian figures by Bernard Winskill of famous generals sold separately to the same bidder for a total of £5,800.

The Arts and Crafts area of ceramics produced two rare and thus difficult to value pieces. A Shelley 12” shop advertising figure of a lady sold for £1,750, and a 13” Burmantofts vase painted and incised with Viking long boats reached £1,400.

After the ceramics, the session calmed down considerably and the sight of perspiring staff with a phone in each hand was no longer quite in evidence. The best price within the metalware was a 32” bronze by Falconet sold in the room at £2,500.

That deceased estate popped up again in the silver section with the most spectacular lot both in appearance and price. It was a silver gilt racing trophy, 16 ¼” high, dated 1806, weighing 110ozs, which doubled its lower estimate to sell at £3,900. Somewhat more pocket sized was a William IV vinaigrette dated 1835, moulded with the “Abbotsford Garden Scene”, and in excellent condition both inside and out. This treated its bottom estimate in the same way to reach £1,550.

The jewellery was relatively hard work, perhaps because the trade would rather sell than buy at the moment, leaving the auctioneer more dependant on private buyers. Three items worthy of mention were a lady’s Cartier 18ct gold wristlet watch which found £1,800, a diamond cluster ring of 0.7cts selling at £850, and a late entry solitaire diamond ring far more quantity than quality at 2.38cts, which found £3,100.

The second day started with the picture sections and immediately a signed print “The Cart” by L S Lowry reached £560, and a delightful etching by Eileen Soper of two girls and a spaniel reached £600. the front cover of the catalogue sported a watercolour by J Z Troop which became the fifth best price of the sale with a study of girls and their mother with a swing which sold for £3,800. Three typical watercolours by Henry Sylvester Stannard sporting utterly English Cottages, River Scenes and Haymakers sold separately for a total of £3,450. A quirky watercolour of cats entitled “Simple Simon”, by Louis Wain went mid-estimate at £2,800.

Amongst the oil paintings an unsigned late 18th or 19th century Arcadian landscape with figures doubled its top estimate at £2,500, and an even wider discrepancy occurred with a pair of “shipping on the Thames” by Edwin Fletcher which were competed from many directions up to £2,400.

As usual the big guns in the picture sections were reserved for the Yorkshire Art, and once again Ilkley painter Herbert Royle was at the fore with the second and third best prices of the sale. A stunning tree felling scene at Denton Hall Woods, doubtless featuring employees from the firm of Arthur Green Ltd, reached £8,500 and a Scottish Scene entered by Royle’s erstwhile close friend and pupil Gordon Barlow rose to £4,800. The only difference between Royles and Royal Worcester is that there are not enough active buyers around for the former, so four other canvasses failed to sell.

Another competitor with Yorkshire art status is William Mellor and a typical view of Bolton Woods sold after the sale at £2,500. Another view geographically close but separated by years painted by his father Joseph Mellor reached £2,000.

So finally we came to the furniture with several notable local trade buyers not in evidence and a distinct lack of interest in mopping up the lower end “brown” pieces even at a fraction of lower estimate. The buy in rate for this area was exactly the average for the sale but it felt a lot worse, such is the historical expectation for this commodity. Nevertheless, as always, the items in demand were bid up with enthusiasm particularly by private buyers.

The best clock was a longcase by William Bird, Seagrove, with eight day movement and square brass dial which sold for £1,350, while a mahogany four glass wheel barometer by Amadie of London took £1,100.

The big prices in the furniture were almost exclusively directed at 19th century pieces. A walnut lowboy described as 19th century but judging by the interest devoted to it, could have had earlier antecedents sold for £1,450. A smart rosewood Wellington chest with secretaire drawer reached £1,900 and a stunning set of five large gilt metal five branch wall lights £2,000. A very pretty lady’s inlaid mahogany writing desk deserved its final bid of £1,750 and the last lot of the sale, a mahogany dining table extending to over 10ft sold on estimate at £3,000.

Outside this time zone were four other noteworthy pieces. A Georgian mahogany chest on chest reached £1,500. From the 20th century were a classical mahogany dining suite of pedestal table and eight chairs which defied the current trend by selling above estimate at £1,400 and two items of Robert Thompson “Mouseman” adzed oak furniture. The first was a bowed armchair which reached £925, and the second a 6ft dresser which having failed to sell in April, this time sailed past its reserve to sell at £2,800.

Mixed fortunes but with a good overall result was the scene at Andrew Hartley’s Spring Sale in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, on April 7th and 8th.

1270 lots produced £280,000 with only 21% by lot bought in, 40 lots produced prices in four figures and individually showed that demand is always there for the right pieces.

The sale started with the ceramics section which once again was dominated by Royal Worcester. The 3rd best price in the whole sale and top lot in ceramics was a pair of 14” vases decorated with highland cattle by John Stinton which doubled its bottom estimate at £6,000.

Somewhat more surprising was a majolica jardinière by T C Brown, Westhead Moore & Co, modelled as a hen and chicks by a tree stump, 17” wide, with some damage which still nearly made ten times its upper estimate at £4,800.

The glass section featured a selection of cameo glass from various well flagged workshops. A Galle 10” vase with river landscape reached £860, another with fruit £880, a Daum Nancy 4” vase with toadstools £1,750 and two D’Argenthal 8” vases with poppies £740 and £660.

The three items passing a selling price of four figures in the Works of Art section were as diverse as they possibly could be. A scrap of paper written and signed by Lord Nelson a few months after losing his arm in 1797, and thus executed with his left hand, asking for prayers to be said for his recovery (presumably to the local vicar for “next Sunday”) reached £1,450, and a Georgian sand picture of sheep in a landscape, dated 1784, more curio than art, reached £1,050. Most surprising, certainly to the auctioneers however were a set of ten golf balls, entitled Kempshall “Arlington”, by St Mungo, Scotland, in original box, in excellent condition which emerged from a pre-sale estimate of £50 - £80 to make £2,400.

The most striking item in the plate section which started the afternoon session was a 33 ½” “Milton Shield” by Elkington & Co Ltd. The item was accompanied by a letter to this vendor’s father from the makers dated 1950, describing it as being one of many copies of the solid silver original and of “no intrinsic value”. Written in the margin, perhaps by the owners wife was a note saying “valued at £2,000 at the Antiques Road Show”. In the event, the actual price paid was £560,

The watercolours were dominated by one success story, centred round two “Sketches for a Shield” by William Morris and Phillip Webb, mounted together and found by the vendor on a rubbish skip. Suitably authenticated, the cautious estimate was rapidly pulped with a final bid of £6,800.

The only items to compete with this price were the inevitable offerings of local painter Herbert Royle, one of which entitled “Manor Farm, Nesfield”, was bought by the local incumbent at £7,200, the best price in the sale, The other was a small but popular view of Burnsall, Upper Wharfedale which sold for £4,600.

Also from the Yorkshire offerings was an oil study of the artist’s daughter playing the piano by Ernest Higgins Rigg at £4,000 and a large view of Wensleydale by Reginald Brundrit which sold for £3,000.

Amongst the furniture, a small run of adzed oak by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson had a somewhat mixed reaction with a set of one elbow and four single chairs with lattice backs reaching £1,700, a 60” dresser finding £3,800, a 5ft refectory table £1,200, and a somewhat warped 7ft table with six single and two elbow lattice back chairs together reaching £3,000.

A series of oak Georgian dressers justified their place in the sale with a 44” wide enclosed base finding £1,250, another 60” example with delft rack £2,600, and an attractive but less functional open dresser base, 75 ½” wide £2,500.

A run of very crisp looking rosewood and inlaid pieces included a sofa table which reached £1,050, a fold-over 19th century card table 36” wide selling at £1,650, and a very neat work table with drop leaves £2,000. A mahogany spinning wheel somewhat incomplete but with good local provenance and maker John Planta of Fulneck, sold for £1,800, a very neat little Georgian mahogany kneehole desk with slide, 32 ½” wide deserved its price of £2,300 and a worthy George III mahogany bureau bookcase with split pediment sold slightly more at £2,300.

Tucked away at the end of this section was a 10" Burleighware pottery wall plaque decorated with a maiden in profile by Charlotte Rhead. The complete lack of any comparisons for this particular item resulted in a cautious pre-sale estimate of £250-£350. the sheer rarity of the plaque resulted in what the Charlotte Rhead Collectors Society assures the auctioneers is a world auction record sale price of £2,900.

The top piece in the glass section was a straightforward enough lot, a pair of Victorian glass lustres. These however ran to two tiers of prismatic drops, in all 16" high and deserved the final price of £880.

An extensive single owner collection of metal items designed by Archibald Knox and others for Liberty & Co started in the works of art section, and interest was well sustained throughout. A pair of Tudric pewter candlesticks 9" high reached £1,600, a pewter biscuit box £1,100 and a bombe shaped vase 7 ¾" high £800. Even unmarked items within the section fared well, such as an Arts & Crafts beaten copper mirror with turquoise enamel cabochons which exceeded expectations at £520.

One excellent result in this area related to a Faberge Lapis Lazuli model of a pig with diamond eyes, 1 ½" long, in original box which sold for a double upper estimate of £4,000.

A small section of weapons prominently starred a beautifully finished pair of French target pistols with percussion action complete with fully fitted and accessorised case, which sold after the sale at £4,000. Top of the textiles section was a gloriously fresh sampler by Mary Baildon, dated 1845, unframed and with the appearance of having spent most of its life safely folded at the back of the sock drawer. This sold easily at £1,000, while an 18th century woolwork picture of a shepherdess was close behind at £860.

The afternoon session started with an extended offering of silver and plate of 350 lots and while beefier figures appeared only briefly, the selling rate demonstrated a steady and useful demand in the commodity. One noteworthy silver piece was a sugar basket and shovel designed by Christopher Dresser, 9 1/2ozs dated London 1881 which sold at a mid estimate £2,400.

Amongst pre-Victorian pieces were a chamberstick dated 1836/7 selling for £625, a George III hot water pot of 1781 at £800, a tea tray of 1810 weighing 92ozs at £1,800 and a very eye catching egg cruet of 1821 weighing 52ozs, which sold for £1,450.

The composite photograph in the catalogue featuring jewellery was for once a clean sweep for sold lots, and the six items depicted represented over £24,000. It included two solitaire diamond rings, one of 3.8cts, the other 2.5cts, each finding £7,000, while a three stone diamond ring 3.10 cts realised £5,000 and a two stone diamond pendant of 1.5cts £2,500.

The second day commenced with the pictures and the local painters as usual took most of the best prices. Local favourite Herbert Royle fielded five examples, but only three found buyers, the top being a view of cattle resting near the Wharfe which reached £7,250. Two Scottish studies each realised £3,200. Two finely painted woodland and river studies by William Mellor, sold as a pair at £7,200. Also predictable was an oil landscape by David Cox senior which reached £2,500, and an ideal raw material for a Christmas card was a snow covered logging scene by Alexis de Leeuw, which sold for £1,500.

Clocks followed with echoes of the Art Nouveau of the previous day. Two pewter clocks by Liberty & Co each with enamelled dials sold for £3,600 and £2,900. A substantial bracket clock by Newington, Wadhurst, 28" high, sold for £1,900 and the best longcase was a 30 hour example by local maker E Sagar of Skipton selling at £1,700.

Finally, the furniture sections also featured an Art Nouveau piece, an excellent mahogany display cabinet with copper, pewter, mother of pearl and satinwood inlay attributed to Glasgow designer Wylie and Lockhead, which sold at a mid estimate £6,000. This was exceeded in this section only by a Bluthner baby grand piano just a few years old which rose to £6,200.

Another name of excellence in the Edwardian era was Edwards and Roberts and this firm was responsible for the production of a substantial and large roll top desk which reached £1,650. A more compact and well grained pollard oak cylinder top desk sold for £4,000. this perhaps demonstrates the short comings of the present market as this item sold three years ago in these rooms at £4,800.

In contrast a perfectly satisfactory George III mahogany chest on chest refused to produce a bid of any kind in June against an estimate of £3,000 - £4,000. This time with a lower estimate, a sale was produced at £3,400.

The only other designer/manufacturer to name is Robert Thompson, who some say is the Northern mid 20th century extension to the Arts and Crafts movement. He produced two items made in the 1960's with mouse trademark to sell satisfactorily, a dressing table at £2,400 and a wardrobe with stunning burr oak door panels at £3,100.

The main message however was that the furniture section returned as the major part of the sale, something which has been absent for nearly two years. Other commodities had their magical moments and the ceramics which started the event turned into a seriously grown up affair when it came to the Royal Worcester porcelain. This provided a selection of thirty one lots and under a lower estimate of £400 it was possible to buy quite reasonably. But when it came to the real investment pieces the story was quite different. Even lot one presented a challenge, a pair of bottle vases painted by E Barker which went two and a half times its lower estimate at £2,800. This was just the start of a collection bought in by a gentleman of advanced years just as the previous major auction was reaching its climax. It soon became apparent that he was about to provide a major lead for the next event.

In fact he produced the best price of the sale, the front catalogue cover picture and a pair of 7 ½" campana vases decorated with cattle by Harry Stinton sold for £8,600. The next lot was also his, a fine 11 ½" pot pourri also decorated with cattle by Harry Stinton which found £6,600. Next along from a Halifax vendor was a vase this time by Harry Davis with sheep on a Moorland, which reached £3,600.

This was not the only excitement amongst the ceramics. A 9" Italian maiolica wet drug jar catalogued as 18th century or earlier, but subsequently believed to be Castelli c.1560, and sporting considerable damage, achieved a ten times lower estimate of £5,200. A very small Martin Brothers stoneware bird jar dated 1902 and only 3 ½" high, achieved a satisfying £2,700.

Amongst the metalware, an 18th century pewter one pint tappit hen found £460 and a pewter quart measure by W Scott, Edinburgh rose to £1,000. The works of art section was dominated by a pair of celestial and terrestrial table globes 16 ½" wide by Thomas Malby dated 1850, they were in relatively indifferent condition but still nearly trebled their lower estimate at £7,000.

The silver and plate sections continued to bump along the bottom as per the last twenty years or so. However one or two pieces were noteworthy. A Victorian silver tea tray of 100 oz, with chinoiserie decoration found £1,200, a George I tankard of 8 3/4oz dated 1725 reached £420, and a pair of George IV tea caddies by Emes & Barnard, weight 21oz, sold after the sale at £2,800.

The jewellery was a little too dominated by trade entries but the buyers were able to shake out the pieces that needed to be bought. A Victorian diamond cluster ring found £1,200, as did a Victorian seed pearl necklace. A stunning seven string pearl choker with rough cut diamond clasp reached £2,000 and a diamond cluster ring of .75cts also found £2,000.

The picture section was once again over egged by trade entries and the turnout of buyers seemed also to be slightly down. This resulted for instance in only three of six examples of local painter Herbert Royle finding buyers, usually a copper bottomed commodity in these rooms. The best of these, a view of Bolton Priory from the River Wharfe deserved its price of £7,750. Another view of Pembrokeshire found £3,000 and an Ilkley farmyard scene sold after the sale at £2,800. A lesser targeted local man Joseph Mellor produced another oil "Berry Picking" at £1,200.

Elsewhere however, a major amount of interest resulted in a five times lower estimate price of £4,000 for a pair of oil landscapes by Walter Williams, a view of a fishing boat entering the harbour at St Andrews found £1,500 while two local watercolours which sold well were a view of Ripon Cathedral by H Max Crouse at £1,100 and Shipping in the Bacino, Venice by Frank Henry Mason £980.

An so onto the clocks and furniture where only eleven lots out of 193 failed to find a buyer (a buy-in rate of 5 ½ %). This was not a section dominated by deceased estates with no reserve prices, indeed the usual number of reserves prevailed. Nevertheless interest mainly from the trade resulted in a total of £100,000 or 40% of the sale, a situation which has not occurred for nearly two years.

Just two longcase clocks reached four figures , an eight day clock by Robertson, Perth with spherical moonphase at £1,800 and another unnamed eight day with painted dial at £1,450.

The best price amongst the chairs was earned for a Victorian five piece inlaid salon suite which reached £1,000.

The carcase furniture again produced an untypical overall result as for once, Victorian items failed to dominate the major prices. True enough there was a walnut loo table, here at £1,100, and a mahogany mirror backed sideboard there at £1,700. But Georgian and earlier items produced the major surprises.

The biggest shock was a walnut bureau with obviously 20th century top and fall front. It turned out however that the remainder was original, and as it was within a satisfyingly narrow width of 27" produced an excellent six and a half times upper estimate of £6,600.

Not far behind was the last lot in the sale, an early 18th century cabinet on chest with well fitted interior. Originally a bureau a abbatant, the drop down door had been converted into too side openers, and the final price this time was £5,000.

Georgian items also included a serpentine mahogany sideboard selling at £2,500, a mahogany bureau-bookcase at £1,400, a mahogany clothes press also at £1,400, and an open oak dresser with delft rack at £1,950.

The 20th century produced some creditable results not least being an Edwardian marquetry inlaid display cabinet on serpentine base, selling at £3,200. The lower display area included an Art Deco corner, notably featuring a worthy nine piece dining suite of table, six chairs, sideboard, and cutlery table, originally from Halifax which reached £3,000. Most distinctive however was a superb demi lune burr walnut cocktail cabinet with fitted interior including glassware which deserved its final bid of £2,800.

The final collective sale of 2003 at Andrew Hartley Fine Arts, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, produced a creditable total of £320,000 for a varied selection of 1385 lots on December 3rd and 4th. The buy-in rate of 23% per lot was somewhat inflated by a larger than normal trade entry of pictures and jewellery perhaps over-optimistically inspired by the season of the year. Nevertheless with fifty two prices into four figures (and ten of those at £4,000 or over), the money was certainly available for those items positively in demand.

The sale commenced with ceramics and glass with almost immediately the first surprise when a pair of Worcester saucers painted in the "Walk in the Garden" pattern went twelve times the upper estimate at £660.

More predictably a late 19th century Dresden dinner service of 54 pieces found £1,050, a 10" Royal Worcester vase painted with peacocks by W Jarman reached £850 and a pair of 9 ½" Royal Worcester figures £680. Far more difficult to value was a small collection of Crown Devon painted porcelain plaques in original oak frames by various painters. A single plaque reached £1,050 and a pair with highland cattle £850.

The top price in the metalware was £1,050 for a ten piece painted bronze pug band of uncertain age.

One pleasant surprise amongst a small textile section centred round a large 18th century silk and woolwork tapestry 72" x 66". There was much damage amongst the many birds and flowers in this lot but the eventual price nearly trebled its upper estimate at £1,400.

The silver and plate sections ran to nearly 300 lots with a buy-in rate of only 10% making it an easy run for the auctioneer. Best price was £1,000 for a pair of George III salvers of 1818, 33oz in weight. An Irish dish ring of 1899 decorated with stags and hounds sold after the sale at £900, and a large 1937 tea tray of 116ozs reached £940.

Jewellery comes very much into own at this time of year, both in terms of the sale entry and the eventual prices realised. The best price of the sale emerged in this area, when a solitaire diamond ring of around 5cts, only arriving at the saleroom the day before viewing started and so not mentioned in the catalogue reached £7,800. A 3 stone diamond ring of 2.4cts found £2,500, another of 3.6cts £3,000 and another of 4cts £3,800. A spectacular art deco white gold and diamond bracelet with a mixture of baguette and brilliant cut stones deserved its price of £6,000, and another solitaire ring this time of around 2.25cts found £2,200 after the sale.

The second day commenced with the print section which featured a collection of thirteen signed examples by David Shepherd, the top price being £680 for "Elephant Heaven". Two examples signed by L S Lowry reached £825 and £840.

Amongst the watercolours two lots of harbour scenes by Frank Wood both went way over estimate. A single item went for £1,200 and a pair £640, in each case purchased over the telephone by Glasgow trade. A garden scene by Joseph Kirkpatrick sold for £1,000 and a Yorkshire View by James Stephen Gresley £900. A watercolour by lugubrious but much marketed Yorkshire painter Ashley Jackson which could not raise a bid at £300 in October, this time sold briskly at £820.

Two Yorkshire artists dominated the oil paintings section. A typical wood scene on the River Wharfe by William Mellor sold predictably by £4,000. Four examples of Ilkley painter Herbert Royle took the main prizes, first with a view on Loch Torridon at £4,600, then an unusual oval village street scene £3,200, a splendid view of Beamsley Beacon from Addingham £6,800, and finally a view of Ross-Shire £4,000.

There was a good turnout of lots in the clock section including six longcases. By far the best however was the first in the section, a very handsome London clock by William Moore, an eight day with arched brass dial and provincial mahogany case. This went eventually to a private local collector at £7,000, the second best price of the sale. Another eight day longcase with square brass dial from a deceased estate in Lancashire reached £2,000.

The attractive and the curious produced the mainstream amongst the higher prices in the furniture sections. An excellent George III elm curved high back settle 68" wide seemed reasonable at £1,600, while a Victorian walnut canterbury with carved and pierced divisions sold for £1,500. A pretty walnut and inlaid bonheur du jour deserved its price of £2,000 while a massive Victorian carved oak sideboard by Christopher Pratt of Bradford, and thought to have been an exhibition piece, rose to £1,750 and a neat 19th century two stage mahogany bookcase found £1,350. Two extending mahogany dining tables sold well, a Victorian 10ft example with five lobed baluster legs selling at £2,800, and a Regency 12ft table with turned and reeded legs at £3,400.

Finally, a whole subsection of the furniture sale was devoted to 27 items of adzed oak pieces from the workshop of Robert Thompson of Kilburn, North Yorkshire, famous for its carved mouse trademark. Dominating this section was a collection made specially in 1932 for a convent retreat house in mid Wales. The collection included dining room furniture, (much of it with unusual scroll decoration to its corners) and bedroom furniture. Two 8ft refectory tables reached £5,400 and £3,200, two pairs of bench seats found £900 and £2,300, two massive six foot open bookcases with seat bases £1,750 each, a 7ft open dresser £4,600 and a 6ft 9ins serving table £1,350. Four two piece bedroom suites each comprising single wardrobe and narrow three drawer dressing chest reached between £1,600 and £1,900, while the four single bedsteads each rose to between £640 and £820. A double wardrobe from a different source made probably thirty years later, and with a recent repair to a corner of one door sold for £2,800

The sale commenced cautiously enough with ceramics and glass and strongly featured early on was a collection of Royal Worcester porcelain items. The top of this range was a pair of 12 ½” vases and covers painted by Harper and dated 1917 which trebled their lower presale estimate of £3,500. Another pair of 6” vases by Kitty Blake found £500 and a comport by H. Price £720.

A later Walter Moorcroft vase 16 1/2” high reached £780 and a 19th century potichomania glass vase and cover printed with chinoiserie sold well at £500.

The most striking items in the works of art and curios section were at two ends of the size spectrum. A Continental cold painted bronze 10 piece pug dog band, only 1 ¾” high reached £1,150 and a particularly lugubrious mounted moose head £320.

For the third sale running, a section of antique weapons has been offered and once again considerable interest from private collectors was in evidence. The greatest enthusiasm was directed at a Wesley Richards “Highest Possible” .22 air rifle selling at £530, A Remington .44 army revolver £1,000, a Colt .36 navy revolver £950, another Colt revolver complete with case and accessories £1,450 and an Enfield three band volunteer rifle £660.

On the Wednesday afternoon an extended section of plate, silver and jewellery was offered including quite a number of trade entries. The retail market, particularly for silver appears very sluggish at the moment and the sight of several rows of 20thc tea services might have daunted the faintest hearts. However, the combination of auctioneers optimism and sensible reserves ensured that 85% of the silver was sold. In particular a George IV 3 piece tea set of 43ozs found £800, A pair of Victorian wine coasters £625, A George II tumbler cup of 1729 £500, and a George III coffee pot of 24 ¾” also £500. One of the best prices for weight was a Georgian Scottish wine funnel of 3 ¼ ozs which reached £420.

Electro plate on the other hand suffered from the market forces and some 30% was bought in. However, a spectacular battle on the telephones resulted in a cocktail shaker modelled as a lighthouse achieving a quadruple bottom estimate of £1,250.

It was the big names in watches which took most of the money, the best being a Rolex Oyster 18ct gold gentleman’s watch selling at £3,700. A slightly older Rolex Oyster Prince watch £1,500 and a lady’s diamond set platinum cocktail watch £1,150.

Once again, much of the jewellery items seemed to escape the notice of the buyers but those that did sold well. A four stone diamond cluster ring, which is already understood to be half way to conversion into a pair of drop earrings, managed £2100, a pair of diamond cluster drop earrings £1,700 and a solitaire diamond ring of around 1.35 carats £2,800.

The second day stated with pictures, and in the print section the most sought after was a typical etching by William Lionel Wyllie showing a view of Tower Bridge, London. His sea battles and studies of dreadnoughts usually claim the most money, but this example still acquitted itself well at a sale price of £700. It was amongst the oil paintings that the best price of the sale occurred. A pair of oils by Eugenio Zampighi had been purchased by the vendor in the mid 1980’s for around £4,000, This instance it attracted a winning bid of £9400. Also in this section was a small oil painted view of Birk Crag, Harrogate by William Mellor selling at £2,200, and a larger much darker view of Bettys Y Coed £1,850.

One experiment new to the saleroom routine this time was a section on garden and architectural items saved up over four or five months and placed on the market to celebrate the onset of Spring. This turned out to be almost entirely successful, and for example, a pair of carved oak wall brackets with cherub heads catalogued as 19thc but presumably 200 years of so older, sold for a cracking £1,200. A bronze heliochronometer, early 20thc found £600, and a cast iron garden seat with winged dragon ends £800.

The clock section was extended to include mechanical music, the top of the range being a Polyphon coin operated disc musical box 48” high which sold for £2,700. Another musical box with 14 ½” cylinder and comb action reached £1,250.

Amongst the clocks one longcase example sold well. It was an 8 day example of William Dobbie Falkirk which found £1,300 . A large “Norfolk” or Parliament wall clock in mahogany case 56” high inscribed M. Clayton, Manchester sold at £1,200.

Furniture has received mixed reports this last 12 months or so and it is always a relief where what formerly was the mainstay of this day still now behaves satisfactorily in this area 87% of lots successfully sold with several notable prices.

The most interest prior to sale was aimed at a pair of 19thc rosewood Gothic style open bookcases originally from a local rectory, but actually removed for sale from the diocesan offices. Two others, or the equivalent in a pile of wood had gone through the salerooms ten or twelve years earlier. On this occasion, in spite of much work still needed to restore them to full strength, the two produced a price of £4,000. Also from the same source was the last lot in the sale, a mainly 17c oak refectory style table 78” long which sold for £4,800, and a Victorian oak partners desk at £1,100.

Other Victorian items included a set of 9 Lancashire spindle back chairs at £1,650, an ecclesiastical looking two stall carved oak hall seat at £1,200, a delightful inlaid mahogany heart shaped specimen table £1,450, a mahogany secretaire cabinet at £1250, and a very striking walnut mirror backed side cabinet £2,000. Two excellent early Georgian items were a Yorkshire oak enclosed rocking chair which found £2,300 and a similar lambing chair £1,300.

Finally, from three different vendors, a selection of items both large and small was offered from the Yorkshire workshop of Robert “Mouseman” Thompson. As usual the phones were busy including the inevitable line to New York. The items included a tallboy at £3,400, a chest of two short and three long drawers at £1,950 and a small blanket chest £1,250. Amongst the smaller items a pair of light brackets ornately carved with oak leaves and, of course, the mouse found £520 and, quite perversely the next lot, a pair of very plain brackets shot up to £620.

The best price in the sale came as no real surprise, as its photograph graced the front cover of the catalogue. A rare Art Deco bronze and ivory figure by D H Chiparus “Dancer of the Kapurthala”, 22 ¼” high, which had lived in the vendor’s family for over 30 years, sold to North West dealer Andrew Firth against furious competition for an above estimate £18,000.

The first day started with the pottery and porcelain and lot 1 set the tone of the day when a Coalport vase, 6 ¾” high, reached £1,050. Shortly after, a Royal Worcester vase decorated by H Stinton found £1,000. The best price in the glass was £450, over double lower estimate for a green glass table lamp by John Ditchfield. A big and heavy Art Deco table lamp in bronzed metal and satin glass sold for £620.

Several Japanese ivory pieces attracted attention when an ivory and rootwood group of pheasants found £680, a seated male entertainer figure £540, and a carved okimono of a farmer and his companion £700.

Once again, this saleroom was able to field a respectable weapons section, this time based on the collection of a deceased gentleman, all for sale without reserve and consequently with highly realistic estimates. The best weapons prices were £1,400 for a smart flintlock blunderbuss by Rigby, Dublin, and £1,100 for a stylish five shot percussion revolver by Adams in a case with sundry equipment. Other prices included £540 for a pair of percussion pistols inscribed “A Rouge”, £400 for a six shot pepperbox revolver, £440 for a small pistol with side-by-side barrels, £900 for a flintlock pistol with cannon barrel, and £360 for a German Luftwaffe officer’s dagger.

A brief book section included six volumes including Reports in the Court of King’s Bench, 1685, selling for £520. Top of the range in the plate section was a bold epergne in the form of a glass bowl supported by a palm tree shading a pair of greyhounds, selling at £440.

The extensive silver section running to 200 lots was led by a George III oval tea caddy, dated London 1873, of 12 ½ozs, which found £1,800. A silver mounted ivory tea caddy dated 1919 reached £640, and a 45oz desk stand £625. A brief coin section included an Edward III gold ¼ noble at £340.

The jewellery was the normal smaller size for this time of year but still boasted several diamond set items. A pair of sapphire and diamond drop earrings found £2,100, a 1.1ct solitaire ring £1,500, a three stone (1.5ct) ring £1,900, and a diamond cluster ring £1,500.

The second day was devoted to pictures and furniture, and was very much a session of two halves. While nearly all the furniture shot away like a rocket, the pictures had only a few items of any note, the remainder being either low priced private clearance goods, or overpriced trade items. In between, a printed map of the West Riding of Yorkshire by John Speede sold superbly at £520, a watercolour loosely ascribed to Louis Wain £675, and a typical study by William Kay Blacklock of an old lady reading by a window, pulled from a box of bits in a general sale, £800. A view of Aberdeen by Sam Bough entered by a local gentleman attracted a whole battery of Caledonian telephone bids to reach £1,500, and a large study of a girl seated in an exterior by C S Lidderdale sold at the second attempt at £1,400.

Amongst the oil paintings, a cottage interior by Joseph Moseley Barber found £1,100, and a work signed Swanzy entitled “Cubist Coastal Houses” nearly quadrupled its bottom estimate at £2,900. When the Yorkshire oils briefly appeared, one private purchaser walked away with three typical riverscapes by William Mellor at £3,600, £3,000 and £3,200 respectively.

The clock section included two oak longcases of note, a 30 hour by Hart of Uttoxeter with painted dial at £975, and an eight day by Stanyer, Nantwich at £1,050.

The main furniture section sold better than any similar sale for the last 18 months, and of 160 lots only ten remain unsold. Georgian and earlier provincial oak pieces are very much sought for and tend to hit the headlines. Only a few slotted in this category this time including a dresser base with three large drawers and turned legs, 84” wide, selling at £2,800, an oak press cupboard removed from a local parish church £1,200, and a somewhat Victorianised Georgian single wardrobe £1,150. Early mahogany pieces included a delightful inlaid toilet mirror which nearly quadrupled its upper estimate at £1,100, a William IV rosewood pier cabinet, 60” wide with open front and marble top £1,600, a very glitzy secretaire bookcase £2,200, and a mature bow fronted sideboard with part of its brass rail back in place £2,400.

It was, however, the Victorian pieces which excelled themselves to produce such a consistently successful result. The first of four yew wood Windsor chairs sold astonishingly at £1,600, while the other three similar chairs sold for a total of less than this figure. A walnut and gilt metal mounted bureau plat of uncertain age rose to £1,250, a pair of relatively plain fold over tea tables produced a premium because they were a pair at £3,200, and a large Edwardian bow fronted mahogany sideboard £1,150.

A consignment of large Victorian pieces from an isolated property outside Settle, North Yorkshire, included a large three piece mahogany bedroom suite at £2,600, a very heavy mahogany bureau-cabinet at £1,800, and a huge mahogany mirror backed side cabinet with decorated frame and mirror panelled base, selling at £3,900.

The top price in this area, and second best of the sale, went to a pair of walnut and gilt metal mounted open bookcases, simply designed but of obvious quality which had been removed from a tiny cottage in Haworth. Sustained bidding throughout the room and across the telephones produced a triple estimate price of £6,200.