You have £5,000 to spend – Early Seiko Watches

 

£5,000 to spend. Early Seiko Watches by James Lowe Watch & Jewellery Specialist

In 1969 Seiko introduced the world’s first quartz watch – the Seiko Quartz Astron. It was accurate to about 5 seconds per month, which was a sensational improvement on even the likes of Rolex.

Image of Seiko Quartz Astron

Seiko Quartz Astron

Yes, Seiko produced millions of watches in hundreds of designs and styles, but I would always recommend going for their early sports chronograph watches – especially the divers’ watches in ceramic and titanium.

Avoid the LCD watches, clever though they may be. If they go wrong, you are sunk. Quartz watch movements are seldom repaired to cure a malfunction – it is far easier and cheaper to fit a compatible new movement. However, thousands were thrown away due to malfunction, so a few models are becoming rare. Original paperwork and boxes are a big plus, but again, rare.

Image of Seiko Quartz Astron 50th Anniversary edition watch

Seiko Quartz Astron 50th Anniversary edition

The price range is enormous; dependent on model and type but with auction purchases beginning at about £150 and going up to several thousand, you could start a sound collection for £5000. But patience and diligence in research into the thousands of Seikos out there will pay dividends.

An unusual item I have valued

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Mary Waterfall, Jewellery Specialist

An Unusual and Memorable Valuation

One of the most exciting facets of my profession is that I never know what I am going to see. When I embark on a valuation I usually have a list of the items I am going to appraise, such as: five gem set rings, three diamond necklaces, six bracelets etc… However those three necklaces could include anything from a dramatic 19th century two row festoon, to a delicate Art Nouveau floriate pendant or a dazzling modern diamond single stone collet.

On this particular valuation day there were a number of brooches on the list. Brooches have unfortunately fallen from fashion these days and are not worn as much as they were last century. Therefore many of these beautiful jewellery examples are locked away in safes, or kept concealed in bedside cabinets and only get to see the light of day when being appraised by the likes of me. I actually feel quite privileged to get to see them and hear the owner speak of their history and the long forgotten memories that their reappearance suddenly trigger.

Image of Mauboussin, shrimp brooch

Mauboussin, shrimp brooch

One of the most striking pieces I have seen of late was rather unusual, a rose quartz and diamond brooch crafted in the form of a shrimp. The beautifully carved rose quartz panel curved to form the body and connected to the golden head with dancing tentacles, brilliant cut diamond eyes and textured detail. With gold overlaying the body to form the ‘legs’ and terminating at the skilfully scalloped tail. It spanned 11cms to give you an idea of size, so certainly would not be missed when worn to adorn a lapel or dress top. I can imagine it would be a real conversation starter at many a soiree.

Image of Mauboussin, shrimp brooch, side view

Mauboussin, shrimp brooch, side view

The makers mark on the brooch was Mauboussin, a French jewellery company who are famous for their Art Deco and Retro pieces. The company dates back to 1827, but it started gaining international recognition and acclaim in the 1920’s. It is definitely a brand to look out for, especially at auction and antique shops because, as with many of the great designers, the older pieces tend to be so flamboyant, interesting and unique, compared to the more modern, especially from the Deco and Retro era.

The Mauboussin brand remains strong, with boutiques all over the world. Although it doesn’t have a shop in the UK, it would definitely be a store to explore when we are able to travel and go on foreign adventures again.

The second hand replacement value of this shrimp brooch is £6,600 and the memory of this valuation will live with me for a long time.

African, Modern and Contemporary Art

cotswolds

Collectors are always on the lookout for new opportunities and in a brilliant piece of rebranding over the last couple of years the old style South African Art auctions have re-emerged as a new category known as African, Modern and Contemporary Art.

Ben Enwonwu
Tutu, 1974, oil on canvas
Bonhams, London, Feb 2018. Estimate 200,000 – £300,000, sold for £1,208,750

Auctions now take place in New York and London and the rebranding has widened the catchment area to the whole of Africa, while at the same time still retaining the big hitters such as Irma Stern and Ben Enwonwu , the auctions now include many new artists or previously neglected artists from across the Continent of Africa. Looking around at the current International contemporary sales in all the main sites, some African artists such as El Anatsui have already broken through to the mainstream market. However the vast majority of artists are at a very early stage so it’s still possible to support and spot new stars and over the next 5 to 10 years I would expect to see many more cross over into the mainstream Contemporary auctions.

El Anatsui
Recycled Dreams, c2005. Found aluminium bottle caps and copper wire.
Christies, New York, Nov 2018, Estimate 700,000 – 1,000,000 USD, sold for 1,512,500 USD
Here are a few examples from recent sales and it’s encouraging to note that the price range is wide and the choice of work is vast, all the way from £2,000 to £2 million and there is plenty of work available at entry and all levels in every sale, the volume of art being produced by this vibrant and vast Continent is more than enough to satisfy even the most enthusiastic collector.

Billie Zangewa
The Cotswolds, 1973. Embroidered silk.
Aspire Art Auctions, Sept 2019, Estimate 9,800 – 16,400 USD, sold for 14,987 USD
Covid has brought us many challenges and the world of auctions and galleries have responded brilliantly to the call for greater visibility about what is available to buy .

Chéri Samba
J’Aime la Couleur, 2005. Acrylic and glitter on canvas.
Sotheby’s London, April 2019, Estimate £40,000 – £60,000, sold for £93,750
So now It’s super easy to browse to find what appeals to you. It’s easy to follow the sales and bid online, take your time before buying, and I think you will learn and enjoy!

Ibrahim El Salahi
Standing Figure. Pen and Ink.
Bonham’s London, March 2019, Estimate £15,000 – £20,000, sold for £50,062
Some artists to look out for are:
El Anatsui , Ben Enwonwu, Gerard Sekoto, Ibrahim El Salahi, Yusuf Grillo, Demas Nwoko, Skunder Boghossian, Malangatana Ngwenya, Iba N’Diaye, Papa Ibra Tall, Sam Ntiro, Uzo Egonu, Uche Okeke, Bodys Isek Kingelez, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Irma Stern, Nicholas Hlobo, William Kentridge, Chéri Samba, Billie Zangewa, Abdoulaye Konate, Ouattara Watts.

Gerald Sekoto
Cyclists in Sophiatown. Oil on canvas board.
Sotheby’s London, October 2019, Estimate £250,000 – £350,000, sold for £362,500
Artists hail from Angola, Benin, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa.

Artists to Watch in 2021

Some new or not so well known artists who have all outperformed auction expectations during 2020.

The advent of online only sales and bidding has not only broadened the International reach of Contemporary art auctions but also spawned new trends that have moved more quickly and been much more noticeable, especially in the Contemporary day sales which have often been overshadowed by the evening auctions. This makes the day sales even better hunting grounds and barometers of who is hot or not. Early evidence of up and coming artists is seen when their hammer prices hurtle past their high estimates many times over.

Here are a few of the artists who exceeded expectations at day sales during Covid restrictions in 2020. I think they are all ones to watch and may well appear in an evening sale soon!

Matthew Wong, River at Dusk, (2018)
Matthew Wong River at Dusk
Matthew Wong (Canadian, 1984-2019)
River at Dusk, 2018, oil on canvas, 203 x 178 cm
Offered at Phillips Hong Kong, December 3, 2020, estimate 7-10 million HKD sold for 37,760,000 HKD. A new world record for the artist.
The Canadian born Chinese Matthew Wong smashed into the International Art market in 2020.
His ‘River at Dusk’ painted in 2018 was offered in Hong Kong on December 3rd 2020 by Phillips in association with Poly Auctions. It made nearly 5 times its low estimate of 7 million HKD (approx. £700,000) selling for 37,760,000 HKD . Self-taught as a painter , Wong’s untimely death in 2019 at the age of only 35 has robbed us of one of the most talented painters of his generation. Therefore inevitably and tragically the number of his available works is limited.

Salman Toor, Rooftop Party With Ghosts 1 (2015). 
Salman Toor Rooftop Party wth ghosts
Salman Toor, Rooftop Party With Ghosts 1 (2015) Photo courtesy Christie’s.
Auction: Christie’s New York, December 3
Estimate: $100,000 to $150,000
Sold For: $822,000
Salman Toor, was born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1983
and lives and works in New York City

Christina Quarles, Tuckt (2016)
Christina Quarles, Tuckt
Christina Quarles, Tuckt (2016). Photo courtesy of Phillips.
Auction: Phillips New York, December 8
Estimate: $70,000 to $100,000
Sold For: $655,200
Christina Quarles was born in Chicago, IL in 1985 and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She completed her BA at Hampshire College in 2007 with a double concentration in Philosophy and Studio Arts. Christina earned her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University in 2016. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her wife and two cats.
Christina Quarles is being hailed as the ‘hottest artist in America’
Pilar Corrias Gallery in London, recently sold works for as much as $200,000. In 2021 Quarles’s delayed solo show opens in Chicago, debuting dozens of paintings and sculptures.

Bernard Frize, Néoco (2004)
Bernard Friz, Néoco
Bernard Frize, Néoco (2004). Photo courtesy Sotheby’s.
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, December 11
Estimate: $49,000 to $73,000
Sold For: $198,000
Bernard Frize was born in France in 1954 and in addition to the one above , on December 3, a painting sold for $276,000 at Phillips’s evening sale in Hong Kong, and then days later, at Sotheby’s Paris, another went for $198,000—well over its high estimate of $73,000.

Alex Gardner, Moment (2018)
Alex Gardner, Momen
Alex Gardner, Moment (2018). Photo courtesy Phillips.
Auction: Phillips New York, December 8
Estimate: $20,000 to $30,000
Sold For: $170,000
Alex Gardner is an LA based American painter, he was born in 1987
In his first ever appearance at auction, Gardner saw his 2018 painting Moment, sail past its $30,000 high estimate to sell for $170,000. As far as I can tell this is his first time out and the only pictures offered at auction so far, it certainly will not be the last!

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (2012)
Ayako Rokkaku Untitled
Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (2012). Photo courtesy Christie’s.
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, December 2
Estimate: $45,000 to $71,000
Sold For: $306,000
In 2003, the self-taught Japanese artist Ayako Rokkaku, then just 21 won the Scout Prize at Geisei, the biannual Tokyo art fair founded by artist Takashi Murakami. Since then, Rokkaku has continued to make her manga-inspired, largely hand-painted works, which often involve cartoonish depictions of young girls.
In early December at the Christie’s Hong Kong auctions series, a signature work by Rokkaku sold for $306,000, well above its high estimate of $70,000, thus creating a new record for the artist. This record did not last long as at the the Taiwan auction house Ravenel, when The Sisters, sold for $416,000.

Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Eve on Psilocybin (2018)
Kudzanai Violet Hwami Eve on Psilocybin
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Eve on Psilocybin (2018). Photo courtesy Phillips.
Auction: Phillips New York, December 8
Estimate: $30,000 to $40,000
Sold For: $252,000
Born in Zimbabwe in 1993 Kudzanai-Violet Hwami is another new young artist on the gallery and auction scene. Although only 26 at the time she was chosen as one of the four artists to represent Zimbabwe in the 2019 Venice Biennale despite the fact that she will not finish her MFA at the Ruskin School of Art until this year, 2021.
Hwami’s first auction showing was for her psychedelic Eve on Psilocybin , it was lot 1in the sale and it set a strong trend for the whole sale, multiple bidders pushed the price up to $252,000, well above the high estimate of $40,000

The Importance of a Professional Jewellery & Watches Valuation

If you have never needed a valuation completed, the cost is not as much as one might think and the easiest way to find out is to ask for a detailed quotation. As we charge on a time basis, all we need to know is the number of pieces, briefly what they are and your location.

Why do you need a valuation?

If you find yourself in a situation whereby you suffer a loss and need to make a claim on your insurance, the first questions you need to ask yourself are;

1. Can I show what the item was and that I owned it?
2. Do I have a detailed listing or the original receipt and a photograph of the item?
3. Do I know the value of the piece?

The easiest way to protect your jewellery in the event of a loss or damage is to insure it for its true value which will require a regular and up-to-date valuation. So, in the event of a loss you can provide your insurer with all of the above details easily and with as little fuss or inconvenience as possible.
A valuation will provide you with a document giving you a detailed description of the item(s), to include details of the stone, size, metal etc… and providing a value. If the diamond is certified, the certificate number should be noted within the description, as well as the name of the grading laboratory. It should be dated and also stated exactly what type of valuation it is. For insurance purposes, you will be looking for a value that will enable you to replace your treasured piece. Our specialists will always discuss with you about how you would choose to replace the item in an event of a loss. Many insurers apply a ‘New for Old’ replacement clause to Jewellery and Watches however if your ring is antique or obsolete our valuations will reflect this within our report and base of value on either a second-hand replacement value or secondary market replacement. We also check all clasps and settings of your jewellery as many insurers have a ‘Clasps and Settings clause’ in their policies which you may not be aware of until you suffer a lost.
Image of an Asprey three stone diamond ring
Asprey. A three stone diamond ring
Value in 2005 – £26,000
Value in 2012 – £33,000
Value today – £54,500
Insurers may only ask you to provide a valuation for items over £20, £30 or £50,000 depending on the insurer – however, we always ask a client if they can provide ownership, show what the items were and values in the event of a claim. This is always a ‘no’ in most cases… so, what happens in the event of a claim?
Without a valuation, insurers often use claims management specialists to try to find the value of jewellery after it has gone – an unsatisfactory process known as a post-loss valuation. Valuing something after you have lost it often results in an under-assessment of the lost item’s true value or not having your claim paid at all. We are asked to review photographs on a regular basis of jewellery that has been stolen, asking us if we can value it post loss, unfortunately without being able to see the piece and examine the piece we cannot provide a value.
Often this is a very distressing time which could have been avoided with a professional valuation.
So, when you need your jewellery and watches appraised, you can put your trust in us to look after you.
Image of a diamond Solitaire ring
A diamond Solitaire ring
Purchased 1999: £15,000
Valued in 2010: £22,000
Algorithm calculation £23,552 (index linked value insured for!)
Correct Value: £40,750
Our valuations follow a successful method that works by being an in depth, and cost effective process; Our specialist will attend your home – all of our team have formal qualifications and substantial experience within the industry and provide a friendly and professional service. Our team of administrators will look after you from the point of contact to you receiving your report within 15-20 days of your appointment.

Patek Philippe. A Nautilus 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Flyback Chronograph watch
Value in 2016 – £ 75,000
Secondary Market value – £400,000+ (now discontinued)

Now more than ever it is so important that your jewellery values and listings are up to date with your insurance company.

Once you have a valuation completed by us, we hold this information on our secure database, so in the event of any loss we assist you with your claim and provide an up to date value, which will ensure you receive the correct compensation enabling you to replace your item.

The most important reasons for a valuation are;

• In order to be fully insured, your jewellery needs to be listed separately on your Home Contents Policy with a broker who offers a bespoke policy.

• When you need to claim the valuation will provide you with

o Proof of ownership
o A detailed description of the item
o Proof of value

Without them you may end up with an unfair settlement, and no way of proving it.

• The valuation reports will increase your chances of successful recovery by the Police and addition to any registers.

Graff. A ruby and diamond Lotus pendant and earrings
Graff. A ruby and diamond Lotus pendant and earrings
Value in 2015 – £102,740
Valued today – £135,000

Like all markets, the price of silver, gold and diamonds go up and down as do the costs of manufacturing. All diamonds are traded around the world in US dollars, so exchange rates also affect todays values.

We strongly recommend a valuation is updated every 3 years however, if you are a collector of watches you may want to review these values annually as we have seen many makers discontinue certain styles which can increase their values.

Finally, always ensure you are using a reputable company when having a valuation completed and ensure you receive a copy of their Terms and Conditions of Business and they have at least £5m Professional Indemnity Insurance which is an industry standard.

Call us today for a quotation on 01883 652402 or email [email protected] and speak with Rachel. Our specialists cover the whole of the UK and Europe.

End of Year Old Master London Sale Review

Although the pandemic has had a negative impact on the way the auction rooms in London gather consignment, prices were strong and the sell-through rate was very acceptable.  Traditionally, the majority of lots tend to journey in from Continental Europe but with specialists unable to travel, all inspections have had to be done on-line. There is only so much you can determine from a jpeg and unfortunately an accurate or definitive idea of condition is almost impossible to establish.

Jan Davidsz. De Heem. A banquet still life

Jan Davidsz. De Heem. A banquet still life. Oil on canvas. 5’1” x 6’11”
Lot 10, Christie’s, 15th December 2020
Price Realized: £5,766,000 with premium

As numbers of lots are down, turnover is too. Christie’s offered 44 lots in their evening sale and Sotheby’s a meagre 27, compared to a normal year when 50+ would have been offered. The total for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams in December was £39.2, just over 1/3 of the total for 2018.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Salvator Mundi.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Salvator Mundi. Tempera and oil on panel. 13 1/8” x 9 3/8”
Lot 21, Christie’s, 15th December 2020
Price Realized: £2,182,500 with premium

However, prices were strong and the sell-through rate was very acceptable. The top lots at Christie’s was a sumptuous banquet still-life by Jan Davidsz. de Heem, which sold for £4.8M (hammer), a record for the artist and a record for any still-life by an Old Master. Another record price was the £1.8m (hammer) paid for a beautiful Salvator Mundi painted by Michelangelo’s master Domenico Ghirlandaio, which was in pristine condition. Sotheby’s sold a massive canvas measuring 4’ 8” x 8’ 9” of a wine harvest by David Teniers the Younger for £3M (hammer). This picture had not been seen in public for 140 years and proves that freshness to the market adds a premium of its own.

David Teniers. The Wine Harvest.

David Teniers. The Wine Harvest. Oil on canvas. 56 x 105”
Lot 12, Sotheby’s, 10th December 2020
Price Realized: £3,645,000 with premium

This year has got off to a challenging start in the art auction world, with Old Master specialists suffering from travelling restrictions, but if 2020 is anything to go by, there will be a healthy appetite for whatever they can glean and garner.

Alice in Wonderland

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Rupert Neelands, Antiquarian Book and Manuscript Specialist

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), known to all by his pseudonym of Lewis Carroll, was born into a high-church Anglican family living in Cheshire, the third of eleven children. His father, also named Charles, obtained a double first in mathematics and classics at Christ Church, Oxford, and taught Mathematics at his college before marrying a cousin, Frances Jane “Fanny” Lutwidge from Hull, in 1827. Perpetual curate at Daresbury, Cheshire, from the year of his marriage, then from 1843, when his son was aged twelve, rector at Croft-on-Tees in Yorkshire, Charles Dodgson was the devout author of twenty-four books on theology and religious subjects.
The son was a humourist. He possessed the natural ability to amuse children, and first practised storytelling, versifying, and punning on his own siblings. With this comic ability came the unshakeable gravitas of excelling at mathematics. Like his father, Charles junior read and taught mathematics at Christ Church, taking first class honours in the subject in 1854 and a second in classics. His exceptional talent won him the Christ Church Mathematical Lectureship in 1855, and he remained a mathematical professor until 1881.

Alice Liddle aged 7

Alice Pleasance Liddell, aged seven, photographed by Charles Dodgson in 1860

Charles’s jokes were rather literary or donnish in nature. His pseudonym, first used in March 1856 for publication of a poem on “Solitude”, was a piece of linguistic drollery, a translation of his own name into Latin as Carolus Ludovicus. The two names cunningly inverted were then translated back into English as Lewis Carroll. He enjoyed getting pieces into print. From 1854 onwards, he published poems and prose pieces, games and puzzles, in a string of magazines which included Punch and Dickens’s All the Year Round. A bibliography of over 300 items reflects the great energy and fertility of his mind, as do the 98,721 letters which he sent and received during the last thirty-seven years of his life.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson at Christ Church 1856-60 (John Rich Album, NPG)

Charles was also an “inveterate gadgeteer” (ODNB) and problem solver. He devised a travelling chess set with holes into which the pieces could be secured. He loved prescribing or improving rules, and even suggested fairer rules for knockout tennis competitions. A spin off from the Alice books was the “The Wonderland Postage-Stamp Case” in 1889. Accompanied by the pamphlet Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing, this was intended to promote the habit of correspondence among children. Among the games he devised was an early version of “Scrabble”.

Tom Quad, Christ Church

As lecturer in mathematics, Charles Dodgson had rooms on the first floor of Tom Quad, Christ Church

His favourite contrivance was the camera. He enjoyed considerable reputation as a collodion wet-plate photographer, acquiring his first camera and lens on 18 March 1856, very shortly before the appearance at Christ Church of a new Dean, Henry George Liddell and his family. The Dean’s habit of being consistently late for services may have made him the model for the White Rabbit. But a growing acquaintance with the three Liddell daughters, Edith, Lorina and Alice, affected Charles’s life much more deeply. On 25 April 1856, while on his way to the Deanery to photograph Christ Church Cathedral with a borrowed camera, he met the three girls together for the first time. Alice, the middle daughter, was then aged four. He noted that they “were in the garden most of the time” but “were not patient sitters”. Their family was also large, eventually numbering ten siblings watched over by their governess, Miss Prickett.
Charles first photographed the Liddell daughters with his own camera on 3 June 1856. Their heavy clothing is noticeable in many of his portraits. Like other photographers of the period, he sometimes put his young sitters in more free flowing theatrical outfits. It is a well-known and hardly surprising fact that they sometimes posed nude or semi-nude for him. His 1860 photograph of Alice as a beggar girl was greatly admired by Tennyson.

Alice Liddell as The Beggar Maid

Alice Liddell as “The Beggar Maid” by Charles Dodgson, c. 1858

The Dean’s three daughters became frequent sitters. In 1932 Alice recalled that they never resented having to sit still because of the wonderful stories Charles would tell them and even illustrate with his drawings. Alice, the prettiest, is typically seen in photographs “with short, straight dark hair cut in a fringe, large blue eyes and a strikingly gentle and innocent face” (Sally Brown, editor, Alice’s Adventures Under Ground: The Original Manuscript, British Library, 2016, pp.8-9). As his visits to the Deanery increased in frequency, “his emotional attachment to Alice grew and ripened, and for some seven years he lived the charmed life of a cherished friend and sometimes consort to the beautiful, impetuous child” (Morton N. Cohen, ODNB).
The literary Alice, the heroine of Charles’s stories, took on a definite life of her own on 4 July 1862 during a boat trip “up the river to Godstow”. Listening to him speak of her encounters with humanised animals were Lorina, Alice, and Edith, now aged from thirteen down to eight. Charles himself was thirty-three. Robinson Duckworth, another young don, was also present. The genesis of the story was recalled in the poem, “All in the Golden Afternoon”, used as a preface to Alice in Wonderland. This describes how the three girls begged to have a story from him. When he had exhausted “the wells of fancy” they demanded more. The poem confirms that construction of the characters and incidents was gradual. “Thus grew the tale of Wonderland:/Thus slowly, one by one,/ Its quaint events were hammered out — /And now the tale is done”.

Alice, Ina, Harry and Edith Liddell

Alice, Ina, Harry and Edith Liddell by Charles Dodgson, albumen print, spring 1860 (NPG)

On 6 August, a month after his inspired narration, Charles again took the “the three Liddells” upriver to Godstow. On the way, he seems to have become slightly exasperated because only one amusement would satisfy them, a continuation of the story. “I had to go on with my interminable fairy-tale of Alice’s adventures,” he confided in his diary. The story then passed from an oral to a written stage. At the insistence of his favourite child, he began “writing the fairy-tale for Alice” on 13 November 1862. The tale universally known as Alice in Wonderland was first called Alice’s Adventures under Ground; it was to be a keepsake for Alice, a showpiece in the Deanery, not for public consumption.

Decorative title-page

Decorative title-page to a treasured literary manuscript, Alice’s Adventures under Ground by Charles Dodgson (1863), now in the BL

Inscription to Alice Liddell

From oral tradition to finished manuscript: the inscription to Alice Liddell on the title verso faces the opening page of Alice’s Adventures

Charles finished copying out the story in his neat “manuscript print” hand on 10 February 1863, leaving spaces for the addition of his own drawings (he was an eager but untrained artist). The attitudes of the characters in his thirty-seven sepia ink drawings were to be carefully followed by John Tenniel, as the illustrator of Alice in Wonderland. Charles portrayed himself as the Dodo, and Lorina and Edith as the Lory and Eaglet. Alice, now ten years old, got the star part. Yet Charles would always deny that his eponymous heroine was the Alice he knew. He certainly decided that his heroine should not physically resemble his “ideal child-friend” (Letters, 561). In his manuscript her portrait with dark, bobbed hair appears at the foot of the penultimate page, copied from a photograph taken at the age of seven. Otherwise the long, fair hair of the heroine could have been modelled on Edith, Alice Liddell’s younger sister.

Pen-and-ink portrait of Alice Liddell

Pen-and-ink portrait of Alice Liddell from photograph on the penultimate page of Charles Dodgson’s manuscript

Original illustration from Alice’s Adventures Under Ground

The heroine says goodbye to her feet in one of the author’s original illustrations (Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, p.11)

The morocco-bound manuscript which Charles gave to Alice in November 1864 was a substantial part of the book that we know as Alice in Wonderland. It eventually became a book in its own right when a facsimile was published in 1886, late in Charles’s life. In 1928 Alice was forced to sell the manuscript to pay death duties. It then came into the ownership of Eldridge Johnson, and following his death in 1945 was given to the British Library by a group of American benefactors in 1948.
Charles kept his word by giving the finished story to Alice for Christmas, but he also broke an intimacy by first showing it to the family of the children’s author, George Macdonald, who insisted he publish. When Henry Kingsley, brother of Charles Kingsley, saw it on proud display at the Deanery he suggested the same thing. Instead of being a finishing point the manuscript became a stage in a continuing creative process, it needed enlarging for the public gaze. Charles took on the cost of publication and chose the Clarendon Press as printers, receiving specimen pages from them in the summer of 1863. Alexander Macmillan, co-founder of the Macmillan publishing house, agreed to distribute the book on commission.
Meanwhile Charles’s happy relationship with the Liddell family seemed to slowly ice over. In June 1863 a serious rupture occurred. The question of why he started keeping a formal distance from the family and his “ideal child-friend” has no certain answer, especially as the relevant page of his diary has been razored out. Despite Alice being only eleven, there is the possibility that he made a marriage proposal which was received unfavourably. An alternative suggestion is that Alice’s older sister, Lorina or “Ina”, became too strongly attached to him. Thereafter Alice grew up and grew away from him. By 1871, when Through the Looking Glass was published, she would be nearly twenty years old and a child no longer.
Being busy with publication must have been some compensation to Charles for the loss of Alice’s company, devastating though this was. He added more text to his manuscript version, completing the first sections by May 1864. The Cheshire cat episodes were among the fresh material, and there were two entirely new chapters, “Pig and Pepper” and “A Mad Tea Party”. The Mad Hatter and his friends, the March Hare and Dormouse, also appear in the trial of the Knave of Hearts. The title itself became the more euphonic Alice in Wonderland.

John Tenniel by Leslie Ward

“Punch”, caricature of John Tenniel by Leslie Ward (“Spy”), published in Vanity Fair, 26 October 1878

The choice of John Tenniel, the leading Punch cartoonist, as illustrator was a happy one. He imbues the characters encountered by Alice with an absurd solemnity. Less to Charles’s liking, he worked slowly and took publication well beyond the hoped-for date of Christmas 1864. Tenniel was charged with providing illustrations in all sorts of shapes and sizes, yet also given the freedom to select scenes and decide how characters should be portrayed. Many of his designs are refinements of Charles’s original drawings for the fair copy manuscript. New characters such as the Cheshire Cat and March Hare were of Tenniel’s own invention but stylistically uniform with everything else. The Punch artist was well assisted by the wood-engraving of the Dalziel brothers. The representation of the heroine is more defined in line block. A much greater air of gravity is imparted to Alice, her dress and general disposition are immaculate.

The White Rabbit scurrying into the darkness

Tenniel’s depiction of the White Rabbit scurrying into the darkness as Alice pleads for help (ch. 2)

Although Tenniel had agreed to the project on 5 April 1864, Charles only saw a first drawing, the White Rabbit scurrying away from Alice, on 12 October. A postponement until Easter 1865 was agreed with Macmillan after the death of the artist’s mother. Even so, Tenniel failed to meet the new deadline, not least because the number of illustrations rose from twelve to an eventual forty-two. Once the final drawing was received in June 1865, the Clarendon Press went quickly to print, and had 2000 copies ready by the end of the month. The binding of bright red cloth, with gilt medallions of Alice and the Cheshire Cat, was Charles’s choice (see his letter to Macmillan, 11 November 1864). The page edges were cut but not gilded.
When only about 50 copies had actually been bound in red cloth (a few copies, including Alice’s, were in white vellum), Tenniel wrote to complain of the “disgraceful” printing. Nine pages had been printed too lightly, another nine were too heavily impressed. Exception was also taken to ink bleed, widowed lines and use of mixed fonts. The relationship between author and illustrator is not well documented; both were perfectionists, wanting the best result possible, and Charles found such stinging criticism impossible to ignore. Despite costs of £497, he suppressed the entire edition and even sought to recover the presentation copies already sent out. Most were returned, and then passed on to children’s hospitals and institutions. The other bound copies and unbound sheets were sold to D. Appleton and Company, New York, who issued them as the first American edition in 1866. All told, just 23 copies of the 1865 Alice are known to have survived from the 2000 printed.

letter from Charles Dodgson to Alexander Macmillan

One-page autograph letter from Charles Dodgson to Alexander Macmillan, dated Christ Church Oxford, 11 November 1864, stating that “bright red will be the best” binding colour for Alice

Following the suppression of the first edition, another edition of 2000 copies was printed by Richard Clay of Bungay. This second edition (or first edition replacement) was published on 18 November 1865 but dated 1866. Although its paper quality and typesetting were improved, the difference of a year in the date is the key change. Copies may have light blue or dark green endpapers, the red cloth binding remains a striking feature, the page edges are now gilded.

Frontispiece and title-page to the 1865 first edition of Alice in Wonderland, Bodleian Library copy

Frontispiece and title-page to the 1865 first edition of Alice in Wonderland, Bodleian Library copy

It didn’t take long for “Lewis Carroll” to become a household name. His book reached a fifth edition in 1868 with a grand total of 13,000 copies printed, and he started on the sequel, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice found There, in 1869. Later editions of Alice in Wonderland state the number of copies printed, and 98,000 was the remarkable total reached in 1932. Macmillan’s last reprint was in 1942. When Tenniel’s illustrations were used for The Nursery Alice, a version for younger children, they were colour printed for the first time (1889-90). This was another troublesome publication, however. The original edition again had to be suppressed, the author telling Macmillan that the colouring was “far too bright and gaudy” (23 June 1889).

Image of Alice with Blonde hair

Tenniel’s illustrations were coloured by Edmund Evans for The Nursery Alice (1890). The heroine has unmistakably long blonde hair, unlike Alice Liddell’s short, dark hair at the same age

Thanks to the harsh judgement of Tenniel, the first edition of Alice in Wonderland has long been a huge prize for collectors. Charles Dodgson’s books were appearing at auction even before his death, and in 1893 a copy of the 1865 Alice made £10. Sales of the first edition flourished in the 1920s. A random example is the presentation copy to Alice Thomas, in its original red cloth binding, sold at Hodgson’s on 15 April, 1926. This had the drawback of exhibiting “those infallible signs of its popularity in the nursery, in the way of much-fingered and soiled leaves”. The prestigious firm of Bernard Quaritch bought it for £390, a relative snip, though the equivalent of £24,000 in today’s money.

The Mad Tea-Party from The Nursery Alice

The “Mad Tea-Party” from The Nursery Alice (1890), illustrated by Tenniel, colour printed by Edmund Evans

Only two years later a far higher price was achieved for a presentation copy from the author to [Dinah] Craik (author of John Halifax Gentleman). Sold by Sotheby’s on 3 April 1928, this copy in original red cloth was described as “beautifully clean and fresh”. It went to the dealer Rosenbach for £5,000 (the equivalent of £316,500 today), and passed into the hands of Eldridge R. Johnson, the American gramophone pioneer and founder of the Victor Talking Machine Company (later RCA-Victor) whose famous trademark was the fox terrier Nipper listening to a gramophone.
Despite having made £5,000 in 1928, the Dinah Craik copy could only manage $7,500 when the Eldridge Johnson collection was dispersed in 1946. This remarkable collection included the four Shakespeare folios, the original manuscript of Alice’s Adventures under Ground, and not one but two copies of the 1856 Alice, the Craik copy and the copy belonging to the banker Louis Samuel Montagu. The latter was a special attraction. Ten original pencil drawings for the illustrations by John Tenniel, signed with his monogram, were bound into the volume. The firm of Riviere had rebound it handsomely for Montagu in 1899; and it sold for the more impressive sum of $23,000.

Levant morocco binding

The levant morocco binding by Riviere on the 1865 Alice, executed for L.S. Montagu in 1899

Following the sale in 1946, both Eldridge Johnson copies of the first edition passed into the ownership of the Lebanese collector, Francis Kettaneh. When reoffered at the Kettaneh sale in Paris, 20 May 1980, they were lotted together, an extraordinary act by the auctioneers Ader Picard Tajan, who even threw in an original Tenniel drawing of Alice for good measure. The two first editions were not protected by an adequate reserve, and to his own astonishment the children’s book dealer Justin Schiller was able to buy the lot (by proxy) for FF220,000 (£22,845).
This historical low point for sales came twenty years after the auction of Lord Cross’s copy by Sotheby’s, on 15 February 1960, when bidding reached the staggering heights of £115,000 (£2,700,000 in today’s money) for a copy that was not inscribed; it had also been recased in a publisher’s binding of about 1900.

The Cheshire Cat original drawing

The Cheshire Cat (ch. 6), one of ten original drawings by John Tenniel in the Montagu-Johnson-Kettaneh copy of the 1865 Alice

The Cheshire Cat - printed

The Cheshire Cat reproduced from Tenniel’s original drawing by the use of woodcut and electrotype blocks

Schiller published a monograph on the Montagu copy in 1990, (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: An 1865 printing re-described), and re-offered it for sale at Christie’s New York, on 9 December 1998, with an estimate of $1.5 to 2 million. This was a hefty sum, especially considering how few books reach even the £100,000 level; a successful outcome was by no means certain. There was no presentation inscription, the 1899 binding was fine but not original. To offset this, there were the ten Tenniel drawings preserved in the volume, and the persuasive fact that it was the author’s corrected copy, with word changes and scored passages which Christie’s cataloguer ably demonstrated to be the chosen text for The Nursery Alice. The hammer went down, only just below estimate, at $1,400,000 ($1,542,500 with premium).

In 2016 Christie’s New York endeavoured to repeat their success with the George William Kitchin copy, “one of only two copies in original cloth in private hands”. Without a presentation inscription or any insertions, an estimate of $2-3 million proved beyond reach. Nevertheless, the copy was sold for an undisclosed sum after the sale.

original red cloth binding of 1865 Alice

The original red cloth binding of the 1865 Alice, the Cheshire cat making his appearance on the back, George William Kitchin’s copy

The value of the second (first published edition) of 1866 also see-saws considerably from copy to copy and year to year. A lot of copies have turned a rather dingy red, perhaps after exposure to the smoke and soot of open fires. These will tend to bob along at the £2,000 to £4,000 level at sales. However, a copy in original cloth rebacked, with frayed leaves, some repaired, managed to sell for £7,000 at Sotheby’s in 2019, benefitting from the insertion of 13 autograph letters from the author to his bookseller, F.S. Ellis.

Frontispiece and title to the second edition of Alice in Wonderland

Frontispiece and title to the second edition of Alice in Wonderland, dated 1866 though published 1865, Tyrwhitt copy

To have a value of £7,000 or above, a second edition of Alice needs to be in sparkling condition, to have important inserts or else be a presentation copy (the ideal copy would tick all three boxes). Presentation copies are less affected by issues of condition. Despite the innumerable small defects listed in the catalogue, an example inscribed by the author to his friend Richard St. John Tyrwhitt, and containing a presentation letter, made £23,000 hammer at Christie’s on 13 December 2017. At the same auction house the following July, a copy came up with a presentation inscription and two inserted letters to Dodgson’s child-friend Ella Monier-Williams. This made £24,000, regardless of scattered spotting and soiling, small ink stains, marginal repairs, and a replacement morocco binding.

The author’s presentation inscription to Richard St. John Tyrwhitt

The author’s presentation inscription to Richard St. John Tyrwhitt at the head of the half-title adds enormously to the value of the copy

 

My Favourite…

cunha braga cup banner

The Cunha Braga Cup. By Jonathan Horwich, Modern Art Specialist

Knowing that I am a picture specialist, it may come as a surprise that I have chosen this 14 cm long, ceremonial drinking vessel. It is a rock crystal masterpiece of renaissance craftmanship, carving and decoration and is my favourite piece of all time. I am not sure if I know myself why I love it so much – maybe it is because it is so tactile, almost warm to the touch, and just oozes history. It fits neatly in the palm of your hand and is beautifully made – and nearly 400 years before Carl Faberge turns up and makes anything nearly as good.

Image of The Cunha Braga Cup

The Cunha Braga Cup

I first saw the cup in October 2006 on its preview in New York. I was previewing pictures alongside my colleague from the works of art team who was accompanying the cup. My colleague gave me some of the background to its discovery. Amazingly, he spotted it among a bunch of Polaroid shots sent over from Portugal by a client just in case there was anything of interest. Even more remarkable is that the photographs were general room shots of a room full of display cabinets all rammed with various pieces and the cup was spotted tucked in a cabinet full of undistinguished objects. He was on a plane to Lisbon the next day to see it and the rest is history. I remember he told me that at first it was thought to be a copy or later version of a similar cup in a Munich museum. However, once the two were put together side by side in the museum the curators were delighted to discover that our one was made by the same craftsman as theirs – making these two the definitive pieces and ours the only other example in the world available to buy.

It had belonged to Alfredo Baptista Cunha Braga (1869-1932) from Lisbon. He acquired it circa 1920 and then by direct descent to the owners in the auction. The piece was offered in London on 30/11/2006, the pre-sale estimate was £200,000-300,000 but it sold for an astounding £1,968,000

My favourite item that I have valued

 

I feel very blessed to be a jewellery valuer because I get to see and examine some stunning pieces of jewellery. It’s actually quite hard to single out just one item as a favourite. I love more vintage pieces such as tiaras, gem set cocktail watches and anything from the Art Deco era. As I hold them I love to imagine who has worn them and how many amazing parties they have been to. My mind always wanders to the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Holly Golightly dressed to the nines and going to countless ‘soirees’. I recently valued a beautiful old cut diamond festoon necklace and the owner sighed and said to her husband: ‘well darling I doubt I will be wearing it at any more balls at Buckingham Palace anytime soon……’
However if pressed to choose one particular item as a favourite it would have to be something set with sapphire. Sapphires are my all-time favourite gemstones, so much so that when I worked in the auction world and on the TV show Dickinsons Real Deal, I had to be really careful not to overestimate sapphire set pieces and give the clients over inflated expectations because I loved the gemstones!

Image of single sapphire ring

Single sapphire ring. Valued for insurance at £30,950 NRV (New Retail Value)

I recently valued a single stone ring. It was set with a Ceylon sapphire weighing 13.73cts, measuring 12.4mm by 12.1mm. The stone came with a certificate stating there was no evidence of heat treatment, something which is becoming increasingly rare because nowadays most coloured gems undergo some form of treatment to enhance their colour. As I gazed into the gem with my 10X loupe I could see a multitude of natural inclusions. Inclusions are what I most love about gemmology. I just think it’s incredible that these beautiful gems have been formed in the earth over thousands of years, each is unique and each tells its own story through the inclusions that lie within. Examining them is like diving into another world and this particular gemstone was a real feast for the eyes, a gemmologist’s delight! I could have looked at it for hours and would have loved to have put it under a microscope. However I had to settle for a quick fix because as valuers we work under time constraints and don’t really have the luxury to truly enjoy and appreciate such magnificent pieces when they arise.

Image of Typical sapphire inclusions.

Typical sapphire inclusions

To the layperson the ring may look rather heavy and clunky. It’s set in platinum and weighs 21 grams. On the surface the sapphire facet edges are slightly rubbed. However for me, because of the magical world contained within, it was a real highlight and my favourite piece I have valued.

You have £5,000 to spend – David Oxtoby prints

How Would I Invest £5,000? By CEO and Old Master Specialist, David Dallas

If my godfather left me £5,000, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend every penny buying the suite of etchings (24), which David Oxtoby produced in 1974.

Image of David Oxtoby swonderful etching

“S’wonderful”: Stevie Wonder. Signed, inscribed and dated ‘74. Published Sept 1974. Artist’s proof for an edition of 50. 3 colour etching on handmade English paper. Plate size: 165 x 142 mm

David Jowett Greaves Oxtoby is undoubtedly one of Britain’s greatest printmakers, as the show at the British Museum proved two summers ago. He was one of the notorious ‘Bradford Mafia’, a group of young Yorkshire artists, who after attending the Regional College of Art in Bradford, came to London to further their education at the Royal College of Art and The Royal Academy schools. As well as Oxtoby, the group included David Hockney, Norman Stevens A.R.A, John Loker and Mick Vaughn. Before he had left the Royal Academy schools, Oxtoby had his first one man show in New York. His was and is a prodigious talent.

By the early 1970s his hands were starting to crack, and he was told that he was allergic to the acrylic paints he was using. After taking medical advice, he took up etching and what a triumph that was. In collaboration with J.C. Editons he produced a suite of 24 immensely complicated, in some cases, 4 colour, etchings. I have the good fortune to own a set of artist’s proofs.

Image of david oxtoby the man etching

‘The Man’: Stevie Winwood. Signed, inscribed and dated ‘74. Published Sept ‘74. Artist’s proof for an edition of 50. 4 colour etching on handmade English paper. Plate size: 335 x 115 mm

In 1974 I worked for Alex Postan Fine Art and was entrusted with getting publicity for the show of etchings, which included watercolours and acrylics as well as prints. It was the easiest job I have ever had. Marina Vaizey wrote a half page review of it in The Telegraph, Bill Packer, a half page in the Financial Times and it was in the list of the 10 best things to do this Christmas in London in the Daily Express. Rod Stewart came to the private view.

Oxtoby went on to exhibit with the Redfern Gallery in Cork Street in the 70s where the private views would sell out. Elton John bought Oxtoby’s canvases in vast numbers, for prices that were somewhere between Hockney and Picasso. He is still with the Redfern.

Image of David Oxtoby and Rod Stewart

Private View at Alex Postan Fine Art, Dec 1974. David Oxtoby and Rod Stewart in front of a 5 ft high watercolour by Oxtoby. Photograph by Miki Slingsby

He has had more than 50 solo exhibitions and taken part in more than 70 group shows, yet for much of the last 30 years has lived like a recluse and kept all his latest work from public scrutiny. The result of this has had an adverse effect on the value of his work.

Oxtoby has not had the recognition for the brilliance of his draftsmanship and use of colour from the establishment that his oeuvre deserves. This seems to be because his work is inspired by popular culture, pop, rock and blues music, which is considered low brow and because he works from photographs, despite knowing subjects like Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison and Roger Daltrey well.

He was 82 in January and is not in good health. The cracked hands, which turned him into a printmaker, were actually caused by misdiagnosed diabetes. What future generations will make of his work remains to be seen, but I believe he is ready for a critical re-assessment and should take his rightful place amongst the greats of late 20th/early 21st century British art.