Happy Hunting for small treasures

Press, 9 March 1982, Page 16

Happy Hunting for small treasures

Last Wednesday for the first time I had the opportunattend one of Mr R. G. Bell’s “Lilliput” auctions. I shall certainly . makp every effort to be there in future.

. Perhaps not a “must”' for a connoisseur collector in any particular field, but what a happy hunting ground for a multiplicity of collectors. Unfortunately, I did not have time before the sale to study the catalogue and inspect the items offered. This is essential to savour an auction to the full, whether as an onlooker or a collector hoping to purchase. Experience, no doubt, improves one’s auction technique so perhaps, given a little clearer idea of surplus cash available after payment of bills, provision for holiday ... I may some day succeed in making a bid at the right time for some desirable piece. Prices seemed moderate, especially early in the day. There can surely have been few categories of collectors not catered for. Everything was there, from 126 matchbox lids at $8 to a sterling stiver pepper grinder (Birmingham 1902). I greatly coveted the latter piece, but it was eventually knocked down to somebody else at $250. The intrinsic worth of the various articles, their value to collectors, and their period and place of origin varied which-was natural in a collection including such diverse objects as an ordinary glass eye-bath, Georgian silver spoons, Limoges porcelain, a glass, koala, and a china clog. True to its title the sale offered no very large objects, but the most Lilliputian was surely , a ti'nyi. carved ivory lady with parasol, about two inches high, which sold for $l2. ■ Among the slightly larger items were a complete miniature garden set in lead from the late Victorian era, containing some hundreds of pieces; and a Hornby train set. I well remember my brothers’ excitement at the prospect of Hornby train sets for Christmas. I wonder if the buyer was a collector or dealer, or just indulging nostalgic thoughts of youth.

The garden sold for $220, and the, train set for $5O. Toys were in . demand. The two which I found the most attractive were Edwardian, ■ a motor car and a Hansom cab, both quite small. They were sold for $5O and $6O respectively. Rivalling them, in my esteem, was one of the loveliest little dolls I have ever seen. She was Victorian, circa 1880, dressed in handmade clothing, all complete from the skin out. I would think she stood about 10 inches high, and somebody paid $2OO to own her. Not quite so much to my liking was a complete child’s teaset, featuring the famous Mickey Mouse. Obviously others thought differently because bidding was brisk. It sold for $6O. With all its seventeen pieces present, and in good order it would be a wonderful addition, to a twentieth century collection. For spoon collectors there, were some fine offerings, from E.P.N.S. coffee spoons to sterling silver' souvenirs and one or two good old English patterns. Old spectacles . seemed popular, most in their original cases. One lucky bidder added a silver hanging spectacle case (Birmingham 1907) to his collection, complete with the specs, for $lOO. Bidding for a silver chatelaine pencil up to $5O indicated that collectors of these most interesting objects are seeking missing pieces. The many snuff box enthusiasts soon snapped up a variety of these, including a George 111 papier-mache box, a rare. Georgian pewter

example, and a mottled sycamore one from the same, period. Collectors of militaria found plenty of interest. It was difficult to resist indulging in imaginative conjectures about the stories behind some of these items. A Netherlands “Cross for Order” and a “British South Africa medal" one takes for granted because medals are usually treasured first by the people to whom they were awarded and their families,' and later by collectors. But what prompted the preservation for such a long time of “A British Staff .-Sergeant’s Cloth Badge,” or a “British Coat of Arms Warrant Officer First Class Cloth Badge” — romance, sorrow, 'or just a tidy instinct to conserve? Perhaps they were never used but later issued, from army stores for the benefit of collectors. Who knofah? Following these was ; a‘ rather sinister object a horn-handled pocket ;'knife with what looked like a most efficient spring blade. ,1 was glad to hear Mr Bell‘advise that this should not be bought as a gift for a child. . However, ' for sonieone with a legitimate use for it the knife was well worth the $26. Treen is among my favourite categories for collecting, and enthusiasts in this field had at least two opportunities to add to their treasures, a set of five wooden eggs one inside the other, and" an exquisitely carved little wooden tap for’ a keg, which went for only 55-