Mahogany and brass mounted country house letter box at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER
Lots and lots of all types of lot will come under the hammer in Ireland next week with rare collectibles leading the charge.
With everything from a mahogany and brass mounted country house letter box that would not be out of place at Downton Abbey to a vintage alligator Gladstone bag the annual library collection sale at James Adam in Dublin on April 29 offers a selection of 344 lots with something of interest to most of us.
An old AA road sign at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 330 AT HAMMER
Vintage road signs are popular collectibles and feature at several sales. There is bound to be local interest in an old AA mileage sign for Blarney and Cork at Victor Mee’s sale at Belturbet on April 29 and 30. The online only auction offers advertising materials and a mix of nostalgic items. Among them are enough Irish carnival and fairground pieces from Warrenpoint in Co. Down and Buncrana in Co. Donegal to keep any keen restorer busy for months.
A vintage Italian bar at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE €1,800 at hammer
A 1970’s vintage chrome and gilt Italian bar is not something you come across everyday. This one, complete with tinted mirror front and stainless steel counter, is at de Veres timed online design auction which runs until April 29. The auction is a mix of classic design pieces by Eileen Gray, Arne Jacobsen, Gianfranco Frattini and Gianni Versace and art by John Shinnors, Albert Irvin, Cecil King, Tony O’Malley, Felim Egan and Mark Francis.
A full length portrait photograph of Michael Collins with moustache on a balcony in London will create interest at Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collectors sale in Castlecomer on April 30 and May 1. More than 700 widely varied lots will come under the hammer here over two days. These range from rare sporting memorabilia like Kerry’s first All Ireland football championship winners medal from 1903 to a limited edition illustrated volume of The Vatican Frescoes of Michelangelo and a scarce limited edition copy of Squarings, Twelve Poems by Seamus Heaney with four lithographic prints by Felim Egan signed by both author and artist.
There are all sorts of highlights at these sales. The Dedication of the Temple of Solomon by Franz Ludwig Hermann at Adams is monumental and depicts a fantastical view of the temple. Sacrifices to mark the dedication are said to have included 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. A painting by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson depicts a crowded harbour with paddle steamers.
A child’s carousel ride at Victor Mee will evoke many memories along with several antique puppets and a 1970’s tinplate fairground motorcycle.
A full length portrait photograph of Michael Collins in London by La Fayette at Fonsie Mealy. UPDATE: THIS MADE €600 AT HAMMER
A prototype of the Liam McCarthy cup, by tradition the sample maker Edmund Johnston of Grafton St. in Dublin presented to the committee for the Liam McCarthy, is at Fonsie Mealy. In the event a variant was chosen. Choices here include is a first (1955) edition of Moonraker, the third James Bond novel by Ian Fleming; a painting of George Best in action by the British artist Tom Croft, approved by Best and originally intended to be made into a limited edition print run, a plan that was abandoned when Best fell ill; five volumes of The Georgian Society records of 18th century domestic architecture in Dublin and an official Adidas Argentina team jersey signed by Diego Maradonna. Treasures abound everywhere….
