Celebrity Doctor's pen set
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Godalming - 11th May The pen was owned by Dr Osmund Frank, an eminent physician and Mayor of Maidenhead between 1946-1949. Mabie Todd & Co, Swan leverless 18 carat gold fountain pen, London 1938 & matching 'Fyne Point' pencil, est £500-700 He was an eccentric and flamboyant character, his list of patients included many celebrities of the day such as the actress and sex symbol Diana Dors, who would attend not only his surgery, but also the many decadent garden parties the doctor would host with his wife at Chauntry Court near Maidenhead. |
"The Sport of Kings"
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The Norman R. Bobins Collection  For the first time in its 250 year history, Dreweatts is sponsoring a race at Newbury Racecourse on Friday 15th April. This new venture by Dreweatts offers the perfect venue for an exhibition of highlights from the Norman R Bobins Collection of British Sporting Prints, which has a special emphasis on equestrian prints; the highlights will be on view in the pavilions at Newbury overlooking the pre-parade ring on the 15th and 16th April and then the 175 lots will be offered at auction at Donnington Priory on Wednesday 20th April. This private American collection not only covers many of Britain’s major horse racing and steeple chasing events of the 18th and 19th century, but also encompasses other gentlemanly pursuits such as fox, boar and tiger hunting, pheasant and duck shooting as well as other sports including rowing, cricket, curling, rackets and golf.  Francis Calcraft Turner, Godolphin Arabian, Cham & the Darely Arabian, Roxana 1842, est. £4,000-6,000 Norman R Bobins collected over a period of 25 yrs, his passion having been triggered by a visit to the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art, where he was immediately attracted by hand coloured prints in aquatint and lithography, his interest stemming as much from the medium as the subject. The qualifying criteria for inclusion in his collection were based on visual appeal and subject matter as well as on the fineness of the impression and quality of the original hand colouring. The Norman R Bobins Collection is thus of equal interest to the print connoisseur and the sports enthusiast.  James Pollard, Procession of His Majesty, King George IV to Ascot Heath Races, est. £800-1,200 The earliest sporting prints were equestrian portraits and hunting and racing scenes; these tended to be the traditional domain of the wealthy who could commission fashionable artists to depict their sporting prowess or their success at the races. Known as ‘The Sport of Kings’, horse racing and especially British horse racing, exists in two forms: flat racing, which has its championship in the summer and steeple chasing which is mainly in the winter; the latter grew out of the winter hunting season, a subject equally enjoyed by well known artists such as Sartorius, Alken, Stubbs, Herring, Hunt, Pollard, Calcraft Turner and Wolstenholme. As spring turned to summer, British ‘society’ returned to the city and the London summer season, which still today, is characterised by sporting and social events such as the Boat Race, Lord’s Test Match, the Henley Regatta and The Open. The traditional close of the London ‘season’ was the Glorious Twelfth of August, which marked the beginning of the shooting season, when ‘society’ retired to the country for the autumn to shoot grouse. |
For a grandiose garden
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Garden Statuary & Furniture - 19 April Dreweatts’ single owner collection of Garden Statuary and Architectural Ornaments on 19th April together with items from John Hobbs Fine Art Ltd, offers an ideal opportunity to buy grandiose garden ornament as well as decorative and unexpected pieces for the home as well as the garden.  Lot 203: A reconstitued stone model of Phocian the Good, est. £10,000-15,000 ‘Garden ornament and furnishings are a perennial favourite at Dreweatts, the attractive grounds and period setting of Donnington Priory, combined with reliably strong local and non-local bidding, tend to attract interesting and varied consignments for sale, and the forthcoming auction is no exception!’ said Dreweatts Director, Cristian Beadman. ‘Garden sales have traditionally been a spring time offering, but it has become apparent that good objects carrying realistic estimates will sell well at any time of year.’  Lot 222: A pair of patinated metal garden models of lions, est. £1,000-1,500 |
WWI Nurse's Diary
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Daily Mail - 11 March  Lot 20: A Rare Early Great War 'Nursing' Group of Five to Nurse, Later Sister L. K. Card of the Volunteer Aid Detachment The diary of a 'Florence Nightingale' nurse who helped soldiers during World War One is being sold at auction by her family. The moving diaries, complete with touching letters written by soldiers she treated in the trenches, will go on sale along with her pristine Red Cross uniform. Lucy Kate 'Kitty' Card was a nurse who cared for severely injured soldiers from the bloody Battle of the Somme, working in military hospitals in Le Havre, Calais, Rouen and Etaples.While there she kept a diary in which she wrote movingly about the horrors of the Great War. Now, almost 100 later, her memoirs are set to go under the hammer after being put up for sale. Her Red Cross commandant's uniform has survived remarkably well and, complete with its starched collars, will be part of the auction along with medals and sepia photographs.  On the front line: Nurse 'Kitty' Card with WWI soldiers The collection (lot 20) charting Sister Card's career from 1914 to 1919 is expected to fetch between £1,500 and £2,000 when it goes under the hammer at Dreweatt's Militaria auction in Bristol on March 29. |
A resurgence of interest
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Period Jewellery - 9 March ‘As we saw in our latest sale of Fine Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Objects of Vertu there is a huge resurgence of interest in period jewellery, especially classic Victorian and Edwardian pieces. You simply don’t often see jewellery of this kind and this quality on the market nowadays,’ said a delighted James Nicholson, Dreweatts’ International Head of Jewellery and Silver.  Lot 272: A Regency gold and amethyst necklace and earring suite, circa 1820, sold for £6,100 ‘We hold regular monthly sales, then every three months we have a ‘show case’ sale of the best pieces we have been offered over that period. This recent sale on 9th March was just such a sale and what a resounding success it was! The star lots were fiercely fought over, taking many well over the top estimates.’  Lot 279: A mid Victorian gold and turquoise demi-parure, circa 1870, sold for £4,270 National and international telephone lines were buzzing, internet bidding was lively but the preponderance of enthusiastic private buyers in the saleroom was exceptional. The 485 lot sale, mainly consisting of privately owned, quality pieces made well over the higher estimate. |