South-east England

An 18th century gold-coloured pocket watch is among the lots expected to lead one collection in The Canterbury Auction Galleries’ upcoming auction.

The Bodleian Library in Oxford has bought the historic customer ledgers of venerable Oxford shoemaker Ducker & Son.

Works from the studio of sculptors Franta Belsky and Irena Sedlecka are coming to auction at Mallams in Oxford.

There was some good old fashioned saleroom drama at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions in Newbury yesterday when a moai kavakava style figure, estimated to bring just £400-600, sold at £95,000. The buyer in Berkshire was from Australia.

Joe Trinder is leaving Wotton Auction Rooms, were he is auctioneer, valuer and cataloguer, to join start-up saleroom Dawson’s.

The tragic story of the last of the imperial Russian family does not have an immediately obvious connection with a Yorkshire spa town but it is nonetheless a strong one.

Some collectors go for military medals. Some prefer civilian awards. An honour coming up at auction on February 22 is a fascinating example of a medal awarded to both military and civilians.

Petworth dealer Tony Wilkinson is calling on the trade to help him track down a pair of stolen Regency lustres.

It was the end of an era in Oxford when Ducker & Son, the bespoke shoemaker and home of the Oxford brogue, sadly closed down last November. The venerable 6 Turl Street store had traded in the centre of the city since 1898.

Police are appealing to the antiques trade to look out for a rose gold Victorian ring that was among a collection of jewellery stolen from a home in Godalming, Surrey.

Oxford’s sole antiques centre is hoping for a buyer to save it from closure in March.

A woman from the village of Hindhead in Surrey made a spectacular return on a £2 charity shop purchase when her small Chinese censer was knocked down at auction for £21,000.

A celebrity endorsement by actor Richard E Grant gave Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Park a boost in the run up to Christmas.

Julian Dawson is retiring from Gorringe's and held his last auction yesterday at the Lewes auction firm.

Pete Waterman, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey and Peter Snow all do it. Frank Sinatra and Peter Sellers did it. Rod Stewart apparently hires extra hotel rooms on tour to indulge in it. ‘It’ being the innocent and highly popular pastime of model railways.

Uniforms can be a hard sell at militaria auctions. Medals for example are nice and easy to display, while guns can sit high on the wall or in a cabinet, but what do you do with a full set of battledress unless you happen to be a re-enactor or happen to live in a mansion with lots of room for mannequins?