West Midlands

“Button who?” When Shropshire documents consultant Ben Jones was told that an American client was considering selling the clipped signature of Button Gwinnett he reached for the search engine.

After viewing events in London, Derbyshire and at the Antiques for Everyone fair in Birmingham, Fellows held their much-anticipated Blue John Sale in the Jewellery Quarter last week.

The 1864 Ascot Cup, an impressive Victorian silver racing trophy by Garrard, led proceedings at the three-day sale of the Felix Dennis (1947-2014) collection. It sold at £67,000.

Staffordshire auctioneers Richard Winterton have embarked on an expansion which will create six salerooms in total across two sites.

South Pacific war clubs continue to strike high prices at auctions, as this Tongan example sold in Stafford this month shows.

Quite possibly the largest sale of Derbyshire blue john ever held is going under the hammer at Fellows of Birmingham.

Two regional auctioneers – Halls of Shrewsbury and Bigwoods of Stratford-upon-Avon – are joining forces to conduct an ‘on-the-premises’ sale of art and antiques owned by the colourful publisher Felix Dennis (1947-2014).

COMMENT: So we finally have a ruling from the VAT tribunal but it is not good news.

A fine 1875 vintage… never opened… so what did this bottle of wine sell for?

After lengthy and complex negotiations, the paper archive of the Staffordshire pottery firm of Minton’s has been saved for the nation.

This c.1690 marquetry cabinet on stand in the manner of the Anglo-Dutch maker Gerrit Jensen (d.1715) sold for £35,000 at the latest sale at Brightwells of Leominster.

Eleven men charged with conspiracy to steal as part of a national investigation into high-value thefts at an auction house and museums have pleaded not guilty at Birmingham Crown Court.

Clarion Events have announced a change of date for the Antiques for Everyone winter fair. It will now run from November 19-22 in Hall 3 at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham.

Potteries Auctions in Staffordshire are offering this large William Moorcroft exhibition vase at their second auction in their new premises in Silverdale on April 25.

COMMENT: Jeremy Lamond, fine art director of Halls of Shrewsbury, sets out his ten-point plan for reviving the fortunes of brown furniture

A series of deals to safeguard the future of the Wedgwood Collection and ensure it will continue to be displayed in the Potteries have now been completed.

The quarterly auction of silver and plated wares held by Fellows in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter on September 22 included a family collection of eight apostle spoons formed several generations ago.

German-made painted wood Noah’s arks, appealing to folk art and toy collectors alike, don’t get much better than this mid-19th century example sold recently at Brightwells in Leominster.

The National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers (NAVA) are calling for entries for the 2014 NAVA Auctioneer of the Year competition, which will take place on September 24 at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Warwickshire.

NAVA have announced their new Autumn Forum will take place on Thursday, September 25.