A brief look at some of my recent work at James and Sons, including photos, and a regular photo gallery.
One of the things I have been doing recently at James and Sons is describing an imaging a large collection of old newspapers and magazines. This post looks at that process.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
The condition has to be assessed – even if the item is very old one cannot expect imperfections to be overlooked. In the oldest stuff (1850s-1870s in this context) there are rarely any adverts, so it is purely about general content. From the tail-end of the Victorian era onwards ads play a much bigger role, and while genuinely interesting content should be noted it is often the ads that are the main selling point. Once the descriptions have been typed in the image gallery then has to back them up. I have some sample images to show to end this section.
We start with three full page ads from different lots.With this one there were few ads because it was wartime, but there was an abundance of very interesting general content, themed on looking to the future.A full page ad from another lot.This item had some incredible advertisements.The 1962 Chevrolet got not just an advert, but a multipage advertising feature – one full page and two double page spreads.There were three double page spreads advertising Ford products in various parts of the magazine.This was a double page plus a mini booklet.The feature article was beautifully presented.This was just the start of a superb historical feature.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I end with one of my regular galleries…
Not a perfect V – the two birds on the bottom left are out of true – but not that far off.This was hovering high overhead as I headed on to the footpath along the east bank of the Great Ouse on my way home from today’s WNAG committee meeting.
How an auction catalogue is put together and uploaded, a coda on the ‘computer is not always right’ theme and a photo gallery.
Yesterday at work I finalised and uploaded a stamp and postal history auction that will happen on June 23rd, starting at 10AM. This post describes the process of creating and uploading this auction.
CATALOGUE CREATION
Creating an auction catalogue involves the use of ExCel, and in the case of this auction involved typing up handwritten descriptions provided by our stamp expert. All the lots also had be imaged, with some requiring image galleries rather than just a single image. It is not sensible for the describing to run too far ahead of the imaging – if a catalogue ends up going live with lots of missing images the first thing that happens thereafter is a flood of incoming emails on the theme of ‘where are the pictures for x lot?’. Therefore I followed a system of doing a chunk of typing, then a chunk of imaging and so on (usually 10 lots per block, and depending on the imaging required either five or six such blocks in a day). Going into yesterday I had 460 descriptions typed up and 451 lots imaged, and because my employer decided he wanted me to upload the catalogue that day I imaged lots 451-60 and then typed up the descriptions and imaged lots 461-470 before calling a halt.
THE PROCESS OF UPLOADING
We used two online platforms, the-saleroom.com and easyliveauction and the process auction creation is different for each. On the-saleroom it is easier to copy an old auction and change the details that need changing (date of sale, category of item being sold and so on) than to start the process from scratch. To be uploadable (this applies to both platforms) the catalogue has to be in csv format and set to comma delineated), while on the saleroom the images can be bulk uploaded by way of the media manager, a long but straightforward process. On easylive the image gallery has to be compressed before it can be uploaded, and when the compression has been done the images will be processed and then uploaded. Fortunately on this occasion there were no hitches, and the catalogue was ready to go on both platforms by not long after 2PM – and it would have been a little earlier than it was but for a little detail that forms a….
…CODA: THE COMPUTER IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT
On the saleroom there are never problems with image galleries – the method used to separate main images from secondary images is one we adopted at their request. However for reasons which are beyond me the easylive system is not to be trusted in this regard. I went through the easylive gallery, and as I had anticipated most of the lots with multiple images had to have the so-called primary imaged changed. If it helps the programmers at easylive then when it is a catalogue I have been involved with the primary image is always the one whose name consist of just a number, while the secondary images, usually close ups of features of particular interest, have a number, a dash, and then a letter (or on odd occasions when the lot has warranted a really big gallery two letters). Once I had sorted everything I sent out emails to bidders in our two most recent stamp auctions. Before ending this part of the post with an illustrative example of an image gallery I offer you links to both catalogue listings:
A quick reminder – click on an image to view it at a larger size.
The main image for lot 155, showing the whole lot, and just named ‘155’.A total of five secondary images, named 155-a, 155-b,. 155-c, 155-d and 155-e for those who like what they see and fancy a closer look at the best parts of the lot.
A look at day one at Trent Bridge where Nottinghamshire and Surrey are playing and a large photo gallery.
Another round of County Championship matches got underway today. My focus is on Trent Bridge, where one of the oldest and strongest of all county rivalries is happening – Nottinghamshire v Surrey.
THE STORY SO FAR
Around the time the County Championship was put on a properly organized footing these two sides were the strongest in the country. The first properly organized championship happened in 1891, at which point Surrey were dominating things after Nottinghamshire had dominated the first half of the 1880s. This then is a rivalry with a lot of history. Last season Nottinghamshire won the title, after Surrey had won in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Surrey won the toss this morning and opted to bowl. They took two early wickets, before Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett had a good partnership, ended by the dismissal of Duckett on the stroke of lunch. The afternoon belonged to Nottinghamshire, with Clarke and Jack Haynes building a substantial partnership. Post tea Surrey have come back into things with Dan Worrall bowling superbly and Sean Abbott nabbing a couple of wickets, but Clarke has found another good partner in Fergus O’Neill, and with bad light having just ended play for the day this pair are still in occupation with the score now 317-7, Clarke 129 not out and O’Neill 31 not out, Worrall 5-61, Abbott 2-63.
Nottinghamshire have probably had the better of the day given that Surrey chose to bowl, but we are all set for a cracking contest just so long as the weather doesn’t behave too badly (it is fine here in Norfolk, which I hope will hold tomorrow since that is the day of the annual WNAG trip to Pensthorpe).
PHOTOGRAPHS
The first two pictures in this gallery are from the sale I am currently putting together at work, the rest my usual sort of stuff…
This is lot 155 in the auction I am currently working on, and the full gallery for it runs to six images, but I sharing just two, this full picture……and this close up of a 2d blue with a GWR perfin.
A brief account of James and Sons’ April Auction and a photo gallery.
On Tuesday James and Sons had a small auction featuring militaria, ephemera, books and postcards.
THE AUCTION
I arrived at James and Sons at about 8:30AM and started to get the IT set up for the auction. All went comparatively smoothly, and we began exactly on schedule at 10AM. Some of the Militaria sold well, and there were occasional highlights from elsewhere in the sale as well. Even some of the books sold. The last lot went under the hammer at about 12:30, and I then spent the rest of the day flitting between helping with picking out sold items from the auction and working on the next sale, a big stamp and postal history auction that will happen at the end of June, and for which I intend uploading a full catalogue to both our online platforms in the last week of May, immediately before I go on holiday for my birthday. I won a couple of postcards, one of The Rookery, Streatham Common, and one of the fort at Margate. I worked yesterday as well, since I had an annual health check booked for today (it went very well indeed, starting with a blood pressure reading of 120/78, very healthy for a 50 year old), hence the fact that I am blogging today.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This damselfly was a most unexpected find given that I was walking along Gayton Road having got off the bus at the hospital, and was about 50 yards from crossing Queensway when I spotted it (five pics)
A look at events in Warwickshire v Surrey on the opening day of a new cricket season and a photo gallery from work.
The 2026 first class cricket season got underway at 11am UK time this morning, making use of the fact that today and Monday are both bank holidays to play a round of four-day fixtures on which no day will be a regular working day. This post looks at goings on at Edgbaston where Warwickshire are facing Surrey. One piece of big general championship news is that the powers that be have seen sense and abandoned the experiment of using the Kookaburra ball in English matches as the failure it was.
EARLY STRUGGLES
Warwickshire won the toss and put Surrey in to bat. Surrey survived a tough morning largely through Dominic Sibley who batted through at one end. They should have made it through the session for the loss of three wickets, but a loose shot from Dan Lawrence right on the stroke of the interval handed Ethan Bamber his third scalp of the morning and sent Surrey in for lunch at 61-4. Almost as soon as the afternoon session started there was more trouble for Surrey, as Sibley was caught by Rob Yates off Chris Woakes and then Woakes clean bowled teenager Ralphie Albert to make it 65-6…
THE REVIVAL
At that point Ben Foakes, a world class wicket keeping all rounder who should be a regular in the England test side, was joined by Tom Lawes, a talented young seam bowler who can bat. This pair batted through the afternoon session, Lawes reaching a new career best 78 not out by the interval, while Foakes was on 55 not out, and the score had risen to 198-6. Foakes is a very experienced campaigner, and is likely to pass the career landmark of 10,000 first class runs before the end of the season. Play is just resuming for the evening as I type this.
PHOTOGRAPHS
First, a standalone from last night, the fourth birthday of the West Norfolk Autism Group (WNAG):
Me at the fourth birthday celebrations of WNAG, which took place at Strikes in Gaywood yesterday evening. The trophy I am holding aloft is for a win at ten pin bowling, while the gold medal around my neck is for a triumph at scrabble. The WNAG T shirt is on over my jumper because it was not warm enough to be in just a T shirt and I felt that on this occasion that T shirt had to be on display.
My remaining pictures come from work…
We start with some items of militaria which will be going under the hammer at the end of April.This lot made almost double the high estimate in our March auction……partly because of this image of the reverse and the accompanying confirmation that I was able to offer that the blob of gum is original.This is one of 70 postcard lots in the April sale – I have not images the others yet.
A look back at James and Sons’ January auction and a photo gallery.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week James and Sons had its January auction, a two day sale devoted entirely to stamps and postal history. This post looks back at the auction.
AN OUTLINE OF THE AUCTION
The first day featured mainly British stamps, with descriptions handwritten by someone else and typed in by me. The second day featured items from all over the world, and these lots were describe entirely by me. I also did all the imaging for this auction and uploaded it to the two online platforms that we use. On the days of the auction I handled the IT side of things.
A SUCCESSFUL SALE OVERALL
Both our online platforms were quite lively, and a number of items fared very well. On day one the most consistent success was enjoyed by stamps from the ‘seahorse’ range. Day two saw all sorts of things sell well, including a number of bidding battles. By the time the last lot went under the hammer I was very tired (in addition to a stressful though satisfactory two days at James and Sons I had had a WNAG commitment on the Tuesday evening).
THREE SUCCESSFUL BIDS
I had put bids in on a number of lots on day one, and on three items I was successful. Lot 105 was my first moment of good fortune:
The first seven pictures are those that were available to auction viewers.The remaining nine were taken at home today.
Lot 166 was the first of three items of its type, and I was outbid on the other two, which was professionally satisfying.
The first two pictures are the ones available to auction viewers, the other four were taken today.
Finally lot 262, which from my personal perspective was the star item of the entire auction.
The first nine images (number nine being a composite of numbers six and eight) were available to auction viewers, the other eight were taken at home today.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
A crescent moon in the predawn sky of Wednesday morning.
A look back at day one of the third Ashes test in Adelaide and a photo gallery.
The third test match of the ongoing series between Australia and England’s men’s teams got underway overnight UK time. This post looks back at a curious day’s play.
THE PRELIMINARIES
England had announced their team early, in keeping with their recent methods in this department. The fact that Shoaib Bashir missed out for a third straight match, creating the possibility that series will be decided before he plays a game, raised eyebrows. The problem with this selection from England is that they fast tracked him into the test side with this specific series most in mind, which makes then sidelining him for each of the first three matches look bizarre. Australia had intended to drop Usman Khawaja, which could well have ended his test career, but then Steve Smith experienced giddiness and nausea while batting in the nets and it was deemed serious enough to put him out of the match, so Khawaja was back in the side. Australia won the toss, and there was never much doubt about the decision, so it was over to England’s bowlers to see what they could do.
A CURATE’S EGG PERFORMANCE
England did not bowl very well overall, but they had some assistance from the Australian batting, who seemed somewhat infected by their opponents freneticism at the crease. Immediately after lunch, when Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green suffered almost identical ultra-soft dismissals in the space of three balls, each hitting deliveries from Archer straight to midwicket and suddenly the score was 94-4 it looked very good for England. Khawaja and Alex Carey regained the initiative for Australia, but then Khawaja tried to go big against the part time spin of WG Jacks and succeeded in holing out Josh Tongue for 82. Carey, supported in turn by Josh Inglis, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc proceeded to a splendid maiden Ashes ton. However Jacks showed something of the original WG’s knack for inducing batters to get themselves out, drawing an injudicious shot from Carey which resulted in a catch to Jamie Smith. The day ended with Australia on 326-8. With temperatures in Adelaide forecast to reach 39 degrees on day two (two degrees above the cut off point for an abandonment during my brief career as an umpire in Under 14s Whites matches there) what happens then will have a big influence on the outcome of the match and thus whether England can get back into the series. If they can get the last two wickets quickly and then bat for the rest of the day, forcing Australia to labour in the field through the fiercest heat they will have a good chance. Cummins has just returned earlier than expected from an injury, and a long, hot innings in the field would be a big early test of just how ready he was to make that comeback. A concern for England, given their controversial decision to overlook the specialist spinner is the fact that it was Will Jacks, definitely a batter who bowls off spin, who ended bowling the most overs for them on day one.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
The first five images are of a gold ducat that has been manipulated in some way – the 1583 date, clearly visible, does not match with the style of portrait. These images did their job, and the coin has been sold for a negotiated price not hugely much less than the original sale price.This style of portrait was used only in 1585, 1586 and 1587,, not 1583.This image comes from our upcoming two-day sale on January 13th and 14th. A full catalogue can be viewed on the-saleroom or easyliveauction.A cormorant right at the topmost point of a willow tree. This willow overlooks the Townshend Terrace pond in North Lynn.
An account of an auction that did not go to plan but was nevertheless extremely successful, and a large photo gallery.
On Tuesday James and Sons had a small auction of banknotes and coins. I ran the IT side of the auction itself, having also typed all the descriptions and created most of the images. This post looks back at a day that while it certainly did not go exactly to plan was indubitably a successful for James and Sons.
AN EARLY START
With the sale getting underway at 10AM I had to arrive early, and the only way I could do so was to catch the early morning bus, getting into Fakenham at 7:48. I had warned my employer of this detail and he promised to arrive as near that time as he could manage. I got in to Fakenham as planned, found that my employer had not arrived yet, and took myself off for a short walk to fill a little time. He arrived a little after I got back to the shop, and opened up. At 9:30 the person who had done what I was to be doing that day arrived and put me through my paces. At 10 o’clock on the dot we kicked off.
THE SALE ITSELF
The 50 lots of banknotes with which the sale started were fairly quiet, though even one or two of those went well. The coins (lots 51-267 inclusive) fared quite superbly. The star item of the auction, a Stephan Batory 1583 gold ducat, soared to £2,300, considerably more than we had expected. While not going anything close to that kind of figure a lot of the silver coins achieved much higher prices than expected, with prices in three figures commonplace, and over £300 happening multiple times. Lots 268-277 and 281-300 were books about coins, and lots 278-280 were charity coin lots, and my employer’s voice was suffering, so he decided to end the sale at lot 267. I managed to close things down OK. Although there were no bidders in the shop we had active bidders on two online platforms (www.the-saleroom.com and www.easyliveauction.com) and we also had a telephone bidder (an old client who is a big spender, which is why it was permitted even though it meant someone had to be there with the sole purpose of handling these bids), and there were times when it was very intense. However, I enjoyed the day and was pleased overall with how it went.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here is my photo gallery for this post…
The gold ducat mentioned in the text (three images)Some of the other Polish coins (many images)Some pictures taken in and around Fakenham – as well as the early morning walk I got away early and did some more walking in the afternoon sun before getting the bus back.I won two lots myself, this coin honouring Marie Curie…….and this one honouring the other ATG scientist to have been born in Poland.
A look back at today’s WBBL clash in Drummoyne between Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat, a note about future posts and a photo gallery.
Today in the Women’s Big Bash League Sydney Thunder were hosting Brisbane Heat at Drummoyne. Neither side could qualify, but a win for Thunder if they managed it would condemn Heat to the wooden spoon (even if Heat had won they would need another win in their final game, another loss for Thunder and a substantial change in net run rates to avoid this fate).
THE THUNDER INNINGS
Thunder, batting first, had a slow start, and were 24-1 after their four over Power Play. That took a turn for the worse in the fifth over when English leg spinner Sarah Glenn making her debut for Heat struck twice in successive balls, bowling Voll with a ball that went straight through, and then bowling Knight round her legs with the next ball. Anika Learoyd and young all rounder Lucy Finn both also fell for single figure scores, and when veteran Laura Harris was LBW for 13 it was 93-6. Phoebe Litchfield, who had survived this carnage, had been dropped twice in the early stages of her innings, and these lapses would prove crucial, as she now found an excellent partner in Em Arlott. At 120 Litchfield’s innings ended for 61, but now, having played the support role for Litchfield, Arlott took control, in a partnership with Taneale Peschel that yielded a further 33 runs off the last 3.5 overs of the innings. Thunder thus had 153 to defend.
THE HEAT RESPONSE
The Heat innings began with Samantha Bates bowling to Charli Knott. The first three balls were all dots, and then Bates took a magnificent return catch to get Knott off the fourth ball. Lauren Winfield-Hill came in at number three, but never got going at all, and the fourth ball of the third over, bowled by Voll, pinned her LBW for 2 (5). In the next over Georgia Redmayne, batting at number four, was caught behind of Shabnim Ismail for 1. At the end of the four over opening Power Play the Heat were 10-3 and the game was effectively done. When Lucinda Bourke had reached 18 she fell to a catch by Voll off Peschel to make it 30-4. West Indian all rounder Chinelle Henry now joined Sianna Ginger, and they fared well for a time, until Henry was hit and retired hurt with the score at 53. Ten runs later Ginger who had scored an impressive 28 was caught and bowled by Arlott. The sixth wicket pair of Annie O’Neil and Mikayla Wrigley more than doubled that total, but were never on terms with the runs rate, and Thunder ran out winners by 23 runs in the end. Heat thus remain winless after nine games, and also remain without an individual 50+ score in this year’s tournament (Litchfield’s innings today was the fifth such score for the Thunder by comparison).
PHOTOGRAPHS
Just before the main purpose of this section a note for the future: I intend to write about yesterday’s auction on Friday – one of two posts I intend to write that day, with the other being about what is happening in the second Ashes test in Brisbane (in over 2,600 test matches to date there has never been a definite result in one day’s play, though MCC v Australia at Lord’s in 1878 was done and dusted in a day – MCC 33 and 19, Australia 41 and 12-1 won by nine wickets – and I do not see this one being done in a day either, even with Stokes’ England being involved!). Now it is time for my usual sign off…
Last night’s moon was approaching fullness……and tonight’s. seen in this shot against a day time sky was full and spectacular.A shot of the moon against the blackness of a clear night sky, unedited……cropped but not otherwise edited……the first of four different edits……of which I consider this the best.
An account of a somewhat convoluted path to a 300 lot banknote and coin auction that is now up and running, plus a photo gallery.
Yesterday, with a little assistance from the former colleague who used to do such things, I sent an auction live on both the platforms James and Sons regularly use, the-saleroom.com and easylive. This post explains about that auction and its somewhat less than straightforward origins.
A FALSE START
Ten days ago sale 2285 was as follows: Lots 1-50 books, all described and imaged, lots 51-105 ephemera, described and imaged, with an unknown number of further such lots to go in, Lots 451-500 Banknotes, described and imaged, Lots 501-737 coin and coin related lots, described and imaged, lots 738-800 yet to be filled, lots 801-900 postcards, described and imaged, and lots 901-1000 militaria, as yet unfilled. Then my employer decided he wanted the coin and banknote lots under the hammer. Originally, on Thursday of last week, we were going to do this a timed-bidding auction, and had sent it live on the-saleroom as such, but then my employer panicked and went back on that, and that sale had to be deleted.
THE REAL DEAL
On Tuesday of this week I prepared as much as I could for a launch on Thursday. On Thursday the auction finally did go live on both platforms, with 300 lots in total, which will go under the hammer on December 2nd (I also have a 1,000 lot, two-day stamp sale complete and ready to go, and sending that online should be much more straightforward) starting at 10AM. Owing to the fact that the images had originally been saved as lots 451-750, and with those numbers, the images files had to be renumbered appropriately before they could be uploaded, which is why the auction does not have all the images yet – I have renumbered and uploaded up to lot 180, and have renumbered lots 181-90 but had no time to upload them yesterday. Fortunately I will not need to renumber the much larger number of images in the stamp/ postal history auction – this auction features about 900 images in total, the larger one some 4,000. I will have the rest of the renumbering done at some point on Tuesday, and may be able to get an email out that same day, or that might have to wait until Thursday. The heart of this auction is a collection of Polish coins spanning about half a millennium. To see what the auction currently looks like on easylive go here, while the catalogue on the-saleroom is still pending approval.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
These sunset shots were taken from a bus that had broken down yesterday evening. We had a wait of about 20 minutes before the replacement arrived.
