Our local auction house, as I’ve mentioned before, doesn’t seem to be offering so many curiosities, odd assemblages, and the plain weird theses days. Consequently there isn’t so much material for our amusement. Anyway here are the highlights from the last two auctions &ndasah; and as always it is the odd things which get put together as lots which amuse, just as much as the curiosities people sell. And doesn’t the eart sink when you see things like “An interesting lot …” and “blah … blah … etc.”?
A humorous novelty silver ‘Dutch doll’ mechanical sugar nips, with enamelled head. (right)
An interesting academic collection of pre-historic tools including a Cumbrian stone axe c.3500 BC, Niger axe, knife and arrowheads 4th millennium BC, three Pakistan stone arrowheads, an Israel boring tool and arrowheads, a knife and scrapers c.3000 BC.
An interesting lot including an old leather correspondence case containing old pens, postcards, a few coins, a Chinese seal in a box, an early tennis racket, a box containing wrist watches some in original boxes, and a wicker sewing basket containing Robertson Jam figures, scent bottles, etc. and an old Bible and a bag of loose stamps.
Five shelves of mixed china and other wares including a pair of oriental Satsuma vases, an oriental two-handled bowl and large charger in the Imari style, a set of Taunton Vale storage jars, jugs and boxes with covers, figurines, child’s feeding bowl, silhouette in black acorn frame, a pair of brass table lamps and shades, three wrist watches including Seconda, a Professor Dumbledore wand, onyx table lighter and ashtray, magnifying glass, glass vases, part tea set, blue and white jar and cover, a boombox, etc.
A vintage photographic lot including papers, reels, a Contact printer and safelight, a large thermos flask, etc. plus some vintage dressing table items with embroidered decoration including hairbrushes, powder pots and covers, mirrors, etc.
A wicker cased Coracle picnic hamper plus vintage puppets.
A modern sculpture made in papier mache of a mother and child painted green, three vintage suitcases with Cunard White Star labels attached, four brass planters and a selection of vintage walking sticks and canes. (below)
A quantity of CDs from Easy Listening to Black Sabbath.
Eleven Perspex table lamps with ten shades.
Four garden stoneware face masks, a brass shell case, a part tea service decorated with roses, a perfume atomiser etc.
Angling taxidermy: a fine specimen trout in bow-fronted case signed with paper label of J. Cooper & Sons, 28 Radnor Street, St Luke’s, London EC, the glass inscribed “Trout caught on Lough Mask by Alan Rigsby June 1914 wght 4 1/2 lb’s” (below)
Garden ornaments including a Dutch mill, seated hedgehog, two frogs, a small bird bath and a set of scales and weights.
A mixed lot including a bag of glass marbles, an Oriental-style music box, a further wooden music-box, a pair of wooden cat bookends, a pair of wooden teddy bookends, a replica gun, a small quantity of china, a pewter tankard, etc.
Three shelves of mixed items comprising mainly of figurines including Oriental, African carved, modern stylized angels, replica chess pieces, cats; vases including Bretby-style; glass Loetz-style ruby red and painted, a real mixture.
Four shelves of general items including wooden cat figurines, a globe, Christmas decorations, a modern wall clock by In House, a silvered vase, pots, ramekins, a Bosch iron etc. (above)
A floor standing House CD stacking system and CDs. (right)
A mixed lot of interesting vintage items including a straw boater hat by C A Bunn & Co, five metal bike lamps with candles, a quantity of collectors spoons, commemorative mugs including Doulton, a Limoges perfume burner, a glass perfume decanter with gilt stopper, a novelty metal bird cigar piercer, a gilt framed circular print, a perfume bottle and stopper in ebony case, two small circular framed watercolour portraits plus another, a small circular mirror etc.
A quantity of metal ware including two Tilley lamps, a vintage carriage clock, VW camper van accessories, a boat claxon, a tree saw, a quantity of cutlery, glass marbles etc.
A large and impressive carved wood tribal fetish male figure, with snake-like nose and shell eyes, 134 cm high. (right)
A box of face creams, perfume bottles and electrical components.
A Georgian mahogany apothecary’s travelling cabinet, retaining most fittings, several of the bottles with labels of the Glasgow Apothecaries’ Company, with glass mortar, scales, etc., together with a later green glass chemist’s bottle.
A pair of 1930s patent car exhaust terminals in aluminium, each cast as a hound head, with Christie SK 11-12 August 1994 auction catalogue, specifying lot 477 which comprised items of this type; together with a miner’s lamp.
A gas heater, oars and wicker hamper.
A vintage Tudor style doll’s house. (below)
More when we gather a large enough collection of old toot.
This year our Ten Things series is focusing on each month in turn. The Ten Things may include facts about the month, momentous events that happened, personal things, and any other idiocy I feel like – just because I can. So here are …
Players in a soccer team
An article on the American 
A humorous novelty silver ‘Dutch doll’ mechanical sugar nips, with enamelled head. (right)
A floor standing House CD stacking system and CDs. (right)
A large and impressive carved wood tribal fetish male figure, with snake-like nose and shell eyes, 134 cm high. (right)