GAZETTE DISS
AUCTION
ROOMS
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GAZETTE
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SPRING
2015
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ISSUE
The lure of Bygones Page 7
Telling Time
Selling Time
Calling Time
page 3
page 6
page 4
42
Q:What can go up a chimney down but never down a chimney up? The coming month may bring customary April Showers but it may also suggest an interesting area to collect. Umbrellas have their origins in the history of portable sun-protectors dating back to ancient Greece where royalty, both male and female, used shading accessories to shield themselves from the sun. Parasols were carried as a symbol of authority in some Oriental and African countries, too.They appear on transfer-printed ceramic designs and in book plates by the late 18th/ early 19th Centuries. Parasols were perfected in the 19th Century and quickly accepted as dynamic and versatile fashion statements, and in high society, often suited with fabrics from the dress-maker. Their ability to fend-off the heat of the sun was developed and refined with the use of more robust fabrics to provide shelter from the wetting of rain; and the umbrella as we know it today was born. Umbrellas have been produced in a variety of styles over the years and it can prove a satisfying pastime to study and collect them. If you might be tempted, here are a few pointers: Umbrella Tips Look for straight umbrella spokes and workable mechanisms Check the umbrella will open to its full extent and has only slight wear to the handle Check the fabric is original; by their nature umbrellas and parasols do deteriorate and sometimes the material has been replaced on an early handle Be wary of reproductions; as early examples become harder to find and also more expensive it is likely you may come across imitation copies Also look out for matching fashion accessories sometimes stored with antique umbrellas, especially if part of an estate sold at auction. Ladies in the 19th Century sometimes paired their umbrellas and parasols with matching stockings, gloves and shoes
A: An umbrella
Automobilia Automobilia Report Report
By Andre Ling 12 March saw the first of many Thursday evening auctions in the form of our Automobilia sale. The change of date and smaller lot numbers did not deter bidders and the room was filled with enthusiastic buyers creating a vibrant atmosphere. The sale featured a varied range of lots to suit collectors covering most aspects of vehicles and racing such as vintage bikes, Speedway items, books, badges, signs and spares etc. Star lot on this occasion was an
enamel sign ‘Dragonfly motor oils and greases’ which sold at £200. The biggest surprise was lot 5251, volumes 1 & 2two of ‘Grand Prix Car’ by Laurence Pomeray which sold for £90! The next Automobilia sale will be held on Thursday 15 October in the Blyth Barn sale area at Diss Auction Rooms. Consignments are invited by appointment or alternatively bring them in on Saturday 10 October, 8.30am – 12pm.
Sale Meadow News from April 2015 the Deadstock Meadow sale will start at 10am The first sale being Thursday 2 April See page 6 for full Easter Opening hours
Wristwatches
By Oliver Allen
From the trenches of WWI to the fashion era of the 1920’ s/30s 1920’s/30s We are now twelve months on from the centenary of the outbreak of WWI. At about the same time as this war started the first continent–wide, mass production of watches to be worn on soldiers’ wrists began, and they proved far more practical than a pocket watch for obvious reasons. So followed a period of good business for the Swiss watch industry, as production of watches for both sides were produced on a huge scale. These time-pieces became known as ‘trench’ watches with this being their most common environment. Some have survived to the present day, but many, many more did not.
As with the market for all wristwatches value varies on every timepiece depending on the manufacturer, style, functions and importantly condition, and today’s surviving watches are no exception. Well-known manufacturers such as Rolex, Omega, Longines participated in producing these over 100 years ago. Following the war wristwatches became more of a fashion accessory and the demand for stylish watches, and in some cases the simplistic design of trench watches remained
popular until the early 1930’s. Even in the present day the image of a white dial with bold Arabic numerals is a popular choice for many as a throwback to the era of the Great War. Pictured are two examples of trench watches in silver. One is a half-hunter case dating from 1915 – 1920 that has survived for nearly a century, whilst the other is a
dress watch made in Switzerland but retailed by the wellknown jeweller and watchmaker J.W. Benson of London. This has its original box and dates from 1920-30 but keeps the classic design. Both along with many watches are to feature in the forthcoming Clocks and Watches sale on Thursday 2 April (the day before Good Friday, so please don’t forget!).
Retirement Yields Lots of Memories By Elizabeth Talbot Carl Willows, renowned specialist on the subjects of architectural salvage and rural bygones, valuer and auctioneer is to retire at the end of March. Carl is leaving having spent more than 20 illustrious years fronting and growing two of our flagship departments. When he began at the auction house he brought experience gained in previous employment around the globe plus his passions for history, language and horticulture, all of which he has used to enrich the auctions he has grown.
of customers from across the UK, Western Europe and America and in turn has helped to bring a lot of extra visitors to our Norfolk market town. Architectural Salvage sales reached dizzy heights in the early 21st Century with upwards of 1,500 lots being offered each sale. This was subsequently dampened by the rise in fuel and transport costs, but interest in real terms has not waned and the sales continue to yield treasures and surprises enough to satisfy all enthusiasts near and far!
Rural Bygones sales are a fond favourite of a When he started in wide and varied market. 1994 the Rural Bygones They never cease to and Architectural amaze and offer a Salvage & Garden wonderful window on Statuary sales were ways of life long gone. very much in their Consignments include infancy, just small offtools of ancient village shoots of weekly crafts and trades, deadstock sales. He accessories for farming diligently harboured and vintage animal the interest of husbandry, advertising specialist buyers and goods, shop stock, tended the needs of kitchenalia and domestic vendors, promoting his artefacts. Carl has also auctions as dedicated overseen the marketing platforms for very of many important particular interests. His private dedicated singleknowledge and owner collections, expertise has spread including the Soap nation-wide and he is Collection – the owner responsible for having turned down a attracting the attention handsome offer for the
collection prior to the sale. Carl agreed he would bid via the telephone for an absentee bidder for the whole of the sale, a move which proved fortuitous. The Sutton Windmill museum sale proved to be a massive undertaking but another good learning curve. Carl has never stopped learning and never will. Other single owner collections handled include those of the much missed Jack Landymore and Glyn Evans. Others follow. We are now handling a magnificent collection from Clifford Lewis of Buckinghamshire, consisting of over 300 various traps, taxidermy and hunting, shooting and fishing items to be spread over more than one sale. (see next page) Carl’s successor will be valuer and auctioneer Robert Kinsella who has worked alongside Carl for several years
and will already be familiar to many in the fields of architectural salvage and rural bygones. Whilst Carl and his major contributions to life at Diss Auction Rooms will surely be missed, he is wished much happiness for a long and interesting retirement, with grateful thanks from Directors, colleagues and a myriad of customers.
Carl’s final auction will be the Rural Bygones to be held on Saturday 28 March.
Rural Bygones March 28
a.
This March Bygone sale features very strongly the private collection of Clifford Lewis, a wonderful gentleman from Buckinghamshire and a great patron of our sales for many years. His knowledge and eye for quality are reflected in the items in the sale, covering the spectrum of game-keeping, taxidermy, and hunting, shooting and fishing artefacts.
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There are too many highlights to mention. Be aware this is not the whole collection. Make a date in your diary for Part 2 on Saturday 23 May
a. A bird scaring rattle b. A clockwork lark lure c. A round 9" jaw trap d. 2 copper & plate hunting horns e. A wood mounted alarm gun f. A mounted specimen weasel
c. f.
The sale of our red nose day Saleroom 3 catalogues raised ÂŁ75 towards the charity. Thank you
EASTER OPENING HOURS Fri 27 March Sat 28 March Mon 30 March Tues 31 March Wed 1 April Thur 2 April
Wines & Spirits with Antiques Plus other sales as usual 8.30am - 6pm Rural Bygones 8.30am - Finish
Fri 3 April Sat 4 April
8.30am - 5pm open as usual 8.30am - 5pm open as usual VIEWING 2pm - 8pm Clocks & Watches with Antiques Saleday all sales as usual 8.30am - 6pm CLOSED Taking entries as usual 8.30am - 12noon
Mon 6 April Tues 7 April
CLOSED Open as usual 8.30am - 5pm
Ivy Cottage Millway Lane Palgrave, Suffolk IP22 1AD Guide Price £200,000 - £300,000
Property Auction 30 April Next property auction, 28 May
Welcome back
Flog it! Friday 27 March Saleroom 2
Uranium Glass Most everyday glass is given the name soda-lime glass. This hardworking and flexible glass appears clear to the naked eye but sometimes due to iron impurities it may have a slight green tinge to it. Adding more iron oxide to the manufacturing process will get a blue green glass or adding Chromium will get wine bottle coloured glass. However if you want to make exciting bright yellowy green glass you go Nuclear, and add Uranium. Uranium oxide was first separated as uranium ore in 1841 and glass experimentalists keen to throw anything into the process were quick to latch onto the startling results produced. Not only had they created a vivid yellow green spectrum of colour, they had also generated a material that seemed to glow in natural light. This “strange” glow is due to how the material fluoresces under Ultra-violet light. The typical colour of uranium glass is a pale yellowish-green which in the 1920’s led to the nickname Vaseline glass based on similarity of appearance to petroleum jelly. The proportion of colorant usually varies from trace levels to about 2% by weight uranium, although some 20th-century pieces were made with up to 25% uranium; enough to register above background radiation on a Geiger counter! Apart from Vaseline glass there are many other types of uranium bearing glass, some of which have also been given names. For example some opaque uranium glass tends to be called ‘Custard Glass’ and if it also has a pink tinged satin area to part of it (caused by gold in the mix being reheated), then it may well be termed ‘Burmese Glass’. Friday 27 March sees virtually every shade of green represented as we offer a distinct private collection of uranium glass.Assembled by a private collector for academic research it serves as a great cross section of fashion and tastes. And if green is your colour Diss Auction Rooms is certainly the place to be this March.
A sample of this season’s Greens.
Blyth Barn proves big success by Matt Brand,Auction Rooms Manager
When I first started working at the auction rooms, nearly 20 years ago, one of my first duties was to assist with the “Pine and Shipping” furniture auction in the Pens. Held every Friday from 9.30am this outside sale comprised 200 or so lots which was at best some unique and often very large items just needing a little TLC and at worst a sale of items not good enough for our inside sale. In another area of the Pens, the name being taken from supporting metalwork that historically formed the Animal Pens, we held a small fresh produce auction. As time passed the loyal following for “furniture for restoration” grew, the sale expanded and the produce auction could
GAZETTE Issue 42/spring’15
not justify the space required. From 200 lots easily housed we moved to regular sales with 300 lots competing for space and this required the furniture to further edge out from underneath the minimal roof covering and exposed them to the elements. Yet despite playing weather roulette every week the vendors supplying the sale kept increasing and the buyers kept coming; often huddled in groups to avoid the dripping gutters or prevailing drafts. Testament to what the Pens staff, headed by Auctioneer Lawrence Baynes, were building (I had long since moved into the warm!) we considered several improvement options but eventually the choice was made to put up a new building; The Blyth Barn.
Opened on Friday 5 September 2014 the Blyth Barn was designed to increase the square footage of selling space, improve access for deliveries and collections and of course, keep the weather out. All other areas of the sale were to be re-produced; welcoming and helpful staff, furniture displayed well, auctioneer walking around the sale for an intimate auction experience amongst them. So after six months what is the verdict? Successful. Very Successful. Lot numbers on a weekly basis have increased 10.5% and average price per lot has increased by 12%. In short we can offer buyers more choice and variety every Friday for all pockets and all tastes, and when the vendors
cheques arrive on the door mats on Monday it will generally be for more than we could ever have achieved before.A genuine win win.The Barn also offers us a dual selling space which has allowed us to introduce Thursdays sales to the Calendar (see Automobilia report on page 5). Should you have any questions about how to sell your furniture in the Blyth Barn or think you may have a collection perfect for this saleroom don’t hesitate to contact Lawrence Baynes or me 01379 650 306. And now that winter has passed (maybe a bit hopeful on that one!) do not worry; the site still has plenty of outside sale areas where you can enjoy the seasonal sun.
Diss Auction Rooms, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4LN 01379 650 306 auctions@twgaze.co.uk www.twgaze.co.uk