issue no.2 lot · 2020-02-01 · the lot news from bearnes hampton & littlewood auctioneers and...

theLotNews from Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood

Issue No.2

Over the past twenty-six years I have had the privilege of visiting a wide variety of houses and

viewing their contents. None have been more interesting than the properties where the family has lived there for several generations.

I well remember visiting a farm near Witheridge several years ago and being advised by the instructing solicitor to take my wellington boots. On arrival I discovered that this precautionary measure was not only to get across the farmyard but was also useful in moving around inside the house where the most basic living had evolved over many years. The kitchen was washed down in much the same way as the milking parlour and the fireside armchair was propped up with several copies of the yellow pages when the legs had disintegrated with woodworm damage.

The latest property to attract my interest was a farm in Harbertonford near Totnes. The lady who had died at the age of

eighty had lived in the property all her life, travelling to Totnes on rare occasions. The farm had been in the same family for generations and over a period of time the land had been sold off to neighbouring farmers.

When I met the solicitor, I was struck by how little had changed over a century. In the modern age of Ikea and underfloor heating as you opened the front door at Town Farm you were met by the entrance to the coalbunker! On turning to the sitting room here was a real Victorian time capsule. On the walls were prints ranging from ‘Home Sweet Home’ to ‘Fear the word of the Lord’. As you edged your way between the Victorian plush upholstered armchairs to the sideboard where a myriad of ornaments were arranged, a look to one side presented a case of stuffed seagulls and other wading birds. The bedrooms were much the same, being filled with Victoriana; the traditional washstand, chamber set and brass and iron beds.

At the rear of the house the dairy housed

Disappearing Devon

The Victorian time capsule

the mangle and beyond that a concession to the 20th Century; a bathroom which looked to have been installed in the 1960s.

In the process of somewhat reluctantly removing the contents and thereby destroying the time capsule, I met a near neighbour who had delivered milk to the owner over several decades. He asked whether he could have a quick look around, as in all the years of knowing her he had never made it further than the front door as she was something of a recluse.

In an era of population drift to the West Country and general smartening up of properties, I wonder how many more times I will have the pleasure of seeing an example of days long past and yet the next one still seems to present itself.

Pop culture is nothing new �� 2

Sporting Sale �� 3

Silver Highlights �� 4-5

Pictures �� 6-10

Mr Dixon’s Bird Pictures �� 11

Viennese Delight �� 12-13

Furniture Review �� 14-15

Books, Prints and Maps �� 16-17

Clocks �� 18-19

Maritime Sale �� 19

Top of the lots �� 20

I N T H I S I S S u e . . .

ST. eDMuND’S COuRT | OKeHAMPTON STReeT | eXeTeR eX4 1Du DOWeLL STReeT | HONITON | eX14 1LX

01392 413100 | [email protected] | www.BHandL.co.uk

theLot News from Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood Auctioneers and Valuers

2 Issue No. 2

T he Staffordshire potters have often been referred to as producing the Tribal Art of england with simply

modelled figures decorated in bright, rather naïve colours, but reflecting the thoughts, concerns and actions of everyday people. Surely what bothered our staid and sensible Victorian forbears were entirely alien from those which engage us now?

AdulteryIvan Stepanovitch Mazzepa was page to King Casimir V of Poland and had the misfortune to be caught with the wife of a nobleman, rather than divorce his wife, the publically cuckolded husband chose another more interesting course of action. The errant page was tied naked to the back of a wild ukrainian horse that was lashed into madness before being released to find its way back home. Regrettably the horse died and Mazeppa survived after being nursed back to health by Cossacks.

He was made a Prince by Peter the Great, but ultimately showed his true colours by unwisely swapping sides to join Sweden in the Battle of Pultowa – Sweden lost!

Lest you feel that the Staffordshire potters were only concerned with the far flung and exotic there is of course the story of Maria la Roux who was born in Switzerland, became maid to Lady Palk of Haldon House in Devon, but later married a Taunton publican called Fredrick Manning. She took a lover, a Pat O’Connor, but she too was found out. The Manning’s solution to this difficult problem was to invite Mr O’Connor over to supper, rob and murder him and bury him under the kitchen floor. Both husband and wife were executed in a joint hanging in November 1849, witnessed by Charles Dickens (who paid ten guineas for five tickets) and who later wrote to the Times to comment unfavourably on the wicked and lurid nature of the crowd.

Care in the CommunityThe Durnford sisters on the face of it had a good start in life, a stable family, a good home in Torquay, a carriage and a governess. It might have been considered unfortunate when their father did a bunk with the governess, but just plain bad luck

when the brothers to whom the sisters were engaged died in bizarre circumstances (one shot the other in a shooting accident and the survivor pined away through remorse). Perhaps understandably this rather tipped the sisters over the edge and they became somewhat eccentric. They promenaded daily with painted ‘doll’ faces and wore identical rather unfashionable loud and lacy clothing and sunshades whatever the weather. They originally owned a pair of ponies purchased from Alphington in exeter but when times were hard they had to sell them. Cruel observers then labelled the sisters as the Alphington Ponies and the name stuck ever since.

Pop culture is nothing newC e R A M I C S B y N I C S A I N T e y

“Those that cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

GeorGe Santayana

“The charm of history and it’s enigmatic

lesson consist in the fact, that from age to age, nothing changes

yet everything is completely different.”

aldouS Huxley

theLotNews from Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood Auctioneers and Valuers

3Issue No. 2

education, education, educationThe Reverend Sabine Baring Gould wrote in The Vicar of Morwenstow, somewhat unfairly, that a great deal of ignorance lingered late in the west of england and that the schoolmaster ‘had not thrown a great blaze of light on the Cornish mind’ I wonder if he had the somewhat unorthodox character of the Devonshire headmaster Roger Giles in mind? His advertisement described him as ‘Surgin, Parish Clark & Skulemaster, Groser & Hundertaker’ it then listed the very long list of services he was able to provide - amongst them ‘he droors teef, applies laches… doctersh osses and clips donkies… sold frying pans and other moozical hinstruments …taches the base vial, squadrils and other country dances to perfekshun ... he sold baccy, hats, trype, bibles, mise traps, hoysters, intozzicatin likkers, hepsom salts …and newlayde heggs by me Roger Giles. PS. I taches geography, rithmatic, jimnastics and other chynes tricks. His figure shows him in the process of producing some of his ‘newlayde eggs’.

The above constitute only a tiny selection of examples to be found of Victorian Staffordshire figures as there are also examples of house breakers, Siamese twins, lion wrestlers, transvestites and explicit tavern wenches, one can’t help wondering who thought that the above characters were good appropriate subject matter, but potted, distributed and purchased they certainly were. Then again one could say the same about the glossy magazines of today that currently titillate their readers with all the lurid day to day details of the rich, famous and infamous regardless of any wider benefit or personal concern about the individual concerned.

T he first Sporting and Collectors sale to be held at Dowell Street, took off to a galloping start with

a room full of buyers. The bidding started straight out of the gate with the telephone lines falling short to the room, as a group of Beswick Hunting figures quickly reached the top end of its estimate and above to sell for £750. The bidding continued at this pace for a George Jones majolica oval fish tureen and cover that, despite a repair to the cover, easily doubled its estimate to reach £500.

The sale continues to grow in popularity with vendors and buyers alike as it offers the opportunity for some of the more unusual items that one would not traditionally associate with an auction. Many of the items of taxidermy drew a few strange looks from those attending the sale, many of which turned to astonishment as a mounted Black Rhinoceros horn drew bids from the room and several telephones to eventually sell for £10,000

Whilst all of the traditional country pursuits are represented in the sale and continue to have a strong following both locally and from further afield, the internet continues to play an ever increasing role in the auction market in today’s modern world. The number of enquires prior to any sale has steadily been increasing over the years and the conversion rate from enquires to bids has also been on the rise. I am pleased to say that although this

has changed the role of the auctioneer to become more IT proficient, it has also driven hammer prices higher for specialist sales such as this. A pair of Hardy line winders may not have attracted a great deal of interest in a general sale, but in the fishing section of the sale and interest from online they eventually sold for £400. One of the great things about these sales in bringing in an item that seemingly no one would ever consider for auction and watching as it sells for a substantial price. No one would have believed a case of exotic birds that had been in storage for many years would eventually sell for £3000 even with the pigeon droppings from the attic on the glass!

even some of the more traditional auction pieces such as pictures will benefit from being offered in a specialist sale. If proof were needed, the two versions of “The Informers” by Charles Johnson Payne (Snaffles) fl 1915-1923 that had been selling in the mid to low hundred’s, doubled their recent market prices to reach £980 and £700 each.

entries for the next sale have already begun to amuse and excite in equal measure, from the unusual taxidermy to the more sedate hunting themed tea services. In all cases it is the searching and finding of the pieces for these specialist sales that keeps the enthusiasm going over the final furlong.

Sporting SaleB y B R I A N G O O D I S O N - B L A N K S

Xxxxxxx. Sold for £XXX

Xxxxxxx. Sold for £XXX


4 Issue No. 2

A Dutch silver novelty pepperette in the form of an owl. Sold for £320A George II soup tureen and cover. Sold for £7,800

lid and scroll handle, ale could taste no better than being drunk from a tankard, and our George III example by William Shaw, London, 1765, realised £1,450.

Silver novelties and collectables never fail to capture the collector’s imagination or their wallets. What is it about owls? A

A pair of George III cast candlesticks.Sold for £1,700

Despite the recession the price of silver remains high and, even during the bleak winter, trade

remained buoyant. Good quality pieces were at a premium and it was good to see some of the old favourites making a welcome return and achieving excellent results.

Perhaps not the most useful of dishes in this day and age but a fine George II soup tureen and cover by Philip Garden, London, 1754, with lion mask decorated paw feet and acanthus capped carrying handles sold for £7,800.

Slightly later in date, a pair of George III cast candlesticks by James Morrison, London, 1762, with knopped stems and hexafoil bases realised £1,700. Candlesticks have been a little out of fashion over the past couple of years and I hope this is a welcome return to favour.

One item of silverware that never seems to be out of fashion is the tankard. With its pleasing baluster shaped body, domed

Silver highlightsB y M A R T I N M c I L R O y

A George III baluster tankard.realiSed £1,450

“One item of silverware that

never seems to be out of fashion is the tankard...”


5Issue No. 2

“Silver novelties and collectables never fail to capture the collector’s imagination

or their wallets...”

A set of three Victorian novelty casters. Sold for £1,950

Dutch silver pepperette in the form of an owl sold for £320, a set of three Victorian casters modelled as owls sold for £1,950, a set of four edwardian owl menu holders by Samuel Morden made £480 and a pair of edwardian boars tooth and silver mounted pepperettes modelled as owls fetched £750 in our last Fine Art Sale.

A strong area for collectors of exeter silver has always been spoons and two good examples recently sold were a 17th century trefid spoon by Daniel Slade, exeter circa 1690 which realised £1,250,

A George III provincial ear trumpet. realiSed £2,800

and a Charles II apostle spoon by edward Anthony sold for £1,850. Bucking the trend in the poor performance in tea wares a good William IV teapot by William Woodman, exeter, 1835 sold for £600 to a private collector of exeter silver.

A more unusual and collectable medical instrument was a George III silver ear trumpet of plain curved form by James Barber and William Whitwell, york, 1812 although only weighing 2.6 troy ozs, and sold for £2,800. This is only the second ear trumpet I have sold in 30 years.

A late 17th century Exeter silver trefid spoon.realiSed £1,250

A Charles II Exeter apostle spoon.fetched £1,850

A William IV Exeter silver coffee pot.Sold for £600

Four Edwardian novelty menu holders in the form of owls. fetched £480


6 Issue No. 2

Since the first publication of ‘The Lot’, the picture market continues to strengthen despite

the recession and high oil prices and now an impending election. A shortage of goods and strengthening interest from home buyers wishing to invest in an asset they can hang on a wall and enjoy and ever-increasing interest in our sales from abroad, have all helped to provide some excellent prices in our picture sales over the last nine months.

Our fine art sale in October 2009 gave us the chance to offer four lovely Archibald Thorburn watercolour drawings of British birds, each illustrated in the book of the same title published by Longmans. They were part of a collection of 19 drawings sold by John Norton Auctioneers of Ludlow in 1951. When lot 93 sold for the princely sum of £54! The vendors who were selling to benefit a member of their family, accepted our informed but realistic estimate of £10-15,000 for the four. The wonderful condition, excellent provenance, encouraging estimate, researched cataloguing and extensive advertising resulted in the four pictures realising just over £41,000. A very satisfactory result for the vendor and auctioneer alike.

PicturesB y M A R T I N S C A D G e L L , P I C T u R e C O N S u L T A N T

However, within the same sale there was a remarkable result for a very unassuming selection of watercolours by one Archibald Knox. Knox was born in 1864 on the Isle of Man where he died in 1933. Revered and highly collected for his Art Nouveau designs in silver, pewter and enamel, what is little known outside of the Isle of Man,

Sir William Russell Flint £1,200 A. Thorburn £11,500

Archibald Knox £4000

Dorothea Sharp £1,600

“...it is very satisfactory to

realise so much interest and achieve

such a result”


7Issue No. 2

is his recreational interest in watercolour painting. Knox rarely sold his watercolours insisting he was ‘capable of better’ and that ‘It is necessary to retain studies to learn from my faults’.

The collection of nine watercolours belonged to an exeter vendor who had been left them by an aunt. It would be quite correct to say our vendor had no interest in, and no expectation for the pictures. We in the Picture Department though were most interested in the provenance. each picture had a printed label of the Manx Museum and Art Gallery stating ‘This picture is the work of Archibald Knox. It is one of the paintings handed over to the Manx Museum by the family of the artist for sale, the proceeds of which will form the Archibald Knox endowment fund at the Museum – A.M. Cubbow – Director 1959.

An ancestor of our vendor, the aunt, a Peter Gelling esq., Manx man bought 9 of the watercolours!

With such an interesting provenance we contacted the Manx newspapers who were very keen to publish such a story. The result meant our sale was unprecedented. every telephone line available was taken by Manx men and women, all wishing to buy an Archibald Knox watercolour. The first example made £1600 against an estimate of £4-600. The next made £1900, the next £4000. The top price was £7500 for a harbour scene watercolour

sketch 56 x 42 cms. Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood’s bidding staff and the buyers in the room were all amazed at such a phenomenal result. The final total for the 9 lots was over £36,000.

Although Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood have, of course, achieved much higher individual results for pictures, it is very satisfactory to generate so much interest and achieve such a result for what most people would perceive to be an item or a collection of small importance. The moral of such a tale is pick up a phone and ask the local experts. Some people, I feel sure would be very surprised at the length and breadth of expertise to be found outside London in your local area.

As for individual paintings, I must mention Lot 562 William Linnell, in the same

Bernard Dunstan £780Fred Yates £720

“…an asset they can hang on a wall and enjoy”


8 Issue No. 2

A. Moulton Foweraker £1500

Robert O. Lenkiewicz £4,500

Clifford Fishwick £800

Fred Yates £1500

Charles Edward Dixon £5200Sam Haile £4,800


9Issue No. 2

Lot 591 Alexander M. Rossi £21,000

October sale – a beautiful harvest scene, oil on canvas, 76 x 121 cms which realised £14,000. Who said Victorian pictures are yesterday’s news? I think I did last year!

We also achieved, in the same sale, excellent results for John Anthony Park, Albert Goodwin, Fred yates, Clifford Fishwick, Charles edward Dixon and A Moulton Foweraker .

In our January Fine Art Sale this year we had a most interesting picture section. Alexander M Rossi’s (Fl. 1870-1905)‘ A Summer’s Day’ was a really outstanding picture. A relatively minor Victorian painter, this was a gem, measuring just 34 x 51 cms and it flew from our £4-6000 estimate to realise £21,000.

Robert Lenkiewicz featured again in our sale and ‘Study of elaine Armstrong’, a most striking image from his project 18 St. Anthony Theme, signed and inscribed on board, 24 x 19 cms. made £4,500

We had good modern British pictures by Fred yates, Bernard Dunstan, Diana Armfield,

Dorothea Sharp and William Russell Flint which all exceeded their estimates and the picture just about everybody fell in love with, Lot 461 Circle of Francois Boucher 1703-1770, ‘young Girl with Dove’ realised an excellent £10,500.

However, it was two collections that really took the limelight and two very contrasting collections at that.

Samuel Haile, potter and painter was born in 1909, but sadly died young in a car crash in 1948. The collection came to sale via his widow Marianne de Trey the respected Dartington potter, whose enigmatic presence shone through in one of our most

memorable preview showings held in The Great Hall at Dartington.

An enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience assembled that night in the Great Hall to view wonderful surrealist works on paper and in oils by Sam Haile and to see rare pottery by an acknowledged master of his art. They also came to show their respect and admiration for Marianne who most delightfully took centre stage during the proceedings with some wonderfully amusing and kind words for her late husband. There were some 68 works offered for sale and all but three lots sold.

Highlights were ‘Mandated Territories’ gouache, pen and ink, 58 x 43 cms which made £4,800. ‘Reclining Figures’, signed and dated ’35, oil on canvas, 60 x 75 cmas, a striking Henry Moore style figurative work which made £6,800 and Lot 563 Four decorated pottery ‘blanks’ of circular form each 22cms diameter made £920.

The collection was a joy to be involved with, and our thanks go to Andy Christian

“The collection, probably unique,

depicted a complete range of her style

and subject matter.”


10 Issue No. 2

Sarah Louise Kilpack £380Sam Haile £6,800

William Linnell £14,000

Sam Haile £920

“The collection was a joy to be

involved with”

for his foreword to the catalogue and his help and involvement throughout.

Our second collection of pictures was of great contrast. Sarah Louise Kilpack 1840-1909, a Victorian artist and spinster, a rather solitary figure, born in London, who from an early age showed a great aptitude for music and drawing. She spent most of her life in the Channel Isles painting ‘plein air’.

Her work is simple, spontaneous and moody. The collection, probably unique, depicted a complete range of her style and subject matter. There were over 40 works, all small size, approx. 7 x 10 cms. and a large sketch book, all with an interesting and direct provenance to the artist.

The collection caused huge interest, not least from the Channel Isles where, again with hind sight from the Picture Department, we gained many bidders generated by articles on the collection in the local press in Jersey and Guernsey. With modest estimates ranging from £150/250 to £4/600 for individual pictures and groups of four, a very satisfactory total of £17,500 was achieved for our delighted vendor.

Our Picture Department under the direction of Daniel Goddard has a unique reference library and many specialist consultants on individual artists and schools available on call. We are confident that we can offer the very best advice on selling individual pictures and collections from modest to high value.


11Issue No. 2

Mr Dixon’s Bird PicturesB y A N D R e W T H O M A S

The wonderfully decorative embossed paper bird pictures by Samuel Dixon of Dublin only

rarely appear at auction so it was with particular pleasure that we were able to offer a set of four in our Fine Art sale on April 21st/22nd. They had been consigned for sale by a vendor in the South Hams and we were confident that they would be received with real enthusiasm from the antique buying fraternity. These embossed paper bird pictures have a particular appeal to those of us in the trade who still enjoy what we refer to as ‘old fashioned antiques’. By this, I mean that the vagaries of fashion have largely passed them by and they are as popular now as they were in the 1970’s and 80’s. There is no doubt that

they look attractive in any setting and compliment antique furniture, ceramics, almost anything in fact.

A native of Dublin, Samuel Dixon was made famous by his sets of embossed bird and flower pictures which he produced in the 1750’s from his Capel Street premises in Dublin. He used a technique known as ‘basso relievo’ whereby parts of the design were raised by means of a copper plate and then coloured in gouache. The advantage of painting in gouache can clearly be seen as the opaque colours, which were ground in water and thickened with gum and honey, fade very little. In consequence, the decoration is often surprisingly vibrant and fresh

considering 300 years have passed since they left Ireland. Dixon’s pictures were a great success at the time and were often purchased by the ‘nobility and gentry’ and in addition they were popular with ladies who imitated them in needlework.

Together with his contemporary Isaac Spackman who produced bird pictures of a similar type, Dixon usually took his designs from illustrations in the first four volumes of George edwards’ ‘Natural History of uncommon Birds’ produced between 1743-1751. Thankfully our optimism was not misplaced as against a pre-sale estimate of £2,000-4,000, these attractive bird pictures fetched a very satisfactory £9,000.


12 Issue No. 2

Viennese DelightB y M A R T I N M c I L R O y

From the capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire of Vienna came the best enamel charger to pass

through our Works of Art Department for many years. The gilt bronze frame was in the style of a well known Viennese silversmith Hermann Ratzendorfer and although unfortunately not silver gilt, was finely decorated with egyptianesque

masks, swans and urn ornament. The enamel panels were decorated with subjects and figures from Greek mythology and each panel was inscribed to the reverse. The panels depicted various scenes including the gathering of the Gods, the birth of Venus and the arming of Persius all in bright polychrome enamels.

This masterpiece of the enamellers’ art was contained within its original wooden box and at 56cm. diameter this imposing piece would have adorned any palatial hallway or reception room. With numerous telephone bids from the continent and interest from London and New york, the charger was finally sold to a London dealer for £19,000.

Demetre H. Chiparus 1886 - 1947 ‘Etoile de Mare’ sold for £70,000

A 19th century Vienna gilt metal and enamel charger in the manner of Hermann Ratzendorfer realised £19,000


13Issue No. 2

Whilst this charger was being produced in the late 19th century another area of decorative arts was emerging from Vienna as a popular subject, this being the art of the cold painted bronze. The best known exponent was Franz Bergman and several examples have recently passed through our auction house. The most important of which was a large model of a lizard painted in shades of yellow, green and blue and measuring 54cm. from nose to tip of tail. Stamped with the Bergman vase mark, it sold to an American telephone bidder for £1,000.

Other examples of cold painted bronze models included a prowling lion by Bergman which realised £500, a model of a turkey with outstretched tail feathers measuring 11cm. high sold for £420, a similar sized cockerel realised £290 and the ever popular praying Arab kneeling on a rug sold for £320.

Whilst on the subject of bronze figures it is worth mentioning that even in these days of antique guides, internet and television programmes,

an occasional object will still slip through the net. So it was when a couple brought an Art Deco figure to our Valuation Day at Torquay.

Purchased by the couple a few weeks earlier as an Art Deco reproduction figure, the piece was identified as an original by Demetre H. Chiparus (1886-1947), one of the leading sculptors of the early 20th century, this etoile de Mare (Starfish) was a superb study of a young female in a starfish decorated catsuit, exquisite in form and composition. With telephone bids as far as apart as New york, Paris, Johannesburg and Hong Kong, the statue realised £70,000.

The Works of Art Department cover a wide and varied range of subject matter but, despite the economic climate, good pieces continue to generate much interest with quality and uniqueness being at a premium.

A Franz Bergman bronze model of a lizard sold for £1000

A cold painted bronze model of a turkey sold for £420 and the cockerel sold for £290

A Franz Bergman model of a crouching lion fetched £500

Franz Bergman. A cold painted bronze model of a praying Arab fetched £320

“With numerous telephone bids from the

continent and interest from London

and New York”


14 Issue No. 2

One of the many encouraging signs in the Art and Antiques market has been the re-immergence from the shadows

of Antique furniture as a means of furnishing the home.

After some five or more years of disinterest in what in my view is the most wonderful product, the early part of 2010 has seen the start of the revival.

In our January fine art sale a George III mahogany armchair of Gainsborough type sold for £1,250 (lot 745), a figure which would still have been reasonable based on 1990’s prices, but which provided encouragement of an improving trend.

An even greater sign was a Victorian mahogany extending dining table of large size. The top which included four leaves and extended to

Furniture ReviewB y C H R I S H A M P T O N


15Issue No. 2

some 14 feet couldn’t have provided a better example of a large mass of ‘brown furniture’. The fact that it sold for £5,000 was comparable with the price that it might have made in the 1990’s.

A supreme example of edwardian craftsmanship was a mahogany and marquetry kneehole desk by the celebrated manufacturers edwards and Roberts. estimate at £1,500 - £2,000 it comfortably rose above this to sell at £2,800.

equally in October of last year, an edwardian marquetry pier table of D-shaped outline and of similar quality sold for £5,000

european furniture continues to provide considerable interest and two examples come to mind. In October a good 19th Century Ceylonese specimen wood inlaid circular centre table sold for £18,000, whilst in January, a French empire Secretaire a abbatant of excellent quality, but with modifications soared above its £800 - £1,200 to sell for £7,000.

The revival continues.

“The fact that it sold for £5,000 was comparable

with the price that it might have made in the

1990’s”


16 Issue No. 2

The Book department at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood is showing particular signs of

benefitting from the merger of the two former commercial rivals. The client base and expertise now united in one firm made for an exciting and varied sale on the 31st March this year. The book department is based in our new saleroom in Honiton, which is a town with a long history in both the antiques and antiquarian book trade and the sale of over 500 lots of books, prints and maps was well-presented in the newly furnished rooms and attracted buyers from far and wide.

The sale included a large number of works from the library of Puslinch House, the family seat of the yonge family near yealmpton. These included a depth and variety of subjects typical of a collection which has been added-to over many generations as well as much traditional country house fare. A number of early english Bibles attracted much attention including a 1614 edition published by Robert Barker, one of the most sought-after names in this field. Despite being sold ‘with all faults’ it fetched £1,100, comfortably exceeding its estimate. Another popular lot, and one found on the upper shelves of many a country house library were bound

Books, Prints and MapsB y R I C H A R D B e A R N e

A.A. Milne retains his fascination for collector’s of children’s books as his work played a part in so many of our childhoods. This set of four first editions fetched £1,300.

Prints are a popular collecting area and decorative examples such as this by John Hall Thorpe can be acquired for relatively modest sums. This example sold for £50.

BK03 Lot 384 16324i1This rebound copy of a first edition of Charles Lyell’s most important work fetched £4,000.

issues of The Gentleman Magazine dating from the 18th century. These sold for more than double their lower auction estimate at £620.

Book buyers have an instinctive attraction towards works from good sources which are fresh to the market and inclusion of such lots in a sale will guarantee exceptional prices. equally a good private collection on a particular subject will benefit both high value and more modest value lots on the day of sale. Such was the collection of the late Professor Bill Dearman which included some of the most important works published on geology.

Professor Dearman was Professor of engineering Geology at the university of Newcastle upon Tyne. His great passion, however, was the geology and landscape of the South West. Born in 1921, he was

educated ay Westminster School, later gaining a First Class Honours degree in geology at Imperial College. His first employment was as a geologist to the Chief engineer’s department at the Southern Railway at Meldon Quarry near Okehampton. He was a founder member

“The Book department…is

showing particular signs of benefitting from the merger”


17Issue No. 2

Images evoking Victorian childhood are always charming and the ‘pop-up’ examples in this work Peeps into fairyland are especially desirable when in good condition. This copy achieved a hammer price of £170.

This attractively tinted map featured in both lots 527 and 417. Being a geological map it will have attracted interest both from map and atlas buyers and bidders attending the auction for the geological works.

What-Ho Jeeves! etc etc

of the engineering Group of the Geological Society. After retirement he moved back to Devon and died in 2009.

Among more than 60 lots from this source was a first edition of Charles Lyell’s PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY published between 1830 and 1833. This was Lyell’s first and most influential work which promotes the theory of Uniformitarianism which dictated that certain forces which formed the earth are constant and still in action now. unsurprisingly Lyell was a friend of Charles Darwin who felt that this first edition of ‘Principles’ was superior to later editions which Lyell constantly revised. This three-volume set was assembled by Professor Dearman who had it rebound in an attractive half calf binding. It again exceeded expectations by achieving a sale price of £4,000.

Atlases and maps continue to be strong fields of collecting and a particular star in this sale was the atlas published by the Society for the Diffusion of useful Knowledge in 1844. This splendid work is illustrated with 169 hand-tinted maps as well as ‘town plans’ of many of the World’s major cities. It fetched £1,950 and a disbound copy of another edition fetched £1,100.

20th century First editions continue to be a popular area of collecting and P.G.Wodehouse has as many followers as ever: A good copy of his 1940 work EGGS, BEANS AND CRUMPETS still with its attractive dust-wrapper, fetched £190.

The poet and playwright Oscar Wilde is someone whose early editions evoke the ‘Belle epoque’ era in which he flourished before his ignominious downfall in 1895. This first period of his life was represented by an 1893 edition of SALOME which fetched £500, the later period by THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL which was published under his prison number ‘C.3.3.’ in 1898 and fetched £220.

The South West has a vibrant book trade and sales of this quality attract national and international interest. Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood are keen to build on our new strengths and are intent on making our Honiton saleroom a major force in antiquarian book auctions.


18 Issue No. 2

A number of clocks of interest have come through the department in the last few months, not least

a marquetry longcase clock by the well-known maker William Prevost of Newcastle, which prompted a surprise response sometime after it’s sale. Walnut clocks of this type, inlaid with panels of marquetry, as opposed to ‘all-over’ inlay, and signed by a prominent maker are always welcome on the market. That this example also had a dial slightly smaller than the norm, eleven inches across, was an added bonus allied to the fact that the hour striking, latched-pillar movement was of month duration rather than eight-day, all-in-all making for an interesting and desirable piece of horology. William Prevost, often spelt Provost with an ‘o’ as on this example, was of French origin and is believed to have learnt his craft in London. By February of 1689 he is known to be a clockmaker in Newcastle when his marriage to Margaret Badudouuin, most probably also of French extraction, was recorded in Stepney, east London.

One interesting story related to William Prevost concerns a wager he had in 1699 with the wonderfully named clockmaker Deodatus Threkfeld to determine who was the better maker, with edward Burgis and Samuel Watson, two respectable clockmakers’ themselves, as judges. Threkfeld won this particular competition, but was the fact his son was engaged to the daughter of Samuel Watson, one of those determining the outcome, of any influence? The wonderful year-duration clock made by Prevost for this

ClocksB y L e I G H e X S T e N C e

‘duel’ is believed to be the example exhibited at the Antiquarian Horological Society’s ‘Horological Masterworks’ exhibition held at Oxford in 2003. Consigned from a private collector it was catalogued for auction with an estimate of £10,000-£12,000 with the final hammer price being close to the lower estimate.

Interestingly, a number of weeks after the auction had taken place, a letter arrived on my desk in relation to the clock. Immediately on opening the envelope it was apparent why, the letter-heading showing it to be from a member of the Prevost family, and a descendant of the maker himself, who had belatedly heard about the clock and was enquiring as to whether there were any further details about it. What made

it doubly interesting was that the writer had also undertaken his own research and I was able to add his hither-too unknown notes to those already recorded about William Prevost. It is always satisfying when new research material comes to light in this manner, especially from a direct descendant.

At the other end of the scale another clock to have come our way recently was the rather beautiful miniature carriage clock of the late-Victorian period which had formed part of a small collection from a local vendor. It had everything that one looks for in a piece such as this; only three inches tall; an engraved, rather than plain case which itself was of the Cannallee design used by the makers’ of this period for their better-than-average pieces;


19Issue No. 2

decorative pink porcelain dial & matching panels in the Sevres-style, not only to the sides but, unusually, to the rear door as well; and a movement, complete with it’s original platform escapement, which was stamped with the trademark of Drocourt, one of the top carriage French clock makers’ working in the mid-to-late Victorian period. Pierre & Alfred Drocourt, father & son, had a factory at Saint-Nicolas-d’Ailermont,

the most important town for carriage clock manufacture at the time, as well as premises in Paris at both Rue Debelleyme, 28 and Rue de Limoges. They made superb carriage clocks, often highly decorative, and were awarded numerous exhibition medals including the Bronze Medal at Paris 1867, the Silver in 1878 and the gold in 1889. Alfred succeeded his father Pierre sometime in the 1870’s.

All these features determined that this gem of a clock would be well fought over when it came up in the January Fine sale and it was no surprise to see it selling for £2,500.

Achieving top prices for the better clocks appears to be a trend that is going to continue throughout the foreseeable future and one that shows the strength in this market.

T he recent Specialist Maritime sale could perhaps be summed in the following words; “A good

reputation is more valuable than money” – Publilius Syrus (Roman Author 1st century B.C). The sale continues to enjoy a strong following from local and international buyers. Due to success in past sales, this year the sale attracted numerous entries from vendors searching online for a saleroom with a specialist department in which to consign their pieces. No doubt the successes of this recent sale helping Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood further our own reputation.

In the current climate it has been noticeable that many buyers have been cautious at auction, concentrating on several pieces instead of spreading bids across the whole range of lots in the sales. This certainly continued in the sale with the collection of Bovey Pottery blue and white mess bowls and plates selling at the bottom end of the estimates. However, the collection of Ocean Liner ceramics with shipping line crests and emblems proved enticing for one collector to make a 700 mile round trip on the day.

Of the main pieces in the sale it is no surprise that once again it came down to reputation on the day. The storyline could easily have come from a Hollywood block buster, as the reputations of two of england’s 18th century Admirals came to the fore. One a steadfast career man who married a Bishop’s daughter, the other a headstrong warrior who caused a scandal in 18th century society with his affairs.

The late 18th century Turkish bronze cannon captured from the Turks during the Dardanelles Operation in 1807 was certainly an imposing piece, reaching £9000 on the day. Captured by english Marines under the command of Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB, it was brought back to england and placed outside his home at Weare House, Topsham. Admiral Duckworth had joined the navy at the age of 11 and was one of the country’s leading naval commanders by the time he married Catherine Buller, the daughter of the Bishop of exeter in 1808. His career however, was marked by criticism of his incisiveness and cautious approach as well as being overshadowed many of his better know contempories.

He was once again overshadowed in the sale as a small white metal mounted snuff marl reputed to have been taken from Lord Admiral Nelson’s cabin surprised everyone in the room after fierce telephone bidding propelled the hammer price to a staggering

£16,000. The stature of Nelsons iconic name and career obviously still carries the cache and reputation to ignite strong competition amongst collectors. This small piece came into the sale room in a small brown cardboard box with “Nelson snuff” written in biro over the old postage label. Hardly the most promising provenance. However, also within the box was a late 19th century letter from the Principal of Brighton College detailing how it had come to be within his possession.

With such difference between the two items in terms of size but originating from exactly the same period, it was interesting to see how much difference the reputations of these two men still had an effect on their disability with collectors.

The picture section of the sale was once again well represented with the notable work of Abraham Hulk Snr attracting considerable interest from Holland. This which eventually sold in the room for £1700, while the collection of by Claude Muncaster (1907 – 1974) all sold to a single collector. The oil on canvas “Bending the mainsail” by Alfred Briscoe (1873 – 1943) carried through the pre sale interest to reach double the estimate at £12,000.

A strong feature in the calendar of sales offered by Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, the Maritime department continues to build the growing reputation of the company as one of the leading auction room in the country to provide the specialist need for our clients.

Maritime SaleB y B R I A N G O O D I S O N - B L A N K S

top of theLots

A pair of Chinese porcelain yellow ground medallion bowls.

Sold for £11,500

Robert O Lenkiewicz (1941 – 2002) ‘The last supper’,

oil on canvas. Sold for £80,000

Robert O Lenkiewicz (1941 – 2002) ‘

Self portrait’ oil on board.

Sold for £8,200

A documentary North Devon pottery jug.

Sold for £5,700

Robert O Lenkiewicz (1941 – 2002) ‘Lisa Stokes

holding a mirror’, oil on canvas.

Sold for £40,000

A North Devon pottery jug.

Sold for £8,100

A 19th Century Vienna gilt metal and enamel charger.

Sold for £19,000

Circle of Francois Boucher (1703 – 1770)

‘Young girl with a dove’, oil on canvas.

Sold for £10,500

A Victorian 18ct gold cup

Sold for £9,500

Demetre H Chiparus (1886 – 1947)

‘Etiole de Mare’ (Starfish) – A bronze and ivory figure.

Sold for £70,000

ST. eDMuND’S COuRT | OKeHAMPTON STReeT | eXeTeR eX4 1Du DOWeLL STReeT | HONITON | eX14 1LX

01392 413100 | [email protected] | www.BHandL.co.uk

issue no.2 lot · 2020-02-01 · the lot news from bearnes hampton & littlewood auctioneers and...

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