Under the hammer
A digital depiction is no substitute for the enjoyment of leafing through the pages of an auction catalogue – unless you are a tree – finds Roger Field
‘IDEAS’, as the expression goes in the world of publishing, ‘often float in the wind’. I’d no sooner decided to lament the accelerating disappearance of the hard-copy auction catalogue, driven ever nearer to extinction by the instantly available internet alternative, than I read Rupert Bates in his May Property column decrying the similar plight of hard-copy house sales particulars.
Auction catalogues – especially those from major auction houses – are many things. On a superficial level, they are mementos of auctions attended, especially when I bought something; not dissimilar to a theatre programme or a race card as a souvenir of a great trip out. They are much more than that, however. If you are a collector or a dealer, catalogues are important works of reference; detailed records of items that come onto the market for a moment before disappearing again into someone’s collection, perhaps never to be seen again. Those published estimates, even when they are obvious ‘come-ons’, are still a broad indicator of how the market valued that item at that moment in time. I can, for example, look back at catalogues 20
For ease of reference, hard copy is king
or so years old and see just how undervalued ‘Eastern’ arms and armour were. No longer. Folk from those countries want their history back and prices have soared. All recorded in those auction catalogues.
In fact, whenever a collection is auctioned, there are usually loads of catalogues on offer. And they tend to be cheap. At Thomas Del Mar’s 5 December 2018 sale, one lot of 24 volumes of his own arms and armour catalogues and 64 similar ones from Sotheby’s (plus others for militaria and medals) fetched an over top estimate £80, a paltry sum. Peanuts for highly illustrated catalogues that had an original £15 (roughly) cover price. But a really worthwhile investment for anyone interested in arms, armour and old guns. Ditto Holts’ catalogues; beautifully researched and put together treasure troves of information for anybody interested in (mainly) guns.
I was therefore amazed to find myself having a near argument – for that is what it was – with a PR who stopped sending me catalogues during lockdown.
“What’s the problem?” he asked. “The catalogue photos on the internet are amazing and lots more are downloadable on request. You can call up the online version instantly. Why do you want a hard-copy version?”
Well, to us of a certain age, the answer is blinking obvious. I prefer to look at arms and armour ‘porn’ in the flesh,
as it were (a chum who loves boats once described the ‘boats for sale’ magazines he drools over as ‘boat-porn’ and that awful image refuses to unglue). And, second, for ease of reference, hard copy is king. When I find likely items for this column on the internet I either make a handwritten note or, like those ephemeral catalogues, they risk getting lost to the ether. It is easy to leaf through my catalogue collection, flicking backwards and forwards, popping markers between the pages, comparing them side by side with other catalogues on occasion. None of which can I do online (NB: if, in fact, I can, then I blame my children for not telling me). When I came to writing about catalogues being sold at auction, I simply pulled out a batch of Del Mar’s catalogues from the shelf behind me and leafed through them – enjoying some of the ‘Items of the Month’ as I did so – until I found an example. Far quicker, and more satisfying, than searching the internet. It was only when I explained that I am an unrepentant Luddite that the PR agreed to start sending me his catalogues again. THUMP! Oh dear, there goes another tree. But my name is Roger and not Greta. And I’m delighted that this fine magazine is still available in hard copy.
Gavin Gardiner’s 21 April, Fine Modern & Vintage Sporting Guns catalogue is small but beautifully formed; full of goodies and, indeed, rarities. In Mike Yardley’s May issue article, Quick Fixes for Shoot Days, his first point is eye dominance. As an unhappy right-hander with a dominant left eye, I know that the answer is either to retrain to shoot left-handed (forget it), buy a crossover stocked gun (I will give that a go when I find a suitable one), or keep closing my left eye. So what on earth, I asked Gardiner, was this Thomas Bland, 12-bore, sidelock ejector for ‘central vision’? Central vision, he explained, is another variant of shooting confusion hell. But, thankfully, very rare. Neither eye is dominant, resulting in “a sort of Cyclops (central) eye”; either eye might become dominant at any given moment, suddenly shifting the apparent point of aim. These guns, with their semi-crossover stocks, are an attempt to control the resulting mayhem, although closing an eye also does the trick. Obviously.
As with full crossover guns they tend to carry lower estimates, here £600 to £800, compared to their ‘normal’ counterparts. However, get two ‘Cyclopian’ buyers bidding and the price can skyrocket as they are so expensive to have ‘tailored’ for you. No afflicted buyer(s) on the day and so no sale, but £600 paid afterwards.
No such problem for a ‘D quality’, J Purdey & Sons, 12-bore, boxlock, nonejector built in 1890. These were not, as I suggested to Gardiner, a form of Victorian one-upmanship in a world rank with shooting one-upmanship: “Doesn’t your keeper carry a Purdey, old chap?” Instead Purdey, fearful that a client wanting a full set of guns, including one for their keeper, might go to Holland & Holland or William Evans, who did offer D-quality guns, decided to get in on the act. But not for long. Hence their rarity. Which explains why this one blew through its top £1,800 estimate to sell for £2,200. Not bad for an ancient boxlock non-ejector.
And, finally, an extreme rarity: a 12-bore, nitro-reproofed (for today’s shot who wants to impress their fellow guns, perhaps?), Jeffries ‘side motion side opening’ hammer gun with its amazinglooking side-opening mechanism. Circa 1862, it boasted of being ‘the only sporting
breech loader invented in Great Britain’. It, perhaps disappointingly – it is a lovely looking gun - ‘only’ crept over its bottom £10,000 estimate to sell for £10,500.
Charles Miller’s maritime catalogue for 27 April is, as ever, a joy to own, full of amazing, eclectic, nautical bits. That’s another advantage to hard copy – something that fails to catch the eye first time round can sparkle on a later reading. Leading the sale were three magnificent, large (27in x 46in), oil paintings commissioned by Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, later Earl St Vincent, to commemorate his victory over the French and Spanish at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797 – artist: Lieutenant William Elliott, RN. I have rather laid off laying into the French of late (we like the Spanish, especially once we can get back on their beaches) but after Macron’s contribution to the European vaccination Horlicks, it is game on again. And these three paintings are pure ‘our European friends’ bashers. Picture three even has ‘Commodore Nelson leading the boarding party up HMS Captain’s bowsprit to take the Spanish three-decker San Nicolas’. He then charged across her decks and boarded and captured the even larger San Josef. Unsurprisingly for such stirring pictures, the trio broadsided its top £60,000 estimate to sell for £90,000.
As an aside, on 12 May Marlow’s Military Auctioneers sold two of the weapons that boarding party would have carried: a ‘rare, Trafalgar-period [so this example is slightly later, but…] naval boarding axe’, complete with a lethal back spike that beheaded its top estimate of £400 to sell for £420; and a ‘rare Royal Navy short [you didn’t want “long” in those confined spaces] boarding pike’ (11in blade, 44in overall), which just failed to nail its top estimate at £320.
And these three paintings are pure ‘our European friends’ bashers
It was dangerous being in the Royal Navy back then, whatever your rank.
Back at Charles Miller, there was an example of how they kept discipline on board those ships: a ‘fine’ 19th-century cat o’ nine tails. Just over 5ft long, this horror would also have been perfect for dealing with your squabbling, ‘always answering back’ family during lockdown. Buyers agreed, as it thrashed its top £1,500 estimate to find a truly disciplined home at £2,200.
It is always good to see danger approaching from a distance, and Miller offered the perfect solution: a pair of 15in x 4in, tripod-mounted (4½ft high), Japanese ‘big-eye’ binoculars. The Japanese mounted these at Sembawang, the old British Naval base in Singapore, after they captured the Island in February 1942. They used them to scan the Singapore Straits. When the island was recaptured, they stayed in situ until our departure in 1971, when they were liberated by the base mess secretary; the last man to leave. They hit their bottom estimate £3,000.
I’m ending on something good enough for me to find on the internet and ‘note’. A billiard/snooker table that converts into a dining room table by placing five mahogany leaves across it. Made by EJ Riley, and fully restored, this is a full-sized table and comes with the requisite paraphernalia. Estimated at £800 to £1,200, it sold on 20 March for a worthy £1,500. Adios social distancing. Hello wine-sodden, fun dinner parties, with ‘games’ after…