£854 RAISED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 256, 29 October 1942, Page 6

£854 RAISED

CHURCHILL AUCTIONS

PATRIOTIC FUND GIFTS

The Churchill Auctions, which concluded yesterday in the Art Gallery realised £854 for the patriotic funds, but it is possible that this sum will be increased by the disposal of unsold articles, privately through the chief librarian, Mr. j! Barr. The honorary auctioneer was Mr. L. J. Coakley. The result has thus exceeded that of the Dunedin auctions last week which produced just over £500. Nevertheless, a large number of the 550 articles failed to reach even mar-kef value. Cash gifts totalling £100 from people who were unable to give articles for sale, but who wished to assist the funds are included in the Auckland total. The first day's proceeds amounted to £391 and those of yesterday to £363. After the sale of paintings yesterday, drawings, engravings, etchings photographic studies and books not ot direct New Zealand interest, were auctioned. Modern etchings sold at 30/ or so, but a number of drawings and engravings were not purchased. I he Art Gallery bought an interesting group of four original lithographs of symbolic subjects by E. J. Sullivan at £6 10/, and portraits of Dr. F. Hochstetter and Bishop John Selwyn were bought for the Old Colonists' Museum.

j Celebrities' Autographs I Appreciation of Robin Hyde's ; work was evident at the sale. "Two !of her letters realised £10 10/ the top price for autographs and auto-R'-aph letters. The day before, one ot her books, with a poem, brought .to. two letters of Sir George Grey in Maori realised £1 5/ and a small file ot correspondence with G. B. Shaw, H 10/. A postcard written by Shaw however, sold for only 2/6 The prices obtained for some' other famous people indicated that "autograph hounds" were not among those present at the auctions. Some o these samples realised as followsMr. and Mrs. Churchill. 11/; King George V., as Duke of York, 9/; Pamel O Connell, 10/; Madame Patti, 8/6; Saint-Saens, Sarasate and Clara Schumann (bracketed), 12/; Kipling, 5/, Lord Roberts, 4/6; Garibaldi, 3/6-Baden-Powell, King William IV., and Dr. Streeseman. 2/6 each. The sale of books of other than New Zealand interest brought fair prices only. Just under £5 was paid 39 volumes of Punch an 18th century "Arabian Nights" in six volumes realised £3 3/, and a first edition of Vanity Fair" brought £1. TWno tlons ,. ot ' engravings after Tu '! ler S.f a }}. sed from £4 to 17/6. The Wellington Auctions are to Phr?ot° n H No r mber 5 - The P r °J' ec t >n Christchurch was stated some time ago to have been abandoned, owing << of public support. On the whole, we considered the response quite satisfactory," Mr Barr said this morning. "Some articles certainly did not fetch their value, but on the other hand, others it, making the balance more or less even.