June and beyond are full of promise for sports fans, art and antiques events… and auctions

May 19, 2025

June is the highlight of the year for the British art market, with dealers and collectors flying in from all over the world to take part in art and antiques fairs and auctions, and innumerable gallery shows also open.

While all this activity is largely based in London, all sorts of things worth visiting are going on outside the capital too.

You’ll never go wrong with a visit to Petworth – the Antiques Capital of the South, as it is known – and you can follow this up with tickets for the Petworth Summer Festival in July.

While schools and universities start to celebrate the end of exams and wind down for the summer, it will be business as usual across the regions auction rooms, and one of the best times of year to look for something special, with everyone else distracted.

I’ll be holding at least four cracking auctions a month, including specialist sales in Oriental works, fine antiques and paintings, so there’s bound to be something in there for you somewhere.

Meanwhile, think about the sporting occasions from May to July that inspire us – and themed sales: the F.A. Cup Final, the Derby, Royal Ascot, The British Lions tour, Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix, and, of course, our own Goodwood Festival of Speed. And this list doesn’t even begin to cover August, which will see The Hundred, cricket’s explosive festival where every ball counts, and the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Big money is to be had when it comes to anything collectable directly associated with global sporting superstars. Lionel Messi’s six World Cup match-worn shirts from 2022, took $7.8 million at auction in December 2023, while Diego Maradona’s Hand of God jersey sold for $9.3 million in 2022. Tennis memorabilia linked to Nadal and Federer is already reaching the $100,000 mark – so start collecting Sinner and Alcaraz shirts and racquets now if you can manage to get your hands on them courtside.

It promises to be a wonderful summer!

What to look out for in 2025 – how history plays its part in the wonderful field of collecting

Dec 24, 2024

At this time of year, collectors’ minds turn to special anniversaries that fall in the coming 12 months that might help boost a particular field of interest – and prices. So, what have we got to look forward to in 2025?

To start with, January 8 would have been the 90th birthday of Elvis Presley, one of the most sought-after figures in the history of music when it comes to collectables. It’s amazing to think that Elvis, who died in August 1977 at the age of 42, has now been dead for longer than he lived.

Just under a month later, on February 6, would have been the 80th birthday of the king of Reggae, Bob Marley, who succumbed to cancer aged just 36 in 1981.

Will there be a boost to items relating to Winston Churchill, who died 60 years ago on January 24? And what about a retrospective for the wonderful March Chagall, who passed on March 28, 1985, 40 years ago, aged 97? Pilgrims still visit his grave in the beautiful town of St Paul de Vence to lay a stone on his tomb.

March 27 is also a day to remember: 400 years since the death of King James I and the accession of King Charles I to the throne.

While Hitler and Pol Pot both have significant anniversaries, they are unlikely to troubles the rostrum, but December 16 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, surely a cause for celebration, special events and maybe even a reappearance at auction of rare first editions.

Making his first appearance eight months before Austen on April 23, and so also celebrating a 250th birthday, will be the man who is arguably England’s pre-eminent artist, J.M.W. Turner.

On the sporting front, 2025 will be 50 years since the inaugural Cricket World Cup, which began in the UK on June 7, 1975.

Hollywood is always a rich source for collectors, so expect to see raised interest in all things Spielberg as Jaws marks its 50th year. And can you believe that the Disney classic Lady and The Tramp will turn 70?

For me, the most important anniversary to look out for falls on September 27: 200 years since the first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains opened between Stockton and Darlington – an innovation that changed the world. Few enthusiasts are as dedicated to their field as those interested in trains. Look out for Hornby, Bassett-Lowke, Märklin and the rest at auction when autumn comes.

The wonderful history of the Christmas greetings card – and what some of them are worth now

Dec 4, 2024

A recent change at Christmas time has been the decline of the greetings card. With first class post now £1.65, that is perhaps not surprising, but it is a shame.

We have the United States to thank for the modern image of Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, as they call him. That’s also true of greetings cards, which became popular, initially in the United States in the 1880s, thanks to the development of offset lithography, a form of printing.

Britain picked up on the trend early. Hallmark, one of the biggest names in greetings cards, has been around since almost the start, when savvy British makers saw what was happening in the US and started exporting cheaper folded versions there not long before the First World War.

The first Christmas cards were hand-coloured for Sir Henry Cole, founder of the Victoria & Albert Museum, who ordered 1000 in 1843. They depicted a family raising their charged glasses in a toast above a draped banner carrying the words A Merry Christmas. He used half himself and sold the rest for a shilling apiece.

It’s thought around nine or ten survive, and each is valued at around £10,000 today.

Some of the most sought-after Christmas cards today are those designed by well-known artists of the late Victorian and early 20th century periods. Kate Greenaway, who illustrated many of the most popular children’s books of the 1880s and ’90s is a favourite, as is her great rival at the time, Walter Crane.

Perhaps the most desirable cards, though are the early Hold-to-Light cards depicting Father Christmas, or Santa Claus. These were generally die-cut and got their name because if you held them up to the light, the die-cut parts lit up, creating a glowing Christmas scene.

When first produced in the US, in postcard form, these were the preserve of the wealthy as each could cost as much as a day’s wages for a working man. Nowadays while religious or other scenes can be had for as little as around £20, the pick of the Santa cards can cost £400.

Collectors tend to specialize in subject matter, such as comic cards, or anniversary type, such as birthday or Christmas cards. Condition can matter a great deal. If they are unused and have not been stuck in albums with the accompanying sticky tape. And particular printers, such as De La Rue, also tempt collectors.