News

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.