Record Classic Toy & Militaria Auction
The Toys, Models and Collectables auction on the 9th October achieved a record sale total for this type of auction in the Driffield rooms, beating the previous best total by almost £10,000. A large proportion of the total was attributable to the lifetime collection of the late Mr Robert Hull who passed away earlier this year. An engineer by trade at the brewery in Tadcaster he spent all his spare time constructing exhibition quality working models of steam traction engines. The collection attracted interest from as far away as Holland and the saleroom was packed to capacity for the auction, supplemented by telephone bidders. The highest price of £5,000 was paid for an Allchin Royal Chester showman's engine closely followed by a Burrell showman's engine at £4,700. Other models made £2,500 and £3,000 and a large quantity of accessories and related items sold equally well.
Elsewhere in the sale militaria created a lot of interest with a World War II fighting knife realising £1,000 and a collection of military badges in six lots totalling £1,320. A 19th Century Flamborough Coastguard pistol made £700, a Smith and Wessen saloon pistol £270 and a George III spadroon sword £270.
A completed commercial Punch and Judy performing outfit sold for £240, two ivory bakolite turn dial telephones £160 and £210 and an original 1966 World Cup Final programme (sold with a replica programme) £100. A scratch built model of RMS Titanic went down at £160 and an early Meccano tin plate racing car £460. An Arnold (US Zone Germany) tin plate clockwork motorcyclist went well over estimate at £440 and a Victorian fur covered rocking horse found a new stable at £250. Diecast models, dolls and teddy bears were all popular with dolls houses doing particularly well, and a French bisque automaton doll playing a guitar sold to a telephone bidder at £350. The model railway lots are always fiercely contested and this auction was no exception. Early "O" gauge items performed particularly well as did the "OO" gauge but it was a nearly new mint condition ETS electric train set that achieved the highest price of the section at £110.
Perhaps the most surprising price of the day was paid for lot 10, a large collection of approximately one hundred and sixty 1950's promotional brochures for various saloon cars, buses, agricultural, commercial and excavating vehicles which sold for ten times estimate £725 - not bad for something which was given away at the time!