Bobby dazzlers go under the hammer

CELEBRITY antiques expert David Dickinson brought heirlooms – as well as his trademark wink – to the Cotswold salerooms of Moore Allen & Innocent last week.

Bobby dazzlers from the cupboards and attics of Wiltshire residents went under the hammer, when David brought the second part of his Real Deal television show to Cirencester.

Back in October, David and his team of experts called in to the Olympiad leisure centre in Chippenham to value antiques and heirlooms brought along by ordinary members of the public.

Antiques dealers were invited to offer owners money for their possessions. But the owners were also given the option of taking their antiques to auction, where they might sell for much more money than the dealer had offered… or far less.

On hand to offer expert advice was Philip Allwood, Moore Allen’s auctioneer, and a number of the items he persuaded owners to bring to the rostrum went under the hammer on Friday (November 6).

Among the best was a three-foot-tall enamel forecourt advertising sign from the 1930s for Duckham’s Adcoids, incorporating a thermometer. These signs are highly collectable, but there were still gasps of surprise and delight when bidding accelerated past the £250 to £350 estimate, coming to a halt at £680.

Meanwhile, a circa 1920 children’s tea set from Grimwades, featuring scenes from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, achieved £200 – bang in the middle of the auctioneer’s £180 to £220 estimate.

It wasn’t all about Real Deal, however: most of the antiques were being sold on behalf of private vendors, and one seller was left delighted when their George V Asprey’s locking decanter – which had been expected to sell for £100 to £150 – made the top price of the day at £1,200.

Similarly, an early 20th century travel trunk by Aux Etats Unis – a manufacturer of exceptional luggage and a contemporary of the now far-more-famous Louis Vuitton – made £540 against at £50 to £80 estimate, while a set of six late 19th century service bells – which one would ring to call a servant to lug one’s Aux Etats Unis luggage to the carriage – achieved £500 against an estimate of £50 to £80.

With almost 1,000 lots going under the hammer, bidding went on into the early evening. Leaving the rostrum, auctioneer Philip Allwood said: “It was one of our biggest and best sales of the year, with good antiques making great prices.

“The salerooms were full, and even without the TV crew, 10 contestants and David Dickinson’s huge personality, it would have still been packed in here.”

The next sale is on Friday, November 20. For more information about buying and selling at auction, log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk/furniturefinearts

A Duckham’s forecourt advertising sign	A Peter Rabbit tea set
Antiques dealer Simon Schneider and Rachel Stannard, from Corsham, look over a Maori axe with tribal carvings, watched by Real Deal presenter David Dickinson and Philip Allwood from Moore Allen & Innocent.