What you need to know when buying prints

May 22, 2022

Before you start buying prints though, there are one or two things you need to know to avoid mistakes.

There are all sorts of prints: linocuts, woodcuts, etchings, monotypes, mezzotints… the list goes on and on. What are they and what does it all mean? The answer, in brief, is technique. Some are older than others as, naturally, techniques have developed over the years, each helping the artist to create atmosphere, tone, clarity and character. Techniques can also determine how many impressions can be made because the printing plate or matrix will wear down to the point where rendering a clear print is no longer possible. This is important because rarity is a key factor in value. I tend to stick to editions limited to 200 or fewer.

My advice is to stick to signed and numbered limited editions, and to avoid laser prints.

Prints signed AP (Artist’s Proof) are additions to the limited edition, often to check for quality, but tend to be less desirable than numbered impressions.

Prints are not necessarily numbered in the order in which they are printed. It can simply be the order in which the artist picks them up to sign. Nonetheless some people like to collect low numbers, others will focus on strong clear impressions, while others prefer softer impressions with the paper showing through a little.

I’ll be sharing more thoughts about prints next time.

One way of acquiring a works by a master

May 9, 2022

I suspect that most people would like to have a statement piece of art on their wall; a painting by a well-known artist that becomes a talking point and the envy of their friends. For most, prices today mean that whether you like John Constable or Damien Hirst, that ambition is likely to remain just a dream.

However, you might be surprised at just how affordable prints by leading artists can be. And if it’s wallpower you’re after, opting for a limited edition print of an impressive size may well be the way to go. Prints are also a great way of dipping your toe in the market, because you can buy something really decent without getting your fingers burnt financially. David Hockney is an example of an artist whose prints, in general, make nowhere near the sums his major works can command, and so are accessible to a wide audience.

Some artists, like Victor Pasmore, who spent as much care on producing first class prints from one of the best print shops around, can be worth targeting more for these works than for original paintings.

I’ll be sharing more thoughts about prints in next week’s blog.

There’s still nothing like the live auction experience to get you hooked

May 2, 2022

You would have thought after all these years of antiques TV shows that just about everybody would be at ease with auctions, but we still get a few shy ones coming through the doors in Fernhurst. They’re clearly interested in the whole process or they wouldn’t be there. If you’re one of them, have no fear, we don’t bite and I’d be amazed if you couldn’t find anything to spark your interest.

My advice to anyone who hasn’t yet got to grips with auctions but would like to find out more is to come to a viewing before the sale. That way you can wander around and look at everything that’s on offer in a relaxed fashion. At viewings you will find lot numbers attached to each piece on display, and they correspond with the numbers in the catalogues, which are also around the saleroom so you can check out the description and estimate. Staff are on hand to answer any questions or help you get a better look at anything – you’ll find that’s true at any decent auction house.

And if you want to see a great bit of traditional auction drama, come along to the early part of one of our general auctions when the saleroom manager takes bids in the back viewing room rather than from the rostrum. You will find all the bidders standing together among the pieces being sold. There’s nothing quite like it to get you hooked.

The unique influence of Her Majesty the Queen on the field of collecting

Apr 25, 2022

April 21 was Her Majesty The Queen’s 96th birthday. She is now by far this nation’s longest serving monarch and it was no surprise to me that a few years ago newspaper reports discussed her suitability as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize thanks to the unparalleled role she has played in promoting world peace and general harmony through The Commonwealth.

The Queen is also unique when it comes to the art, antiques and auction market because of her role in influencing so many different fields of collecting.

Whether it is the various issues of stamps and coins, jubilee and Royal Wedding wares, or the occasional more personal item, such as letters, signed photographs and gifts, nothing appeals to bidders more than a direct Royal connection, with anything associated with Her Majesty at the forefront of desirable items.

Perhaps the most personal items that have come up for sale in recent years are the clothes and toys that were offered in September 2017 from the estate of former royal nurse Clara Knight, who looked after the Queen and Princess Margaret when they were babies and toddlers. Dolls, Mickey and Minnie Mouse figures, dresses and other clothing recaptured a moment from a more innocent time before the abdication, when the then Princess Elizabeth had no idea that one day she would take the throne. Fate played its hand and we are now in the closing years of the second great Elizabethan age.

The timeless appeal of clocks

Apr 18, 2022

A client who came in the other day was sporting one of those colourful Apple watches we keep hearing about, so I asked him to show me what all the fuss was about. I know the aim these days is to make ever-smaller computers, but if you suffer from fat finger syndrome then this is your average nightmare.

That’s why it will always be a traditional wristwatch for me or, better still, an elegant mantel or table clock.

The glorious range of clocks that you can still buy at auction continues to support one of the strongest established collecting fields. And it’s no surprise that while other disciplines wax and wane in popularity, clocks have never lost their allure.

Just think about it: from longcase to skeleton, these are not just works of art, they are also engineering miracles, offering all qualities that collectors look for. Makers such as Tompion, Quare and Graham from the Golden Age of English clock making in the late 17th century can still cause bidding frenzies, their supreme craftsmanship apparent at every level. Lesser masters also create a stir, and there’s still so much to choose from. The icing on the cake? Speak it softly, but under Treasury rules clocks are deemed wasting assets because of their moving parts… and so are not liable for Capital Gains Tax.

How much is yours worth?

Have TV programmes helped or hindered the antiques industry?

Apr 12, 2022

One of the constant debates of the wider art and antiques industry is just how good/bad/useful the daytime TV programmes are that focus on auctions, dealers and fairs.

It’s a close call in many cases. There can be no doubt that the plethora of programmes emerging over the past 20 years or so, many in a gameshow format, have sparked a great deal of interest in what we do. The raised public consciousness can only be a good thing if it means more people coming into the saleroom to see what it’s all about or having a go at bidding online.

I particularly like it when the presenters take a bit of a break from the main proceedings to interview a passionate collector or focus on a specialist area of collecting.

I’m less keen when it comes to the artificial hype introduced to bolster the gameshow experience and onscreen buzz. That’s because it has often come at the price of authenticity. The worst of this is when presenters talk about the profits made from buying and selling, but without taking account of the costs incurred along the way.

Things have generally got better on that front in recent years as formats acknowledge the public’s increasing interest and knowledge around auctions.

The much-maligned BBC – 100 this year – can take a bow here, having fostered the cream of the crop in the Antiques Roadshow for almost half of its lifetime.

Strange, surprising or superb, we are prepared for all comers!

Apr 5, 2022

What’s the strangest thing you have ever seen at auction? I was asked the other day. A good question, but difficult to answer after several decades in the job.

Thinking back though, a number of items stand out – not necessarily ones that passed through my hands, but nevertheless memorable. The New Patent Exploding Trench was one. A WW1 toy produced briefly by Britains, it involved a wooden and fabric trench loaded with six lead riflemen of the Gloucestershire Regiment. When hit, a specially placed flagstaff set off a cap, which made a loud report, shaking the trench and “killing” the soldiers. Why a British factory should have put British soldiers rather than the enemy in the trench is anyone’s guess, but is was a marketing disaster and the toy was soon withdrawn. The result? A rare collectable that has made a decent four-figure sum in the two or three times it has appeared at auction over the past 20 years.

Perhaps the most chilling thing I have seen was not at auction but at a restoration firm. What looked like a framed piece of parchment turned out to be a collection of tattoos cut from the bodies of French soldiers in the field of Waterloo. Now who would want to buy that?

Some of the most surprising and superb things appear when people bring things in for valuation. Like the Boys Scouts, we are always prepared for what is presented to us!

Small but perfectly formed – tiny objects with titanic prices

Mar 28, 2022

What is the most valuable item sold at auction for its size? One piece that might like to stake a claim is the Pokémon card that has just sold for $420,000. No larger than an ordinary playing card, the rare 1999 Pokémon Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard card is the holy grail for Pokémon collectors.

“What makes the card so unique is its perfect PSA 10 Gem Mint grading. Even though there are 3,000 copies of the card, only 121 have been given that designation, according to PWCC,” reports CNN.

It may be a large sum for so slight an object, but it comes nowhere near the record. At least two other items beat it hands down.

The first is the rather smaller (around half the Pokémon card’s size) Honus Wagner baseball card that took $6.6 million at an online auction in August last year. Long considered the most desirable of all baseball cards, it passed the $5.2 million paid for a Micky Mantle rookie card just seven months earlier.

However, even this pales into insignificance compared with the price paid for the world’s most valuable stamp: the British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, reputedly the only one left. Whether by weight or size (29 x 26mm), at $8.3 million (£6.2 million), its sale to Stanley Gibbons in July 2021 gives it a value of just over £2 million per square inch.

But wait; as far back as December 2007, the 5,000-year-old limestone carving dubbed the Guennol Lioness, a startlingly modern looking 3¼in high figure, took $57.2 million (then £28.9 million) at Sotheby’s. That’s £8.9 million per vertical inch.

Discovery and the thrill of the chase make an auctioneer’s life rewarding

Mar 21, 2022

As anyone who visits our Fernhurst saleroom on a regular basis will know, working in the auction business is more of a vocation than a job. Days off are few and far between and even when they do come round, you always have your eye open for a business opportunity. It can be a bit of an obsession, and it’s not long before you realize that no matter how hard you try to relax, you are never really off duty.

I have even found myself, while on holiday, turning over the cups and saucers in tearooms to check the maker’s marks in the hope of a major discovery.

The upside of all this is that having spent several decades seeking out consignments before dispersing them from the rostrum, the excitement of uncovering something special and then making sure I do the owner proud when selling it is as thrilling today as ever. That thrill of the chase is what also drives dealers and collectors, to a great degree, as well as the desire to handle and own something of rare quality and craftsmanship.

One of the most interesting aspects of the job comes on valuation days, when we have no idea what people will bring in for assessment. Occasionally this leads to the discovery of a real gem!

Like any business, we suffer dull days and disappointment, but I can’t think of anything else I would rather be doing.