Our irregular selection of oddities and curiosities from the catalogues of our local auction rooms.
An old petrol can, oil can, a wooden beer tankard, and other items relating to Castrol incl. postcards, a key ring, and salt and pepper pots.
A silk opera hat.
Old artefacts, incl. magnifying glasses, penknives, record needles, a hip flask, a razor, a netsuke, etc.
An ornate Victorian EPNS butter dish frame, with cow finial, and some mixed cutlery.
It was the ‘cow finial’ that amused me.
A good George VI silver helmet milk jug and sugar bowl … in fitted case.
What is a helmet milk jug? Is the ‘milk jug and sugar bowl’ one piece of silver or two?
A glass display box, containing woodland birds including chaffinches.
An interesting mixed lot including carved nutcrackers in the form of an elk with glass eyes, a charming miniature picnic basket, composite doll, Royal Doulton vase, wooden handled corkscrew, papier-mâché Easter egg, clock, etc.
Somehow ‘nutcrackers’, ‘elk’ and ‘glass eyes’ don’t seem to go together!
A pair of Royal Doulton penguins on orange bases marked ‘Best Wishes’, a brightly coloured folksy figurine of Richard II, Cutty Sark ship in bottle, busts of Verdi and Moliere, Keats’ death mask, camera Kodak, Volle 620, royal commemorative ware, pewter ware, horse brasses, old razor, etc.
Penguins standing on oranges. The odd ideas some people have.
Two shelves containing Copeland porcelain soup plates, a quantity of Melba bone china Melba Rose tableware, mirrors, decorative plates, brassware, cast iron doorstop, dog pyjama vase, figurine of a brown bear … tribal carvings, etc.
WTF is a pyjama vase?
At this point I think the Welsh got the better of them …
Two Lladro humorous figures of chldrren (sic) in aeroplanes.
A large Royal Crown Derby figure of a Beefeater, holding a pike, mark in red, ‘Made exclusively for James Leather Ltd, London W1′.
I know what it means, but it does conjure up some strange imagery!
An early 20th century oak chimneypiece with elaborate carved decoration flanked by Corinthian columns, painted white.
A rocking donkey on a pine frame in brown woollen coat, and a small rocking elephant seat.
Why does the pine frame need a woollen coat?