Chinese vases and works of art that have for generations decorated the mantelpieces, display cabinets and window sills of Yorkshire homes have been finding their way into auction where some phenomenal prices have been achieved as the Chinese seek to buy back their artistic heritage.

A fine selection of early English floral porcelains will almost certainly get bidders into the mood for some Spring Time purchasing at Tennants two day Catalogue sale 26-27 March. Despite economic hard times there is nevertheless a buoyant and feel-good fuelled market for beautiful or unusual things, whether it be a crisp piece of silver, a finely honed sculpture, or a highly engineered wristwatch. With five days of viewing (21-25 March inclusive), and 1500 stunning lots to cover, please reach for your diaries now! Many items are being offered for sale for the first time in their history.

Over 1,000 items of modern collectable china, kitchenware and glassware are to be sold at Tennants over the next couple of weeks.  Over 70 lots will be split into two of their weekly antique and home furnishing sales on 28 February and the majority on 14 March...

Vintage photographic equipment sold exceptionally well in Tennants’ Specialist Scientific and Musical Instruments and Camera Sale on 14th February, proving that negative economic news can lead to positive results in the saleroom.

A packed saleroom competed with telephone bidders to push prices to levels far higher than expected by Nick Lambert, the camera specialist...

Tennants Auctioneers at Leyburn had an exceptionally strong sale on Saturday 31st January at their Leyburn saleroom with 750 lots totalling over £114,000.  It proves that despite the ‘down turn’ more people seem to be buying at auction with a packed room comprising of dealers and private buyers...

Tennants Auctioneers are delighted to welcome Susan E. Stuart, the well respected Gillows expert, to a Valuation and book signing day, Friday 7th November 2008, at their premises in Leyburn.

Visitors will benefit from Susan E. Stuart’s expertise at this free event, as well as that of our experienced valuers. The acclaimed author will be on hand from 10am – 4pm to assist visitors with their queries and is happy to help identify Gillows furniture and furniture made by other cabinetmakers to the firm's designs.

With nearly 2000 lots to be sold over three days, there is plenty of treasure to discover at Tennants’ Autumn Catalogue Sale 20, 21 & 22 November

Each department is proud to offer items of beauty and interest. Many pieces have a story to tell, as with Thomas Whitcombe’s (c.1752-c.1824) oil of the Battle of the Saintes, 12th April 1782, the surrender of the Ville de Paris Est. £35,000-40,000 (Lot 910). Whitcombe was the war correspondent of his day and nobody contributed more to recording the naval side of the French Revolutionary Wars. The Battle of the Saintes, took place over four days, 9-12 April 1782, during the American Revolutionary War, and was a victory for the British Fleet.

At the Tennants three-day Summer Catalogue Sale the auction house was packed throughout and a record (for a Summer Sale) £1.7million hammer price was realised.  Buyers from as far away as Shanghai boosted the international interest in the auction which helped to dispel the fears of a major ‘slow-down’ in consumer spending.

A signed Wilf Mannion England Football Cap from 13th October 1946 is one of the sale’s highlights.  Wilf Mannion was arguably Middlesbrough’s greatest ever forward and this cap is estimated to sell for £1,300-£1,700.  The game, England v Wales, was played at Manchester City’s ground, Main Road and England won 3-0 with Mannion scoring two goals and setting up the third.

For collectors, there are also several hundred football programmes some dating back to the 1930’s and some from FA Cup finals.

Other sports represented in the sale are cricket, horseracing and hunting.  Also there are a number of lots of taxidermy, trophy heads and fishing tackle including Hardy Brothers, Alnwick.

On Wednesday the 25th June, Yorkshire auctioneers Tennants, brushed away current economic fears with its most successful ever book auction. The Leyburn auction house was packed with prospective bidders and extra seating had to be rushed in at the last minute.

The leading attraction was a first edition of Jane Eyre. The 1847 three volume set, written by Yorkshire author Charlotte Bronte under the pseudonym of Currer Bell, was brought into the Leyburn auction centre by a member of the public. Book specialist Paul Hughes identified it as the rare first edition and advertised the book worldwide. ‘I believed that it would make up to £10,000 but I was delighted for the vendor when a phone bidder pushed the price to £17,500’.

The Henrijean Big Game Trophy Collection

by  Adam Schoon, Tennants Auctioneers

I first met Jacques and Micheline Henrijean during a valuation visit to their home close to the Forêt de Soignies in Belgium in December 2007 where  I found one of the most remarkable big game trophy collections I had ever seen, the majority of which had been taken, not by Jacques, but by Micheline.  The trophies are from all parts of the world, and represent some of the highest skills of the art of taxidermy. Tennants are privileged to have been instructed to sell this amazing collection of trophies, which comprises 180 lots and is particularly strong in species of sheep, goat and ibex - indeed the motif chosen to represent the Henrijean collection is that of a pair of Markhor horns.  This specimen is estimated to sell for £600-£900.

Tennants is delighted to be offering a large collection of vintage and modern high quality 35mm cameras by Leica and Nikon in their specialist Scientific and Musical Instruments, Cameras and Tools Sale on Saturday, 31st May 2008.

A large collection of period Mouseman oak furniture will be sold by auction precisely seventy-five years after it was commissioned for Leeds Girls’ High School’s Senior Library in 1933.  The sale of this Arts and Crafts furniture will no doubt be of interest to many of the old girls from the school and families who have had a connection with it over the past seventy five years.

One of the oldest toys ever seen at Tennants Auctioneers was a Georgian Dissected Puzzle dating from 1812 – a forerunner of today’s jigsaw puzzle –sold for £420 in January, more than double it’s lowest estimate. Amazingly still complete after almost 200 years, the puzzle was entitled ‘My Pony’ and its mahogany box was inscribed showing that it had been given to a young boy by his governess.

A house in Saltburn-by-the-Sea provided the day’s most spectacular price - £49,000 paid by a telephone bidder from Italy to repatriate a late 18th Century North Italian Rosewood, Tulipwood and Marquetry Commode (lot 1125).  This piece was discovered by Tennant’s furniture specialist, Jeremy Pattison, during a routine valuation visit, and even his conservative estimate came as a pleasant surprise for a piece the family had never really liked.  The news of the Commode’s success was received with a scream of sheer delight!

With inexhaustible media interest on the royal family, the collectors market for items with royal and patriotic significance is ever growing. Items which once actually belonged to a member of the royal family are the ultimate prize for collectors, but there is an historical tradition of producing souvenir and commemorative jewellery which is also of great appeal.

An item rarely seen in a North Yorkshire saleroom is a wedding or ceremonial collar to be included in Tennants Spring Sale on 10-11 April.

After a record price of £8,500 was achieved at Tennants for a Quaker Sampler in 2006, the North Yorkshire Auctioneers sold a collection of seven Quaker Samplers and Ephemera from a collector in the South of England on 8th March and again saw some high prices being realised.

Tennants Auctioneers are delighted to be offering for sale two important oil paintings by the artist Thomas Sidney Cooper R.A. (1803-1902) in their Spring Catalogue Sale on 10-11 April 2008. 

The first is entitled “A Goat Herd on Moel Shiabod, North Wales”, and depicts a young boy and his dog seated upon a hillside, with goats and sheep nearby and a lake and mountains beyond.  It is signed and dated “1848” and measures an impressive 121cm by 198cm.  With a sale estimate of £60,000-£80,000, this painting is expected to create a great deal of interest.

At noon on Wednesday 19th March Tennants in Leyburn will host their Spring Book and Map Sale with over 340 lots of books covering a vast variety of subjects. There are some first edition gems by Beatrix Potter including ‘The Tale of Two Bad Mice’, ‘The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes’ in its original dust jacket, ‘The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck’, ‘The Tale of Mr Toad’, ‘The Pie and the Patty-Pan’ and ‘The Roly-Poly Pudding’ estimated to sell for £100 to £500. There is also a big collection on angling as well as science fiction and fantasy and art and antiques.

A unique and unrecorded 1863 English Penny with a die number 5 below the date will be sold by auction in Tennants Auctioneers specialist Coin and Stamp Sale in Leyburn, North Yorkshire on Wednesday, 21 May 2008.  

In the early 1860’s the Mint introduced numbering dies on a number of coins, although the purpose of this remains unclear. Die numbers 2, 3 and 4 have already been recorded by Michael Freeman in ‘The Bronze Coinage of Britain’ and Michael Gouby in ‘The British Bronze Penny’, however a penny with a number 5 die number has so far not been recorded.

The gallantry medals of Brigadier G.W.B. Tarleton, CBE, DSO, MC with Bar are to be sold by Tennants Auctioneers in their specialist Arms, Armour and Militaria Sale to be held on Friday 29th February 2008 in Leyburn, North Yorkshire.  This is an exceptional set of medals very rarely seen on the market.

Tennants saw a busy start to the year with their first specialist Toy Sale of 2008 on Saturday, 12th January in North Yorkshire.

The oldest toy in the sale and, in fact, one of the oldest ever seen at the saleroom, was a Georgian Dissected Puzzle dating from 1812 – a forerunner of today’s jigsaw puzzle – which sold for £420, more than double it’s lowest estimate. Amazingly still complete after almost 200 years, the puzzle was entitled ‘My Pony’ and its mahogany box was inscribed showing that it had been given to a young boy by his governess.

One of the oldest toys they have ever seen will be offered for sale by Tennants Auctioneers in their specialist 180 lot Toy Sale on Saturday, 12th January 2008 - a forerunner of today’s jigsaw puzzle - a Georgian Dissected Mahogany Hand Coloured Puzzle entitled ‘My Pony’ dated 1812.  Amazingly still compete after almost 200 years, this 25 piece wooden toy comes in its original mahogany box with a black and white engraved plan to help you solve the puzzle.  It is expected to sell at auction for £200-£300.

Book buyers flocked to Tennants Book & Map auction in Leyburn for a second chance to obtain a first edition of Arthur Ransome’s book ‘Swallows & Amazons’ in its all important dust jacket.  The auctioneers had achieved a world record price of £6,500 for a copy in their summer sale, thus prompting a London man to travel up to North Yorkshire to sell this second copy in Tennants Autumn Book Sale on Wednesday, 7th November 2007.  The book was not in quite as good condition but still exceeded the vendor’s expectations, selling for £5,000.

Other success in the sale included a Japanese album of hand coloured illustrations which also sold for £5,000, some Wisden’s Cricket Almanacks which sold for £3,700 and a two volume book on China which made £3,200.

Over the last few years Tennants Auctioneers have expanded their sales of Decorative Arts and 20th Century Design to meet the demands of the current market.

Diane Sinnott heads a busy department dealing with design from the late 19th century to the present day and, as an increasing part of these eclectic sales, Tennants always offers a strong selection of solid English Oak Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson furniture from Kilburn.

With an average hammer price of almost £1,000 per lot, Tennants Autumn House Treasures Sale on 22-23 November 2007 was a spectacular success for both the firm and their clients.  With just over 2,000 lots, the sale attracted a record number of viewers (including complete families keen to see the natural history exhibits) who filled not only the firm’s two huge auction halls but also their 600 space car park.

On November 22 and 23 Tennants will hold the largest and most comprehensive auction in their 100 year history. 

As well as securing the prestigious instructions to sell the valuable surplus contents of the West Wing of Tyninghame House, Dunbar from Sir Timothy and Lady Clifford, private consignments have also been entered from diverse locations such as Belgium, Germany and the Isle of Islay.

In their specialist Textiles, Dolls and Teddy Bears Sale on Tuesday 13th November, Tennants Auctioneers are offering for sale a 19th Century unframed Sampler depicting The Red House, Cawthorne, Barnsley, South Yorkshire worked by Elizabeth Hanby, who was in service at the house.  The sampler (lot 283) is worked in cross stitch and also embroidered mainly to the hair and to create frills on the girls’ skirts.  It measures 58cm x 50cm and is expected to sell at auction for £400-£600.

By developing a range of specialist sales to attract specialist collectors from both the UK and abroad, Tennants has seen some exceptionally high hammer prices this autumn. Nick Lambert, Head of Collectables at Tennants says “It is by creating these dedicated sales and marketing them effectively that the best prices are achieved for our clients.”

In their sale of Scientific and Musical Instruments, Cameras and Tools on Saturday, 20th October Tennants sold a rare 19th Century floor standing Penny-in-Slot Symphonion Musical Disc Player for £9,500 (estimate £4,000-£6,000).  This rare machine plays three metal discs at the same time for a fuller sound and was sold along with 49 metal discs.  It sold to a private collector after failing to sell previously at another auction house having appeared on the BBC’s Flog It programme.

Tennants Sporting & Militaria Sale

Friday 26 October 10.30am

Ethnographica is booming at Tennants Auctioneers.  Desirable not only for its historical significance but also for its interior design applications, some of the tribal shields and masks are particularly sought after.

Tennants Auctioneers are delighted to welcome the leading expert on period Oak furniture, Victor Chinnery, to their Leyburn Auction Centre on Wednesday 17th October for a Free Valuation Day.   

Victor Chinnery has a wide knowledge and love of period oak furniture and is the author of the major work ‘Oak Furniture, The British Tradition’ published by The Antiques Collectors’ Club. He is also a specialist consultant to private and institutional clients advising on early furniture. Always keen to expand his research, Victor is delighted to meet owners of interesting pieces and welcomes the opportunity to share his extensive knowledge of this fascinating subject.

On Saturday, 20th October 2007 Tennants will be holding a specialist sale of musical instruments which includes some of the finest quality stringed instruments they have ever previously offered for sale.  For the professional musician there are some excellent violins including an 18th Century Italian Violin with two signed silver mounted bows estimated to sell for £6,000-£8,000 or a late 19th century French Viola estimated at £3,000-£5,000.  For the novice there is also a wide choice of more affordably estimated stringed instruments including violins, violas and guitars.

After breaking the world record in July for a first edition copy of Arthur Ransome’s children’s book ‘Swallows and Amazons’, Tennants are offering another first edition copy of the children’s book , again in its very rare dust jacket and in remark condition.   The copy which sold in July achieved an auction world record price of £6,500 smashing the previous world record of £5,000 held by a London auction house. This copy is estimated to sell for £3,000-£4000.

Teapots have always been a favourite with porcelain collectors, either the prized piece from an extensive service or a novelty shaped pot never really intended for use.

They are wonderful objects, ranging vastly in size and shape and being made in all manner of ceramic bodies including porcelain, pottery and stoneware, as well as silver, plate and other metals.

Tennants Auctioneers have seen a dramatic increase in interest in their Decorative Arts Sales throughout the last twelve months, with some exceptionally high prices being seen for the best pieces, especially Arts and Crafts furniture. 

In response to this interest, Tennants are hosting a talk in aid of Barnardos entitled ‘Decorative Arts: Designers and Makers of the 19th and 20th Centuries’ at Bishop Burton Village Hall, near Beverley on Wednesday, 26th September at 7.30pm.

Tennants Auctioneers were delighted with the reception they received to their recent Decorative Arts Sale which included many pieces of ultra modern design by some legendary designers and makers.

One of the highest performing lots was lot 63, a Stoneware Sake Bottle by Shoji Hamada (Japanese 1894-1978) which sold to a private collector from the Harrogate area for £3,000 (estimate £1,500-£2,000).  Although over 40 years old, this classic piece looked like it could have been made yesterday and as well as looking decorative, was likely to be an excellent investment.

Tennants Auctioneers of Leyburn have yet again broken a world record in their Rare Book Auction, held on Wednesday, 25th July. A first edition copy of Arthur Ransome’s children’s book ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in its very rare dust jacket and in excellent condition achieved an auction world record price of £6,500 smashing the previous world record of £5,000 held by a London auction house. Also in excellent condition, a first edition of ‘Swallowdale’ by the same author sold for £1,900, a result very close to the auction record.

Tennants Summer Sale of fine art and antiques, the fascinating range of which included a stuffed Hyena, a Victorian Concert Harp, a collection of Walking Sticks and a 1973 Datsun Sports Car realised a hammer total of £1.3 million.

The first day of the sale saw some exceptionally high prices for the world-famous Royal Worcester Porcelain with a 1950’s Tea Service (lot 50) painted by John Freeman with a mouthwatering assortment of apples, peaches, grapes and other fruits selling for £11,000 (estimate £2,000 -£3,000) and a pair of Fruit Painted Pot Pourri Vases and Covers (lot 56) selling for £5,800 (estimate £1,200 - £1,800).

Tennants Auctioneers saw the sale of a toy which broke all their toy sale records on Friday, 25th May 2007.  Making £14,000 at the auction was lot 526, an American Schoenhut Humpty Dumpty Toy Set No. 20/84 entitled ‘Teddy Roosevelt on Safari’.  The toy was made of painted wooden elasticated figures and comprised Teddy Roosevelt, two other eastern figures, two natives and seen wild animals plus accessories.  Sold in its original wooden box, the set dated from 1910 and was made by Albert Schoenhut, the Philadelphia toymaker.

With two under-bidders on the telephones from the USA, this toy set was keenly contested and eventually sold to an English toy dealer who plans to return it to the USA.

A very rare find indeed – a first edition of Arthur Ransome’s children’s book ‘Swallows and Amazons’ is to come onto the open market in July at Tennants Auctioneers Summer Book Sale on Wednesday, 25th July 2007 and is expected to sell for several thousands of pounds. In excellent condition, with its original dust jacket well preserved, this rare copy is being sold by a private vendor from Yorkshire.

Another copy of this book (with a stained dust jacket) was sold several years ago by a London Auction House for £5,000.

In Tennants Summer Stamp Sale on Wednesday, 13th June there will be a superb used specialized Great Britain Stamp Collection of Queen Victoria engraved issues covering 1840.  To include 1d blacks, 2d blues and 1d reds, with all the plate numbers and a range of varieties and flaws.  The collection comes from a private collector in Leeds and has some postal history, embossed issues and surface printed issues.  Lot 184, this is a highly specialized collection that rarely comes onto the market and is estimated to sell for £6,000-£8,000.

….well at least at Tennants Auction Centre, where as part of a Rock‘n’Roll musical-themed sale on Saturday 12th May, Tennants offered a large collection of guitars and jukeboxes.

In the Guitar Section, the star of the show was a rare National Tri-cone steel guitar from 1928.  These unusual looking guitars were introduced in the 1920’s before the introduction of electric guitars in order to increase the volume of the instrument.  Originally used by Hawaiian players, Tri-cones made of “German silver” an alloy of copper and nickel, used three spun aluminium cones to amplify the resonance of the strings.  Later from the 1930’s onwards these unusual guitars were adopted by blues players such as Son House, Bukka White and Blind Boy Fuller and are still highly sought after by blues players of today.  This example was in remarkable condition and sold for £4,800.

Tennants Auctioneers Spring ‘House Treasures’ Sale on 29-30 March was their biggest ever with 1,874 lots making a record £2.3 million.  They also broke a world record for the sale of a painting by Sean Keating P.R.H.A. which sold for £400,000, three times the former highest auction price achieved by this artist.

Dust off those blue suede shoes, rock‘n’roll is back! – well at least at Tennants Auction Centre on Saturday 12th May, where as part of a Rock‘n’Roll musical-themed sale Tennants will be offering a collection of both interesting and collectable guitars and jukeboxes.

Hundreds of vintage telephones were sold at Tennants on Saturday, 3rd March 2007 in their Spring Collectors Sale.  With a wide selection from many different eras, buyers were spoilt for choice by the elegant designs from the 1920’s, Art Deco inspired phones from the 1930’s through to Trim Phones from the 1980’s.  The rarest item in the collection was lot 392, an Ericsson Skeleton Telephone from the early 1900’s which sold for £500 (estimate £300-£500).  Lot 393 comprised of three novelty telephones including two Mickey Mouse phones and one Snoopy phone which sold for £150 (estimate £100-£150). Some of the many G.P.O. phones from the 1950’s proved popular with bidders and lot 411, a Red Bakelite telephone realized £300 (estimate £120-£180). The collection came from a private collector in Cumbria who had been collecting telephones for many years and was sold in 50 lots.

Tennants will be selling the residual contents of three important estates from Yorkshire, namely Ravenswick Hall, Kirkbymoorside, the Thornton Collection from York and the selected residual contents of Cayton Hall, South Stainley, near Harrogate.

The wonderful thing about the Decorative Arts Sale at Tennants is that it appeals to all generations – from children, who love the Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson beds with a little carved mouse to be found on every one, their parents who appreciate the simplicity and clean design of the studio pottery of Lucie Rie and Bernard Leach, and the older generations who were attracted to the Linthorpe Art Pottery.  This was evident on Saturday when Tennants saleroom was packed to the doors with interested bidders for their first Decorative Arts & Modern Design sale of the year.

Tennants’ Decorative Arts & Modern Design Sale on 27th January 2007 brings an exceptional collection of Studio and Art Pottery to the market, some for the first time since it was purchased as new. As such, this is an opportunity not to be missed by collectors, investors and interior design aficionados alike.