Auction alert: 3-day antiques, collectables, paintings, prints and sporting & country pursuits

Vintage Aldo Londi Bitossi horse

Claydon Auctioneers will be holding their 3-day antiques, collectables, paintings, prints and sporting & country pursuits auction early next month. It takes place in Buckingham on 6th & 7th October 2021 from 9am and 8th October 2021 from 10am. An astonishing 2,743 lots will be going under the hammer.

In addition to the hammer price, there will be a buyer’s premium charge of 19.5% + VAT, (23.4% inclusive of VAT). As is the case with all the auctions we feature in this series, bidding online is an option if you can’t be in the room for whatever reason. Claydon explain:

Online bidding has transformed traditional auctions, allowing bidders to participate from anywhere in the world from the palm of their hand. We are therefore very pleased to offer various options for online bidding. You can bid through our own website, as well as via a number of popular online bidding platforms which include The Saleroom, EasyLive Auction, Invaluable / AuctionZip and Live Auctioneers.

Don’t forget that bidding online brings further fees. EasyLive Auction is our preferred site as you can pay a flat fee of £3.00 when registering to bid on each sale, instead of a percentage of the grand total of your winning bids.

You wouldn’t know it from the 12 items that we’ve selected to share however, there are a lot of sporting & country pursuits-related items. For example, there’s a large quantity of ‘dead stock’ country (hunting, shooting, fishing) attire and vintage advertising ephemera such as pro-hunt wall posters. We’ve chosen to concentrate on the homewares side of things.

My favourite item has to be the vintage American range cooker (the very last image below). I can just imagine it in a mid-century modern decorated kitchen (with bright Formica worktops) alongside one of those over-sized fridge freezers.

Lot 68: An Italian model of a stylised horse
With a turquoise glaze, in Oriental manner, by Aldo Londi (1911-2003). Approx. 16¼” high x 16¼” long
Estimate: £80 – £120

Vintage Scandinavian plate

Lot 127: Scandinavian plate
Decorated with animal illustrations, to include fox, pig, hedgehog, squirrel, rabbit, etc. Marked under Arabia, Made in Finland, 8-63. Approx. 7¾” diameter
Estimate: £10 – £20

Pair of vintage Whitefriars vases

Lot 278: Geoffrey Baxter for Whitefriars
A tangerine glass ‘ coffin ‘ vase 5¼” high together with a m aubergine glass ‘ finger ‘ vase 5½” high (2)
Estimate: £30 – £50

Orange vintage Murano cased glass vase

Lot 309: A 1960s/ 70s retro Murano large orange glass vase
In the manner of Carlo Moretti. Approx 16″ high
Estimate: £50 – £80

Antique letterpress tray and blocks

Lot 1194: A vintage letterpress tray / drawer
With a quantity of assorted carved wooden letter, number and symbol printing blocks, of varying fonts and sizes. Drawer approx. 14¼” x 32¾”
Estimate: £30 – £50

Anatomy head

Lot 1266: A 20thC educational model of half a human head
Showing the anatomy within, with removable brain. Approx. 8½” high
Estimate: £60 – £80

4 vintage suitcases

Lot 1341A: Four 20thC suitcases
Comprising 2 shoe cases by Victor Luggage, 1 vanity case, and 1 suitcase by Harwen Trunk of Hong Kong, the largest 28½” wide (4)
Estimate: £50 – £80

Antique chess pieces

Lot 1488: A set of 19thC turned and carved bone chess pieces
The largest approx. 4″ high
Estimate: £150 – £200

Vintage Mary Quant poncho

Lot 1553: A Mary Quant multi coloured PVC poncho
Estimate: £20 – £30

Antique bead-work handbag

Lot 1571: An Art Deco Austrian / Viennese bead work bag / purse
With multicoloured geometric and striped patterns. Believed to have been designed by Hilda Wagner Ascher, Wiener Werkstatte. Approx. 8¼” long x 5½” wide
Estimate: £50 – £100

Antique leather travelling trunk

Lot 2099: A late 19th / early 20thC leather travelling trunk
With two carry handles. Approx. 14″ x 32″ x 21″
Estimate: £50 – £80

Turquoise vintage American range cooker

Lot 2236: Vintage retro, mid-century: a1950s American GE (General Electric) 1J408N range cooker / stove
In turquoise / aqua blue livery, 49 tall, 27 deep 40 wide
Estimate: £200 – £300

Country Fair

Country Fair banner

Collection of 1950s & 60s Country Fair magazines

We bought a small pile of vintage Country Fair magazines last week.

Country Fair magazine, Oct 1958 Country Fair magazine, Aug 1959

It was their covers that caught our eye. They feature wonderful illustrations of birds, animals, insects etc representing the particular month of publication.

Country Fair magazine, May 1959 Country Fair magazine, Apr 1957

They’re illustrated by John Hanna, an Australian artist who worked in London in the 1950s & 60s.

Country Fair magazine, June 1955 Country Fair magazine, Mar 1957

Inside are photos and articles about gardening, farming, cooking and country pursuits… from a slower-paced, simpler time.

As with many many magazines from this era, the adverts are also well worth a look.

Ad for Switzerland from vintage Country Fair magazine

We love the simple, stylised graphics of this one for holidays in Switzerland…

1950s advert for Paul fitted kitchen

…or how about this one for a fabulous 50s fitted kitchen…

1950s Shell advert from Country Fair magazine

…and nature guides – very reminiscent of early Ladybird books.

If we’ve pricked your interest, and you’d like to find out more, a compendium of the best issues from the ’50s is available from Amazon.

Country Fair (Amazon UK)
Country Fair (Amazon US)