Collecting Beswick Pottery 1892-2002
James Wright Beswick founded his pottery business "J. W. Beswick" , in Longton, Stoke-on Trent, England in 1892. His sons John and Gilbert along with John's son, John Ewart all played a part in the factories tremendous success. Initially producing tableware and ornaments and after the 1914-1918 war they started to branch out producing more fancy wares for the home and abroad.
1921 saw the death of J. W. Beswick and later in 1936 his son also died. In that year the company was made a limited company called John Beswick Ltd. with John Ewart Beswick as Managing Director and Gibert Beswick his Sales Director introducing new pieces to the range. The 1930s ( Art Deco) period the factory became noted for it's animal modelling in producing the finest of animal figures, notably well known racehorses and champion dogs.
The studio also produced whimsical figures in human poses and expressions. Arthur Gredington was appointed modeller for animals of all kinds taking the credit for the superb work produced for his accurate and realistic animals. James Hayward also contributed to the high quality pieces as Decorating Manager from 1934 to Art Director from 1957, designing almost 3000 decorations, patterns and glazes. 
Albert Hallam also contributed with his talented skills when he joined Beswick at the age of 14 as apprentice mould maker eventually becoming head of mould making and modeller, creating butterflies, horses, dogs and cats modelled after Arthur Gredington's retirement including the Norwegian Fjord Horse, A very sort after piece today by collectors.
In 1948 the company began producing characters from the Beatrix Potter story books. It was John Beswick who first received the rights to reproduce the characters and 1997 marked the 50th year that Beswick and Royal Doulton had been producing Beatrix Potter figures. The initial range produced in 1948 consisted of 10 figures.
The first one created by chief modeller Arthur Gredington was Jemima Puddle-Duck, which was released along with 9 other characters, including the very popular Peter Rabbit These were an immediate success and with this in mind more animated characters were made including Zimmy the Lion created by David Hand who worked on several Disney features such as Snow White and Bambi. In 1952 Beswick began it's Disney range with Mickey Mouse and later in 1968 produced a series of Winnie the Pooh figures. These figures are very sort after today. 
In 1969 Beswick was sold to Royal Doulton animals continuing produce new models but reducing the numbers of colours and withdrawing many pieces. In 1989 the decision was made for all Beswick to be produced under the Royal Doulton backstamp, all the animals produced were issued with a DA backstamp, withdrawing grey and Palomino matt's from the horses colourways and only continued to be available in gloss.
At the end of 2002 royal Doulton ceased the manufacture of all Beswick products which put an end to an era for Staffordshire and the pottery industry. A year later the original Gold Street works were sold off to property developers finalising this great name in pottery history.
In recent years a Yorkshire business man named John Sinclair purchased the Beswick brand including production moulds and archive material from Royal Doulton. Two collections will be launched, "Beswick England"a prestigious range which will include limited editions made in Stoke-on Trent and "John Beswick" featuring animals in the style of the originals, which will be manufactured overseas.
With thanks to: http://www.aw-antiques-collectibles.co.uk/
The following are Beswick lots coming up for auction this week, just click on the image for more info 
Art hidden in bank vault for 70 years to go under the hammer for £17m at UK Auction
detail from André Derain's Arbres á Collioure
Paintings once belonging to Ambroise Vollard, one of the 20th century's most important art dealers depicted by Picasso and Renoir, go under the hammer this summer after being deposited in a bank vault 70 years ago. The 141 paintings, including works by Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso and Andre Derain, will finally be sold later in the summer following a dispute over ownership lasting a quarter of a century. They will go under the hammer at Sotheby's in London and Paris in June with a guide price totalling more than £16million. Sotheby The works will be auctioned by Sotheby's, with the highlight, a landscape by Andre Derain valued at £9 to £14million, being sold in London on June 22. The remaining 140 items will be sold in Paris. Helena Newman, a Sotheby’s vice chairman, said it was 'unbelievably exciting' when she was invited to see the haul a few weeks ago. 'It gives an amazing insight into Vollard the dealer and the artists he handled. It’s like a glimpse into a time capsule, almost as if you were able to walk into his legendary gallery in Paris and be offered what he had in stock.' The treasure trove was stored in a Parisian bank in 1939 shortly after Vollard's death and was part of a collection of drawings and paintings first offered for sale in 1981 by Societe Generale in order to recoup 40 years of unpaid storage fees. But the sale was cancelled when the heirs of Vollard and Erich Slomovic, the young gallery assistant who worked for the art dealer and deposited the works at the bank, challenged it in court claiming the proceeds of the auction should go to them. Slomovic, a Croatian Jew, had amassed his own collection of works by leading lights of French art and managed to get hundreds of them out of France to Yugoslavia during the war, according to specialist art journals. But he was eventually detained by the Nazis and is presumed to have died at or on his way to a concentration camp. Many of the works Slomovic took to Yugoslavia ended up in the National Museum of Belgrade, and accounts differ as to whether they were donated or seized. Ambroise Vollard Auction: Paintings that once belonged to art dealer Ambroise Vollard (pictured) will be sold this summer - 70 years after they were put in a bank vault The dispute over ownership of the treasure trove hidden in the Parisian bank was exacerbated by the fact that both Slomovic and Vollard died at around the same time - Vollard was killed in a car accident in 1939 and had no direct heirs. Sotheby's gave few details of the nature of the legal tussle, but said in a statement: 'Those challenges now finally resolved, the works will now be sold by agreement among the legal beneficiaries of the Vollard Estate.' The Derain picture was painted in 1905 in the south of France when the artist spent the summer working together with Matisse. He was among a group of artists dubbed 'les fauves' (wild beasts) for the bold colours they used. Sotherby's Helena Newman said: 'We are very excited to be offering the wonderful landscape by Derain in London in June. 'Its strong, fauve colours and powerful composition, combined with its extraordinary provenance, will be extremely appealing to today's international buyers.' The auctioneer will be hoping that the combination of the painting's appeal, its long disappearance and the dramatic story behind its survival will drive prices higher in the sale room. Art prices, particularly for rare works, have recovered strongly from the sharp falls during the worst of the financial crisis, and records are tumbling once again. Among the other lots on offer in Paris will be a Cezanne portrait of the author Emile Zola, a Picasso etching and a monotype by Edgar Degas. Vollard helped to build the reputations of artists including Van Gogh, Gauguin, Maillol, Van Dongen and Matisse by staging one-man shows dedicated to them. His status as one of the great art dealers of the last century was underlined by the exhibition Cezanne To Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron Of The Avant-Garde held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2006. UK auction Sotheby's plans to exhibit the Derain in New York, Moscow and Hong Kong before showing it, along with the rest of the Vollard works, in London between 16 and 22 June 2010. source: Daily Mail
Norah Wellings Dolls
By Christopher Proudlove It's all a bit chaotic chez nous just now: the electricians are due tomorrow, followed by the decorator, followed by the carpet layer and hopefully followed by the man who is going to build me a new office. Fingers and toes are crossed. The Business Manager (Mrs P) has seized the opportunity for a clear-out. It is also proving to be an opportunity to remind each of us of all the knickknacks, bric-a-brac and assorted junk that we have accumulated over the years since we moved here. Strangely, it appears to be my things alone that are earmarked for being jettisoned. Among her treasures rescued from oblivion are three tiny felt dolls dressed respectively in the uniforms of the army, navy and air force. Smaller than a peg doll and obviously home-made, they really are quite charming. I'm secretly pleased that she's decided to keep them.
Norah Wellings Jolly Boy Sailor
Between you and me I thought I might try to buy her a full size felt doll like the sailor toy illustrated here. He dates from around 1935 and he was made by Norah Wellings who, I hadn't realised until now, had her own manufacturing business in Shropshire. Fabric dolls have been around for centuries. They probably started life as home-made playthings for poor parents to give their children when they could afford nothing better, unless of course you count the very small number of ancient examples that have been found alongside mummified remains in Egyptian tombs. Manufacture on a commercial basis started in the 19th century when people like Margarete Steiff (better known for her teddy bears); the other famous German maker Kathe (subs: a umlaut) Kruse and the Italian company Lenci. owned by Enrico Scavini, flooded the worldwide market. Britain was slower to adopt the felt doll, but in the 1920s the toy company Chad Valley emerged as a major producer. The business was founded in 1823 when Anthony Bunn Johnson opened a printing and binding business in Birmingham. It moved to Harbourne on the outskirts of the city in 1897 on a site adjacent to the River Chad and in 1919, the name Chad Valley was registered as a trademark for the toys, made by the business now run by Johnson's sons. 
Three years earlier, in 1916, the Johnson brothers had acquired the former Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Wellington, Shropshire, and founded the Wrekin Toy Factory. In 1922, Chad Valley, by now a well known toy producer, moved into the premises in order to expand its range to include fabric dolls and teddy bears. The Chad Valley Wrekin Toy Works took their subjects from cartoons and films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bonzo and the dolls made by Mabel Lucie Attwell. Dolls of the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose, dressed in the Queen Mother's favourite colours of pale pink, blue and yellow were a particularly favourite line in the 1930s. They were notable for their inset glass eyes, a process which Chad Valley had patented in 1925. Norah Wellings left school at 14 to care for her invalid father but took a correspondence course with the London School of Art studying drawing, painting and sculpture. Following her father’s death in 1919, she joined the staff of the Wrekin Toy Works, aged 26, rising through the ranks to become chief designer of their cloth doll range. Why she left is not clear, but in 1926 she decided to set up her own, founding the Victoria Toy Works, also in Wellington, in a building owned by her brother, Leonard, who was a plasterer. He looked after the administrative and commercial side of the business, while Norah designed all the soft toys and dolls herself, which were made by a workforce of six seamstresses. 
She attended her first British Industry Toy Fair the following year, whereafter the business blossomed. Needing larger premises, in 1929 the business was relocated to a redundant Baptist Chapel in King Street and at its peak, it employed around 250 workers. Norah was an innovative manufacturer. In 1926, she had obtained patents for a fabric or felt head back with buckram and lining on the inner surface with a coating of plastic. The head was finished with the waterproof coating, rendering the doll suitable for washing. The faces of her dolls have a charming, impish look, full of mischief, yet demure and angelic. They have either painted or inserted glass eyes and, oddly, somewhat pronounced years which were applied separately. Interestingly, the so-called "Jolly Boy Sailor" doll which caught my eye was a particularly popular line in the gift shops on the Atlantic ocean liners which stocked many of Norah's products. The sailors' caps carried the names of each particular ship on their cap bands, making them ideal mementos and holiday souvenirs. A large number of dolls depicting children from different lands included Maori Boy, South Sea Islander, Cowboy, Mountie, and Chinese Girl. Sizes vary from 8 to 30 inches (20-75 cm). Each bears printed fabric labels either on the wrist or, more usually, on the soles of the dolls' feet. A huge 70 per cent of her output was exported overseas. Leonard Wellings died in 1959 at the age of 67, prompting Norah to retire that same year. The workforce was given two weeks' notice and production at the factory ceased. She died in 1975 at the age of 82. For more, the definitive book on the subject is Norah Wellings: Cloth Dolls and Soft Toys by Gillian Trotter, which is available on Amazon. Check our auctions for Norah Wellings dolls www.ukauctioneers.com 
Norah Wellings in her studio
Collecting Carlton Ware
This earthenware and pottery Company was established in Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire, England in 1890. The company was formed by James Frederick Wiltshaw and W.H and J.A Robinson and called the Carlton Works. In 1894 they created a trade mark which was a circular mark with a crown on the top carring their intials W&R. Wrapped around were the words Stoke on Trent and Carlton Ware below, with a swallow flying in the centre. In 1911 the Robinsons left the partnership and so James Wiltshaw became the sole proprietor. The company was renamed Wiltshaw and Robinson Ltd. The company revived and took on a new designer, Horace Wain who introduced new shapes, designs etc.. In 1911 James Wiltshaw was involved in an accident and was killed on a railway station at Stoke-on Trent.. It was then that the son of James Wiltshaw (Frederick Cuthbert Wiltshaw) took over the company. In 1930 it bought out a firm called Birks,Rawlins and Co. This was to enable them to expand their Carlton china production. In 1958 the company name was changed to Carlton Ware Ltd but in 1967 it was taken over by Arthur Wood and Sons.
Carlton Ware 'Teepee' Coffee Set
Up until the 1980's it continued to have success but in the latter part it got into problems and in 1989 it went into receivership. An attempt was made to keep it going by a company called Grosvenor Ceramic Hardware and it finally closed in 1992. Names like 'Rouge Royale' with it's dark red lustre produced after 1930 are popular and inexpensive to find. Decoration is varied from Art Deco designs in unusual colours, Kate Greenway style fairies, Chinese and even Egyptian decorations after the find of Tutankamun's tomb in the 1920's. A well known one seen in many pubs in the 1950's was the Toucan which was part of a promotional range for Guinness. Another range being the salad ware from the 1920's, very popular up until the mid 1970's. Designs like the lobster and bright red tomatoes. 
Many pieces of Carlton ware are still to be found at auctions, fairs and even car boots. The brighter colours of the earlier designs being very popular, like the floral embossed ones showing plants such as Apple blossom, Foxglove etc. In the 1950's and 60's the colours became more subtle and two toned, with flowers like orchids and lilies. With all ceramic collecting it's always best to buy perfect pieces if you can, especially when they are still plentiful. With thanks to: http://www.aw-antiques-collectibles.co.uk/
Carlton back stamps
‘Extremely rare’ copy of first ever Beano annual left in bag at charity shop set to raise £2,000 at UK auction
A rare comic book which was handed in to a charity shop could fetch up to £2,000 at auction, it was revealed today. The 1939 Beano annual - the first ever published - was given with a bag of donations at the St Andrews branch of the Cancer Research UK charity shop. It is highly prized by collectors and is expected to reach up to £2,000 when it is auctioned later this year. Matthew Harris Winfall: Charity shop volunteer Matthew Harris with the rare Beano comic book - which could fetch £2,000 - that he found when it was handed in as a donation The comic, said to be in 'great' condition, was unearthed by shop volunteer Matthew Harris. He said: 'As soon as I saw it I thought it looked well-cared for, so I fished it out and had a proper look. 'It's in great condition, so I knew it might be worth more than the average comic book, but when I checked it out online and learned it could be worth more than £2,000 I could hardly believe it.' Mr Harris then contacted Beano publishers DC Thomson in Dundee, who confirmed the charity shop had 'received a really special and generous donation'. A rare Beano comic book that volunteer Matthew Harris found when it was handed in as a donation at a charity shop in St Andrews. Benny Blowhard and Hicky the hare? The 1939 rare Beano comic book that was handed in to the Cancer Research UK shop Dennis the Menace was at the shop today to put the book on show - despite not being in the annual himself as he didn't make his Beano debut until 1951. An actor dressed as the character took to the streets around the charity shop and posed for pictures with staff. The comic will be sold in June by Comic Book Auctions Ltd. Malcolm Phillips, of the auctioneers, said it was an 'extremely rare' find. 'This is a tremendous example of the first-ever Beano book,' he said. 'It's in great condition and is extremely rare. It's the star attraction of our June auction and should attract lots of bids from around the world.' The auction goes live at www.compalcomics.com on May 16, with bids closing at 8pm on June 1. All the money raised will go to Cancer Research UK. Tammy Kernohan, manager at the St Andrews shop, said: 'All the staff here are really good at picking out the valuable donations, but we're delighted that Matthew spotted this one and now we all hope that the charity is in for a real windfall. 'We get lots of generous donations here but this might turn out to be the most generous we have ever received.' Source: The Daily Mail See more auctions on www.ukauctioneers.com
Book donated to Oxfam fetches £37,000 at UK auction
The rare book contains photographs of Fijians taken in the late 1800s
Oxfam had its biggest windfall at auction after a book donated to a charity shop sold for more than £37,000. The book, A Trip To The Highlands Of Viti Levu, was one of a selection of rare books taken to the Oxfam branch in Teignmouth, Devon, by an anonymous retired man late last year. The 1882 photo documentary tells of Royal Society of London scientist Gerard Ansdell and his brother's 1881 search for their long-lost brother who was thought to be coffee planting in Fiji. He was eventually tracked down in the island of Viti Levu and the brothers documented their trip in the book, including 44 portraits of Fijians. Only a few copies of the self-published book were ever made and only one has ever appeared at auction before, selling in Australia for $190 (£114) in 1977. This copy was sold by Bonhams in London for £37,200 including buyer's premium on Tuesday, the highest price ever paid at auction for an item donated to Oxfam. The charity said the sum was 23,000 times more than the £1.60 average selling price for a book in an Oxfam shop and would be enough to buy 1,500 goats, feed 5,300 families or provide safe water for 41,000 people. Suzy Alder, books project manager at Oxfam, said: 'Book sales have been helping us in our fight against poverty for more than 50 years, as we've sold everything from the first ever Sherlock Holmes story to the latest Harry Potter novel, and this incredible book will make a significant contribution to changing lives around the world.' She said the book was 'an unprecedented discovery' and added: 'This amazing result reflects the ongoing commitment made by our fantastic shop staff, volunteers and support teams nationwide to ensure that we make the most of every donation that comes in. 'We greatly appreciate the donations made to our shops daily across the country, and in this case, the generosity of someone whose single item has raised enough money to help tens of thousands of people living in poverty.' Until this week, the most Oxfam had raised from a single book was £18,000 at two sales - a 1601 first edition of Treatise Of Commerce by John Wheeler in 2005 and a rare Graham Greene early novel, Rumour At Nightfall, in 2008. Bonhams spokesman Andrew Currie said: 'This is a scarce and important book in excellent condition and we're really pleased that it proved so popular with bidders and that Oxfam has been able to raise so much money for its work.' Oxfam is the third biggest book retailer in the UK and raises about £1.6million through book sales each month. It ran its first annual Bookfest last year which saw book donations rise by around 40 per cent. source: The Daily Mail See more auctions on www.ukauctioneers.com
Letter from first-class Titanic passenger fetches £55,000 at UK auction
A letter from a first-class passenger on the Titanic fetched £55,000 at auction - a record price for a piece of written correspondence from the ship. The piece was penned by Adolphe Saafeld, on three sides of stationery from the doomed vessel, to his 'wifey'. His words give a rare glimpse into day to day life on the maiden voyage of the Titanic which sank on April 15 1912 taking 1,517 people with it. Historic: This letter penned by Adolphe Saafeld, on three sides of stationary from the Titantic sold for £55,000 at auction Historic: This letter penned by Adolphe Saafeld, on three sides of stationary from the Titantic sold for £55,000 at auction The letter was one of 350 lots of White Star Line memorabilia sold on Saturday by auctioneer Henry Aldridge and Son, in Devizes, Wiltshire. The letter, composed five days before the disaster, was sold to an unidentified museum in Britain, which has yet to formally announce its purchase. Explaining the appeal of the artefact, Andrew Aldridge said: 'The content is superb. It gives a real first person perspective of what life was like onboard, through the eyes of a first-class passenger, right down to the food, the size of the cabin and the decoration.' While other letters exist, this is the best example of its kind due to the depth of its detail, he explained. The letter tells of Mr Saafeld's approval of a 'luncheon' featuring soup, fillet of plaice, a loin chop with cauliflower and fried potatoes, Apple Manhattan and Rocquefort cheese, 'washed down with a large Spaten beer iced'. Enlarge Relic: This set of keys belonging to an officer transferred from the Titanic at the last minute fetched £54,000 at the auction Relic: This set of keys belonging to an officer transferred from the Titanic at the last minute fetched £54,000 at the auction The perfumer added: 'So you can see I am not faring badly.' At another stage he talks of the smoothness of the journey saying: 'But for a slight vibration, you would not know that you are at sea.' A partial transcript of the letter, released by the auctioneer reads: 'After leaving at noon we had quite a little excitement, as the tremendous suction of our steamer made all the hawsers of the S.S. New York snap as we passed her and she drifted on to our boat, a collision being averted by our stopping & our tugs coming to the rescue of the 'New York'. You will probably have read of the occurrence in the papers. 'Thanks for your wire. Bauer and Burfy and small also sent telegrams. 'The weather is calm and fine, the sky overcast. There are only 370 First Class passengers. So far the boat does not move and goes very steadily. It is not nice to travel alone and leave you behind. I think you will have to come next time. 'I have quite an appetite for luncheon.' '10pm. 'I had a long promenade and a doze for an hour up to 5 o'clock. The band played in the afternoon for tea, but I savour a cafe in the Verandah cafe with bread and butter and quite thought I should have to pay but anything and everything in the eating line is gratis. 'At 6 o'clock we anchor outside Cherbourg and two tugs with passengers came alongside. Owing to our little mishap at Southampton we were all one hour late and had dinner only at 7.30 instead of 7 o'clock as usual. 'The name of my friend, the White Star manager in London works wonders and I have a small table for two to myself. I made a very good dinner and had two cigars in the smoke room and shall now go to bed as I am tired. But for a slight vibration, you would not know that you are at sea.' Another star of the sale was a set of keys belonging to an officer transferred from the Titanic at the last minute, which fetched £54,000. The keys - bearing a brass tag engraved with the words 'binocular box' - were kept by officer David Blair and would have been stored in a teak box on the bulwark of the bridge. Mr Blair sailed with the ship from Belfast to Southampton, but was moved onto another ship at short notice, taking the bunch of keys with him - a move which may well have saved him. Mr Aldridge said: 'Mr Blair was without doubt one of the luckiest men alive because this decision almost certainly saved his life.' A set of photographs relating to Titanic, her passengers and crew were sold to various collectors for over £100,000. One picture, of Rosa Abbott, who was pulled from the water, fetched £35,000 and went to a private collector. Source: Daily Mail See more auctions on www.ukauctioneers.com
Distinguished Group of Medals to be sold at UK Auction
A WW2 naval hero’s medal group including the coveted Distinguished Service Medal are to appear at auction on 27th April. The Distinguished Service Medal was awarded to Petty Officers and ratings of the Royal Navy, (amongst others) for acts of bravery in the face of the enemy. The group of seven medals were awarded to Petty Officer William Allanson. Allanson was born in Islington London on 16th November 1919. He enlisted as a boy in 1934 spending most of his war service in submarines. At the outbreak of WW2 he was serving with the China submarine Flotilla of the far eastern fleet on H.M Submarine Rainbow. He also served amongst others H.M. Submarine Phoenix, Perseus, Tetrach, Rorqual and Sickle. He was mentioned in the London Gazette supplement 27th July 1943 for the part he played in the hazardous and successful patrol of H.M. Submarine Sickle in the Mediterranean. On the 12thJune 1944 Acting Chief Petty Officer Allanson was in hospital recuperating from injuries when Sickle was presumed sunk by mines in the Antikithera Channel with no survivors.
Allanson
The group includes photocopies of service, original documentation confirming the DSM and attending the presentation of medals at Buckingham Palace. A photograph album shows many of the submarines in which he served. He was invalided out of service 1st November 1945. Discovered on a valuation day when the local vendor brought them in, the group carries a £1,200-1,500 estimate at Richard Winterton’s Collectors Sale on 27th April. Free medal valuation days are held at the Lichfield Auction Centre on Tuesdays from 10am to 12midday. Phone 01543 251081 for further information. Lots more auctions on www.ukauctioneers.com
Silver goods boost UK auction houses
Rising price of precious metals sees silver leading a post-recession bounce with 57% of surveyors reporting rising rather than falling prices, a survey by Rics says. Dust down that old silver tankard, hip flask or dressing table brush set – it is probably worth more than you think. Britain's auction houses are enjoying a boom in the sale of silver goods as the price of the metal soars on world exchanges. A quarterly survey of the arts and and antiques market published this morning by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) reveals that items made of silver are leading a post-recession bounce in auction sales across the country. Only one sector of the market – contemporary art – continues to see price falls. A Rics spokesman said: "Silver and jewellery remain strong sectors with 57% and 41% of surveyors reporting rising rather than falling prices in these categories respectively. These are traditionally seen as safe havens for investors, but their continuing strength can be also attributed to the high scrappage value of precious metals." Since last July the wholesale price for silver has jumped from $12/oz to $18/oz. Chris Ewbank of auctioneers Ewbank Clarke Gammon Weller in Guildford, Surrey, said: "Our spring antique and fine art auction was the best in terms of lot entries, sale total and sold rates in the last 18 months. The strongest areas were oriental, silver and jewellery; the last two fuelled by high metal prices." Auction houses suffered a tough recession, with the Rics survey revealing price drops across virtually every category in 2008 and values down more than 30%. Worst hit were furniture, clocks and ceramics, but these have all subsequently staged a recovery. Prices for low-end oils and water colours remain stagnant, but have begun to improve at the top end. Contemporary art values continue to drop almost across the board. Rics's chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said the last quarter of last year saw a slight improvement, which he attributed to the Frieze art fair in October, but since then the downward spiral has resumed. During the first quarter of this year contemporary art was the only sector to record an overall negative reading in the survey. Rubinsohn said: "The arts and antiques market remains a strong performer as an asset class with prices rising in nearly all categories. The lack of supply will continue to push prices up as long as transaction levels remain low in the housing market." The first quarter of 2010 also saw a world record price for a sculpture, when a life-size bronze by Alberton Giacometti sold in Sotheby's for £65m. But the Rics survey suggests it is the lowest end of the arts and antiques market where activity is strongest. In the £1-£1,000 and £1,000-£5,000 categories the reports of rising prices were much higher than in the £50,000+ category. Some auctioneers suggest the rise of a new fogyism among younger buyers fed up with flat-pack furniturelies behind this. Rupert Toovey of Toovey's antique and fine art auctioneers and valuers in West Sussex said: "The renewed interest in traditional fields of collecting and taste continues to gain momentum. And with continued interest from younger people, mostly 35 or younger, it seems that the post-Ikea generation has arrived and are here to stay." Source: The Guardian
Signed Jane Austen novel sells for £325,000 at UK Auction
Jane Austen's Emma
A signed copy of a Jane Austen novel published in 1816 has been bought for £325,000. The book is a first edition copy of Emma which Austen presented to her friend Anne Sharp, the inspiration for Mrs Weston in the novel. Jonkers Rare Books in Oxfordshire paid £180,000 for it at auction in 2008. It is understood that a British collector bought the book, which is one of 12 special 'presentation' copies Austen gave to friends and family. The book has previously been exhibited in Hong Kong, New York and San Francisco. The rest of the presentation copies were donated to relatives. Christian Jonkers, director of Jonkers Rare Books in Henley-on-Thames, said: "We had several clients around the world who were considering this book, but it is pleasing that the book will remain in this country. "It is unique, considering the whole historical context of the book - the fact that it was given by Austen to her best friend who was a model for one of the principal characters in the novel." Source: BBC