Whatever your type, there’s an antique for you
COTSWOLD antique auctioneers Moore Allen & Innocent claim there’s something at their general sales to suit all types. And in a manner of speaking, all types are catered for with a printer’s cabinet, which goes under the hammer next Friday (September 10).
The wooden cabinet would have been used by a typesetter at a newspaper or commercial printer. Its 17 narrow drawers are divided into small sections into which individual letters - A through to Z in upper and lower case – the numbers one to nine, and punctuation marks for different type style and sizes would have been stored.
The cabinet was manufactured by Caslon, a foundry started by William Caslon, who cut the first original English typeface in 1722. A bid of £100 to £150 should secure the lot.
The power of words is also celebrated in a small collection of enamel signs from the early 1900s. Among the best is a blue enamel sign bearing the logo of Chocolat Menier, the French confectionary giant that rotted the nation’s teeth between 1795 and the 1960s.
The sign is small and suitably distressed enough to qualify as a ‘vintage chic’ accessory for a cottage kitchen.
Similarly desirable are a sign for Pyn-Ka polishing tablets and Probyn’s Guiness’s Stout, while the collection is rounded off by a W H Smith sign featuring a cheerful paperboy and an end-of-the-pier gipsy fortune teller, who promises a vision of the future for a pre-decimal penny. The collection carries an estimate of £100 to £150.
In keeping with the words theme, a children’s book from the early 20th century features rudimentary words, charming illustrations and - surprisingly – sound effects.
The Speaking Picture Book contains various stories featuring farm animals. Pulling toggles at the side of the book operates a series of bellows, which produce different sounds replicating those made by animals, including a donkey and a goat. All the sound effects are in working order, baa the sheep (sorry). The book carries an estimate of £60 to £80.
Finally, the annual post-bank holiday cull of garden furniture takes place across the Cotswolds, with many sets finding their way to the saleroom. There are modern, antique and reproduction benches, tables and chairs in cane, wood and metal.
Among the best is a Victorian set of two chairs and a bench in the Coalbrookdale Ironworks style, with an intricate twig-like design. The set carries an estimate of £200 to £300, but buyer be warned – the wrought and cast iron pieces weigh a ton and the successful bidder will need a friend or two to help cart them away.
An online catalogue featuring all the lots can be found at www.mooreallen .co.uk
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| Typesetter’s cabinet | Typesetter’s cabinet detail |
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| Chocolat Menier sign |
Pyn-Ka sign |
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| Probyn’s Guiness sign | WH Smith sign |
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| Gipsy Fortune sign |
Speaking Picture Book (cover) |
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| Speaking Picture Book (spread) |
Speaking Picture Book (mechanism) |
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| Coalbrookdale Ironworks style chairs and benches |
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