One of the largest private collections of military vehicles in the UK is being auctioned by plant and machinery auctioneers Sanderson Weatherall.
The collection of about 150 wheeled and tracked military vehicles is being sold by the Manchester office of Sanderson Weatherall on behalf of Lancashire property developer Brian Boys who has decided to reduce his collection to a few favourite vehicles.
The collection as a whole is valued at in excess of £1m and individual lots are expected to attract bids of up to and in excess of £100,000.
Among the tracked …

Sotheby’s London have announced that a pair of Magnificent Pair of Imperial Porcelain Vases, Period of Nicholas I (1825-1855), St Petersburg, will headline Sotheby’s Treasures: Aristocratic Heirlooms Sale in London on Tuesday, July 6, 2010.
The auction – the first ever sale of its type at Sotheby’s – will bring together some 21 lots, the intrinsic quality and importance of which will be matched by the extraordinary nature of their provenance. Ranging in date from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and emanating from all corners of Europe, the works in …

A rare model or Stephenson’s iconic ‘Rocket’ locomotive has been discovered on a routine valuation day in Lichfield.
The detailed model measuring 36cm high is one of just 41 models commissioned from 1881 onwards for fundraising on behalf of the Railway Servants Orphanage. Constructed from brass, the model has a wooden clad ‘boiler’ and operational wheels and pistons.
Originally it would have been in a glazed case with coin operated mechanism and placed at key railway station platforms, (such as Birmingham). By placing a coin in the slot, the model would perform …

A bottle of Glenfiddich has been sold for £25,200, at Bonhams Whisky sale in Edinburgh making it one of the most expensive bottles of whisky ever sold at auction. (The world record of £29,400 was paid in 2007 for a 19th century bottle of Bowmore).
The whisky is described as having a bouquet of “newly dug peat, burnt leather, old books, leather and oak” and the taste of treacle toffee, crème brûlée and toasted almonds.”
A 70cl single malt distilled in 1937, it is one of only 61 bottles produced and was …

One of the 20th century’s most controversial and fabled motor cars, a 1981 DeLorean DMC12 Coupé, owned by Miranda Guinness, Countess of Iveagh, is to be sold by Bonhams as part of the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 2 July 2010. The car, which has been on long-term display at the Robert Guinness Steam Museum in Dublin and the Irish Museum of Transport, has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £15,000 – 20,000.
The brainchild of ex-General Motors executive John Zachary DeLorean, the DeLorean sports car project found a home in Northern …

Bonhams are to sell the TARDIS used to transport Christopher Eccleston as the ninth incarnation of Doctor Who in the Entertainment Memorabilia auction on 23rd June 2010 at Bonhams, Knightsbridge.
The TARDIS was created for the programme in 2005 and is expected to fetch £8,000-12,000. A more affordable miniature TARDIS model created for exhibition purposes and measuring 5ft high is also on offer, with an estimate of £300-400.
Some of the oldest Doctor Who props ever to appear at auction will also go under the hammer. Daleks from the sci-fi programme always …

A range of classic and rare Rolex timepieces are set to attract collectors and watch enthusiasts alike as they go under the hammer at Birmingham based auctioneers Fellows & Sons on Monday 5th July.
The upcoming Wrist & Pocket Watch auction showcases some of the most sought after names in the world of watches highlighting a particular period between the 1940’s and 1970’s. It was during this time of innovation that the most desirable watches were created, often limited edition timepieces enhanced by complex movements and unusual styles.
The end of the …

A HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT collection of objects from one of the greatest Battles in British Military History, the Battle of Waterloo, are to be sold by the descendants of Lieutenant-Colonel Fiennes Sanderson Miller CB of the 6th (or Inniskilling) Dragoons in an auction of Antique Arms, Armour and Militaria in London on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. The sale will be held at midday by Thomas Del Mar Ltd (in association with Sotheby’s) at his saleroom at 25 Blythe Road, W14.
Among the collection is a scarlet officer’s jacket; accompanied by a sabretache …

Bloomsbury Auctions’ sale of Important Books and Manuscripts in London on 27th May was an outstanding success, with three world records for an inscribed Das Kapital by Karl Marx, a letter from the illustrator John Tenniel to Lewis Carroll and an inscribed first edition of Dracula by Bram Stoker. The sale totalled £1.7million and was 90% sold.
One of the focal points of the sale was undoubtedly the legendary long-lost ‘Wasp in a Wig’ letter from the illustrator John Tenniel to Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carrroll) dated June 1, 1870 with …

Copies of the first four editions of Wisden, the world famous ‘Bible of Cricket’, are for sale at Bonhams Book Sale in Oxford on 29 June. They are being sold on behalf of Oxfam, as are many other items in the sale.
Wisden was first published in 1864 by the cricketer John Wisden and a copy of this very first edition (£3,000 – 5,000) plus those from 1865 (£2,000–3,000), 1866 (£1,500-2,500) and 1867 (£1,500-2,500) feature in the sale. These editions all carry the title ‘The Cricketer’s Almanack’. This was altered in …

A collection of 19th century photographic portraits of Russian Royalty goes under the hammer at Bonhams Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Photographs sale on 8 June in London (estimate £2,000 – 4,000).
Many of the portraits are of the family of Tsar Nicholas I who reigned from 1825 to 1855 and of the family of his successor Alexander II (also know as ‘The Tsar Liberator’) who ruled from 1855 until his assassination in 1881.
Among the most notable items are two finely hand-coloured cabinet cards of Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna; …

A black 1999 Mercedes-Benz SLK230, which was bought new by Dannii Minogue, and subsequently passed onto her sister, Kylie, is to be sold by Bonhams as part of the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed sale on 2 July 2010, with part of the proceeds to be donated to charity.
The celebrated Australian sisters have been the car’s only two owners. It is in fabulous condition having covered just 19,000 miles from new. The pre-sale estimate is £8,000 – 12,000.
Kylie, recently declared by researchers to be ‘the most powerful celebrity in Britain’, …

Notes taken during Michael Faraday’s ground breaking Royal Institution lectures on the nature of light and magnetism are for sale at Bonhams Book Sale on 8 June (£5,000-10,000).
The notes, bound in one volume, were put together by Maria Herries, daughter of a former Chancellor of the Exchequer John Charles Herries, and cover many of Faraday’s lectures from the mid 1830s-1850.
Also included are letters to Maria Herries from Faraday’s close friend, The Rev John Barlow, who took over the running of the Institution from Faraday and who, with him, introduced reforms …

The summits of Moel Cynghorion and Foel Goch in Snowdonia National Park, UK are for auction in a land sale. The sale by Kivells takes place in Llanberis, Wales on 9 July.
The summits, near Moel Eilio in the national park, include the 2,211ft (674m) high Moel Cynghorion and the slightly smaller, neighbouring Foel Goch and are included with 1,000 acres of moorland and grazing

A 1957-58 Italian league winner’s medal, awarded to Welsh international footballer John Charles, is to be sold at Bonhams, Chester as part of its sale of Sporting Memorabilia on 16 June. It is expected to fetch £8,000 – 10,000.
Charles, who was one of the first British professional players to be signed for an overseas team, joined Italian club Juventus F.C. in 1957 for a then record transfer fee of £65,000. In his five years at Juventus he scored 93 goals in 155 matches, and he was voted the best-ever foreign …