Graham Budd

Graham Budd Auctions is under new ownership, with its founder becoming chairman.

Arsenal FC’s familiar red jersey with white arms is instantly recognisable to football fans worldwide now. However, a pair of shirts sold at the Graham Budd (20.5% buyer’s premium) December 1-2 auction in London show an earlier look.

The highlight of an impressive range of football memorabilia offered by specialist Graham Budd (20.5% buyer’s premium) was the earliest Manchester United medal sold at auction.

Gold medal won at Wimbledon in 1936 by British tennis great is purchased by the Lawn Tennis Museum at the All England Lawn Tennis Club

As with so many other sales schedules for the summer, Graham Budd’s June two-day auction had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown. However, he has just announced that he will be holding his next on November 9-10 as a live ‘broadcast’ auction (all forms of bidding except for in the room, viewing by timed appointment at the firm’s Enfield premises).

The whistle that blew after just a minute of play to signal the first penalty kick ever awarded in a World Cup Final has sold for £4200 at a London auction.

The earliest days of Tottenham Hotspur FC are revealed in a remarkable hand-written ledger coming up at auction in a November 4-5 London sale.

The London firm founded by Frederick Henry Ayres in the mid 19th century is best known for its for high-quality rocking horses but Ayres also produced a wide range of equipment for indoor and outdoor games and sport.

Many talented footballers had their careers interrupted or even curtailed by the world wars. Although Allenby Chilton is not exactly a household name, not many players featured in both a Manchester United title-winning side and the D-Day Normandy landings.

This silver tennis bangle, below, triggered a classic singles match at auction.

Searching online for the term ‘skirt lifter’ is probably unwise in the public domain, but an intriguing item sold at Graham Budd’s latest auction shows it is a popular collecting field.