Get on yer bike and work!
IT'S almost 20 years since the politician Norman Tebbit, during one of the county's cyclical economic downturns, famously suggested that the employed of Britain should get on their bikes and look for work.
And at Moore Allen & Innocent's general and antiques sale on Friday, June 11 anyone looking for an opportunity to start a two-wheeled business will be delighted by a late 20th century Pashley 'deli' bike.
The bike has a fitted bonnet on the front, particularly useful for displaying wares from filled sandwiches or fruit to cold drinks, which, perhaps, could be sold to sunbathers in one of Cirencester's many parks.
But the coup de grace is a deep rear fitted storage basket on two wheels, attached to the bike by a connecting bar - handy if you don't want to interrupt deliveries by heading back to base for more supplies.
It's a warehouse, a shop window and a work's vehicle all in one. The £50 to £80 estimate seems a bargain.
From a shop counter of a bygone age comes a set of balance scales in brass on an oak base. Scales of the kitchen variety come up at auction all the time, of course.
What makes this one different is that it came from a post office, and will weigh parcels up to eleven pounds in weight. A bid of £50 to £80 should secure the item.
From brass to copper, and a large 19th century studded copper, probably originally used for washing clothes, would now make a characteristic planter for the garden.
When a 4ft by 4ft example came up in February it made £420. This 3ft by 3ft version carries an estimate of £100 to £150.
Also full of character, and from the 19th century, is a decoupage sewing table in the high Victorian taste. The original owner has glued scraps of decorated paper - originally intended to spice up photo albums and scrapbooks - onto a lacquered walnut table. The result is an explosion of colourful Victoriana imagery.
The table itself is octagonal on a tripod pedestal base with stylised dolphin head feet. The table top lifts to reveal eight small compartments around a central compartment, and the piece of furniture is small enough sit in an entrance hall as storage for car keys, loose change and the like. As such, it is practical as well as quirky, and bids of between £200 and £300 are expected.
Finally, and sticking with Victoriana, a long, thin strip map follows the path of the Thames from Kemble to Southend.
This original copy of Tombleson's Panoramic Map of the Thames and Medway, circa 1890, would originally have been kept in a folder. This version has been mounted and framed to create one 4ft tall picture.
With Cirencester at the top of the map, it is possible to trace the route of the Thames through familiar local towns and villages including Cricklade, Kempsford, and Lechlade, where settlements have been portrayed as clusters of houses and churches.
What makes this map interesting is that Reading is around the size of Lechlade, while London boroughs like Fulham, Wandsworth and Vauxhall are denoted by a church and a smattering of houses.
Built-up London doesn't really start until the Thames reaches Chelsea - at which point the map turns an orangey red of rooftops, which fizzle out again well before Greenwich.
It's the perfect picture for anyone with a house on the route of the Thames, and £50 to £80 should secure it.
To find out more about buying and selling at auction log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk
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| Close up of an original copy of Tombleson's Panoramic Map of the Thames and Medway, circa 1890 | |
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| A large 19th century studded copper | A set of balance scales in brass on an oak base |
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| A decoupage sewing table in the high Victorian taste | - Close up |
