In this week's issue of the Auction Room Report – your insider guide to the auction world – our expert Kayleigh Davies selects her current favourite auctions. |
In this week's issue of the Auction Room Report – your insider guide to the auction world – our expert Kayleigh Davies selects her current favourite auctions. |
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ARTHUR LETT-HAINES
Estimate: 2 000 GBP |
| 14 CARAT GOLD WATCH
Estimate: 100 GBP |
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BAKELITE BANGLE
Estimate: 600 GBP |
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For flappers, when it came to bracelets, more was definitely more. In the 1920s and 1930s women often wore multiple bracelets climbing up their arms, and Bakelite bangles were a popular choice. Bakelite was easy to carve, allowing for bangles to be made into iconic Art Deco shapes, and came in vibrant colours. The ‘Philadelphia’ bangle earned its name after a remarkable sale at the 1984 Philadelphia Art Deco Show, fetching an unprecedented $250 – a price that showed the world how collectable Bakelite could be. It remains popular today, with prices holding strong.
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| SHEN MING CUN
Estimate: 2 500 GBP |
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Daum originally began as a company manufacturing utilitarian glass but became a leading name of the French Art Nouveau movement. Their mastery of various glass techniques like pâte de verre, acid etching and cameo glass elevated their nature-inspired motifs. This piece is cased in green over citron and cameo cut with a floral design and highlighted in enamels, giving depth and life to the design. Something about good cameo glass always leaves me in awe, and displayed in a well-lit cabinet I like to think this piece would cast the same spell on most people.
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| GLASS VASE
Estimate: 400 – 600 GBP |
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THE BEATLES EPHEMERA
Estimate: 100 – 200 GBP |
| PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM
Estimate: 50 GBP |
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A Deep Dive with Kayleigh Davies | |
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4365295. PENDANT, STERLING SILVER & ENAMEL PAINTING, REPORTEDLY AWARDED TO FRANCIS MCCLEAN BY GEORGE V. |
This item made me immediately run to Google, because I wanted to know more. Who was Frank McClean and exactly how exciting was this flight if King George V found it worthy of a commemorative pendant?
The early part of the 20th century was a time of speed and adventure–speed records were constantly being broken on land, and daring pilots were keen to set their own records in the air after the first flight by the Wright brothers in 1903. Frank McClean was one of the people inspired by the Wrights, even flying with Orville in 1908. He was keen to fly as much as possible, and was a vital support of the wider industry. He was generous with help, funding the Short brothers, early aircraft manufacturers, and testing a number of their planes for them, and he also allowed the Admirality to use his land for the first naval flying facility in the world in 1911.
It was 1912 when McClean would become a celebrity, flying a seaplane (which I’ve seen described as ‘flimsy’ in some articles), built by the Shorts, between the towers of Tower Bridge in London. Not content with this, he continued on flying as far as Westminster, going under three much lower bridges, and then making a return journey–which landed him in the Thames when a sidewind caught him.
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Let’s gloss over the ending, as we think about how remarkable it was that a flight such as this was possible just nine years after the first flight! And so, the answer to what made King George V commission a commemorative pendant for Frank McClean lies not just in a remarkable flight, but in the sheer audacity of early aviation.
Though his name may not be well known now, McClean continued with his adventures, swapping the Thames for the river Nile and set up Egypt to be an aviation hotspot. But that’s a Google search for another day. |
– Kayleigh Davies, toys and art glass expert |
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A Deep Dive
with Kayleigh Davies |
4365295. PENDANT, STERLING SILVER & ENAMEL PAINTING, REPORTEDLY AWARDED TO FRANCIS MCCLEAN BY GEORGE V. |
|
|
This item made me immediately run to Google, because I wanted to know more. Who was Frank McClean and exactly how exciting was this flight if King George V found it worthy of a commemorative pendant?
The early part of the 20th century was a time of speed and adventure–speed records were constantly being broken on land, and daring pilots were keen to set their own records in the air after the first flight by the Wright brothers in 1903. Frank McClean was one of the people inspired by the Wrights, even flying with Orville in 1908. He was keen to fly as much as possible, and was a vital support of the wider industry. He was generous with help, funding the Short brothers, early aircraft manufacturers, and testing a number of their planes for them, and he also allowed the Admirality to use his land for the first naval flying facility in the world in 1911.
It was 1912 when McClean would become a celebrity, flying a seaplane (which I’ve seen described as ‘flimsy’ in some articles), built by the Shorts, between the towers of Tower Bridge in London. Not content with this, he continued on flying as far as Westminster, going under three much lower bridges, and then making a return journey–which landed him in the Thames when a sidewind caught him. |
Let’s gloss over the ending, as we think about how remarkable it was that a flight such as this was possible just nine years after the first flight! And so, the answer to what made King George V commission a commemorative pendant for Frank McClean lies not just in a remarkable flight, but in the sheer audacity of early aviation.
Though his name may not be well known now, McClean continued with his adventures, swapping the Thames for the river Nile and set up Egypt to be an aviation hotspot. But that’s a Google search for another day. |
– Kayleigh Davies, toys and art glass expert |
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