Western Morning News (Saturday)
Next specialist sale in June
AS the world of retail reopens, many businesses are choosing to keep in place some of the changes that were instigated due to Covid. Most auctions are remaining online only and online sales, particularly in art and antiques are certainly booming.
David Lay in Penzance has just held another hugely successful Fine Art Sale, with sales in Cornish art being particularly strong.
A maritime oil by Bryan Pearce selling for £38,000 and a work by Charles Napier Hemy selling for £19,500 - just two examples out of many, all selling in an online-only sale, albeit viewing in person is now possible.
The next specialist sale of the Penzance auctioneers is their June 3 and 4 Antiques Sale which is a 1000+ lot sale with a particularly fabulous ceramics section, with some very fine, opulent Worcester and Dresden pieces that would grace the table of any grand country house.
Of particular local interest is the collection of scientific mining instruments of the late Ron Hooper M.V.O., A.C.S.M, C.Eng., F.I.M.M., formerly Senior Lecturer in Surveying at Camborne School of Mines. For cinema buffs there is a really interesting collection of promotional cinema material from the Golden Age of Hollywood - the 1930s, and also some highly collectable 1960s pieces such as a complete set of lobby cards for ‘The Graduate’ and a poster for the 1968 cult classic ‘Girl on a Motorcycle’. These items are in excellent condition which is always key to value.
Another very interesting lot is a collection of beautiful hand printed photographs taken in Nigeria in the 1940s by Edward Harland Duckworth who was the editor of ‘Nigeria Magazine at the time. Lay’s sold a wonderful archive of his photographs in 2017 and these have come from the same source. The furniture section has a really excellent selection of Ercol and Scandinavian items as well as some very fine traditional pieces and the clock section is graced by a rather beautiful marquetry longcase clock made by Nathaniel Seddon
of St James in 1729. Viewing will be available by appointment on the Saturday morning and the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the sale. Appointment slots and the entire catalogue can be viewed via www.davidlay.co.uk