Something for everyone in the September Auction

With several specialist catalogue sub-sections (books, rock  music, natural history/taxidermy and an extensive private collection of etchings) in addition to  our  usual jewellery, silver, ceramics, fine art and furniture lots, our September sale took place over two days rather than one. With such a wide range of lots, there really was something for everyone, and it was no surprise that bidding was consistent both online and in the room. There were, however, some notable performers in each of the specialist sections. In the book section these were a collection of books by Virginia Woolf which included a first edition of her famous novel ‘To the Lighthouse’, and an illustrated folio by Samuel Atkin dating to 1900 entitled ‘Amongst the Alps’. A selection of 1960’s electric guitars by Fender and Gibson topped the music section, with most of them selling to online bidders, and it was the rare and exotic that attracted the hardest bidding in the natural history section, with a full-sized 1.5m python, a full mount black bear, a 19^th century full mount crocodile, a fully documented late 19^th/early 20^th century narwhal tusk and a rare Bronze Age human skull from a Victorian collection all exceeding their estimates.  And finally, a copper engraving by Eric Gill and a 1975 abstract watercolour by William Scott both fared exceptionally well in the fine art section, proving that the market for good 20^th century artists remains strong.