UNDERTHEHAMMER It went for a song!
ARARE musical “Captain’s Desk” Davenport sold for £9,500 (plus buyer’s premium) in Tennants Auctioneers’ recent Scientific and Musical Instruments, Cameras, and Tools Sale.
At first glance this piece, which was made circa 1875-80, appears to be purely a well veneered compact desk with a sloped piano-lid over an extendable writing desk. However, concealed within the burr-walnut finished body is a finely made musical box.
This rare piece is at the intersection of furniture making and mechanical musical instruments and displays the co-operative artisanship of multiple makers. The musical box was made by A.B Bremond, a Swiss musical box maker whose main body of work dates to the mid to late 19th century. The mechanism for changing the cylinders bears the mark of Blumberg and Co., a London based cabinet maker last documented in 1871, and the Davenport casework has been ascribed to Edwards and Roberts, a successful furniture maker and retailer in London. Very few such pieces have ever appeared on the open market.
Among the musical instruments in the sale, a good 1978 Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar sold for £2,200 and two violins exceeded expectations to sell well at £2,500 and £1,200. Mandolins were also much
in demand, with a modern example made by Phil Davidson of Bristol selling for £900, and one made by Collings of Austin, Texas selling for £950.
The Scientific section of the sale was led by a good Brass Reflecting Telescope, which sold for £1,000 and a mid-19th century Pharmacy Leech Jar and Cover made by Samuel Alcock & Co., which sold for £900. Also of interest to collectors of optical instruments was a Zograscope, an optical device for magnifying specially printed cards (sold for £180). The Zograscope gave the image on the card usually a topographical or architectural view, an enhanced depth of field; they were popular in the Georgian era.
The sale achieved a total hammer price of £49,490 for the 183 lots, and an 86 per cent sold rate.