Hectic viewing preceded The Cotswold Auction Company’s August sale at Cheltenham. A buoyant collectors sale featuring  Militaria showcased expert Henry Meadows’ first specialist auction and surpassed expectations. Overwhelming interest was shown across the board , but luckily once all telephone lines were booked absent buyers were able to bid online, competing with USA and European bidders.

 

Books realized the  top price when £1850 was paid for the first edition of Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Published in the 1950s, it comprised the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers and the Return of the King, and far exceeded its presale estimate of £500-800, eventually selling to a telephone bidder. Jenny Low, books cataloguer, was delighted with the result. She commented “ First editions of Tolkein’s great work are scarce and hugely desirable as has been proved despite the general condition of the three books.’

 

Modern first editions were the flavor of the sale – a signed Graham Greene ‘In Search of Character’, dedicated to Philip Caraman, a friend and compatriot of Greene, with a book by Caraman realized £400 and 18 volumes including several Graham Greene first editions went to the same buyer for £460. J.K. Rowling’s ‘The Tales of Beadle the Bard’

with a signed book plate paste on the inside front cover sold for £150. ‘King John was not a good man’ is one of the more memorable first lines of any verse and a good copy of ‘Now We are Six’ by A.A. Milne was knocked down at £220 which would have pleased the King!

 

Fine bindings add importance to any room and a superb set of 17 volumes of Charles Dickens works bound in half calf, with marbled boards, gilt titles and raised bands realized  £380, while two volumes of Thomas Hood’s work, illustrated by Birkett Foster,

in full blue leather with gilt titles sold for £180. Two fascinating bindings made by a Miss Philpott of Cambridge with front board panel illustrations by Mrs A. L. Norgate, recalled the old Folio Society advertisment ‘Have you ever wanted to stroke a book?’ These were full leather with wonderful gilt decorations and pictorial front panels. These left the room at a handsome £280.

Transport, featuring a large collection of Railwayana from a local probate was topped  by a mixed lot including a cast iron Railway number plate, a Bristol VR, an Eastern Coachworks Ltd sign and similar signs, which steamed away at £700 against a modest £60-90 estimate.

“Elementary Watson, elementary”

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce also seemed to be the flavour of the day when a signed portrait photograph of the pair fetched £540. The duo starred in some of the 1950s movie greats, notably the Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman and the Pearl of Death. This lot attracted global interest and sold after a battle between the internet and a telephone bidder.

 

A long way from home a rather curious piece was consigned to the sale from a Cotswold residence. The Egyptian bronze of Osiris  dates from the 18^th dynasty, circa 1800BC and was sold with a receipt from Cairo dated 1947. An unusual  piece to estimate, however the market decided and it was speedily knocked down to a telephone bidder for £850.

Marshalled by new recruit ,Henry Meadows the Medals and Militaria section totalled an impressive two hundred lots. Henry, a specialist in this area, is new to the company and built this section up using his expertise. After painstaking research  Henry was able to ensure that the lots maximized their true market value. The medals included a group of six to Able Seaman W.E. Price, who was awarded the Order of St George for Bravery, 3^rd Class, most probably for his service during the Battle of Jutland in 1916. This sold for £650 against a presale estimate of £200-300.

 

Another poignant group which fetched a good price was a casualty group of three to Private W.J. Ody who was killed during the Battle of the Bagh, Afghanistan on 11^th May 1919. This lot had a large quantity of original paperwork and personal effects, many of which were sent home to his parents from Afghanistan, this prized background detail adding an extra dimension for collectors. The hammer price for this lot was £500 and again demonstrates the current strong enthusiasm for medal collecting (particularly when supported by original paperwork)

 

A Queens South Africa medal with single clasp for Rhodesia with Great War service medals,1914 -15 star, Victory medal, awarded to Capt CE Norgate realised £900 after fierce bidding. This combination is  relatively scarce, a fact  recognized by many collectors, taking it way over estimate. It was unusually returned to the area of combat when it finally sold to a South African collector ! An East India Company percussion pistol from the nineteenth century came under the hammer at £380, while a Chinese single-edged sword sold for £240 , the scabbard inlaid with semi-precious stones.

 

A fine Victorian Albert-pattern helmet of the West Yorkshire Yeomanry consigned to the sale by a collector bore a presale estimate of £600-800 but after competitive bidding was knocked down at £1450. These striking helmets are few and far between and create much interest when they are put up for auction.

 

Directors Lindsey Braune and Elizabeth Poole were delighted with Henry’s first specialist Medals and Militaria auction for the Company and with the hammer total for this section alone, which topped £20,000. “This is an excellent illustration of the great benefit in appointing a new specialist to the team ! Henry’s keen enthusiasm for military collectables has attracted new buyers and sellers alike. Vendors can be confident that their  collections will be expertly catalogued and sold for the optimum open market value.”

 

The next Books and Collectables sale including Medals and Militaria will take place on 27^th October. For more information or a free valuation on potential items for the auction please contact Jenny Low or Henry Meadows  on 01242 256363, 01285 642420 or 01452 521177 …..or via the website www.cotswoldauction.co.uk.

For more information or a free valuation on potential items for the auction please contact Jenny Low or Henry Meadows  on 01242 256363, 01285 642420 or 01452 521177 …..or via the website www.cotswoldauction.co.uk .