Christmas cards make top price at January sale
ANYONE who thinks they can pick up cheap Christmas cards in the January sales had not reckoned on the first antiques auction of the year at Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester.
For two albums of Victorian postcards and Christmas cards sold for £1,700 – earning Lot 312 the accolade of top price of the day.
Auctioneer Philip Allwood said: “People were getting very excited about the collection. There were some hand-painted cards, as well as printed ones, and dealers from across the country were bidding on the telephones, while the lot was also generating considerable interest in the room.”
The bundled lot also included mid 20th century theatre programmes including the Globe Theatre's Nude With a Violin, a comedy starring John Gielgud, Joyce Kerry, David Horn and Kathleen Harrison, and The Old Vic Company 1959-1960 Season The Importance of Being Ernest starring Alec McCowen, Norman Scace and Judy Dench.
Fine furniture set the pace for the remaining top earners. A Louis Philippe mahogany commode with black marble top achieved £980 and a Victorian bird's eye maple veneered dwarf bookcase sold for £640.
Meanwhile a late Regency mahogany wash stand cleaned up at £620 and a bidder pocketed an E J Riley quarter size mahogany billiard table and accessories for £600.
Elsewhere – and perhaps with an eye on the next card and gift-exchanging opportunity of the year on February 14 – an early 19th century Pearlware pottery figure group of two cupids contesting a heart was bought for £680.
And a large selection of binoculars, including some interesting wartime examples, were split into lots of four or six, and achieved a combined hammer price of £1,350.
Philip said: “The first sale of 2012 followed a pattern established over the past few years: lots of collectors eager to spend their Christmas money and dealers looking to restock after the festive season, with nearly £65,000 worth of antiques and collectables being bought and sold.”
The next Moore Allen & Innocent antiques auction will be held on Friday, January 20, when a large collection of Beatles ephemera will be going under the hammer. For more information log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk
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| Two albums of Victorian postcards and Christmas cards, which sold for £1,700 |
An early 19th century Pearlware pottery figure group of two cupids contesting a heart (pictured as part of a larger selection of pottery) which was bought for £680 |
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| A Louis Philippe mahogany commode with black marble top, which achieved £980 | |