Details of four significant press releases that I have put out recently.
INTRODUCTION
This post covers one particular qaspect of my work at James and Sons. Everything yousee has gone out between Thursday of last week and this morning.
PRESS RELEASES
I am sharing four of these with you:
MILITARY BADGE AUCTION ALERT
This one is about our upcoming auctions on Wednesday and Thursday, the first of which contains a few military badges, including both of those used in the image, and the second of which, taking place at our own premises, is a pure badge auction. I will provide the images, a jpg of the full document and a link to the original word document:
For various reasons instead of a dedicated auction devoted entirely to fund-raising we are incorporating the Great Centenary Charity Auction within our own programme, with lots in June and November being sold for fund-raising purposes. I have put out two press releases thus far about this:
WHERE MILITARIA AND SCOUTING COMBINE
The first press release focuses on a collection of medals and paperwork relating to Jack Cornwell, who at the battle of Jutland became the youngest person ever to win the VC. He was also a boy scout, giving an extra connection. I have a jpg of the press release, the press release itself and all the images I took of the various items:
The second Great Centenary Charity Auction press release is about an oil painting of the Poppies at the Tower by one of the two artists who created the real thing…
An account of today at work, featuring the creation of a poster, a laminated copy of which is on display in our shop window at 5 Norwich Street, Fakenham, NR21 9AF
INTRODUCTION
Today as well as producing the poster which forms the first part of the title I did some more postal history imaging and imaged a couple of lots for a small militaria sale in which i have otherwise had no involvement. Also, I assembled a metal detector for display in the shop.
ASSEMBLING THE POSTER
The purpose of this poster was to advertise the hats and helmets I blogged about yesterday. This required selecting the images which would work best, getting brief descriptions of the items chosen to feature and fitting the whole together in a visually appealing way. The three images I selected were:
I went for the white helmet to provide a contrast withe dark colour of the other two. Putting these together with the descriptions and appropriate top and tail pieces gave this final product:
POLICE HEADGEAR AT JAMES – this is a link to the original word document – a screenshot is below…
An account of voting in the Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner election and of my day at work.
INTRODUCTION
I have had a busy day imaging auction items at James and Sons, but before going to work I did find time to…
VOTE
The only election in which us Norfolk folk had a vote today was for Police and Crime Commissioner, and to put it mildly I was not 100% convinced that this was an election worth voting in. However, in my inbox this morning was an email from the Grteen Party candidate, and that settled the issue – I would vote. The polling station was not a hive of activity (indeed to judge from the reaction to my arrival I may well have been the first voter the folks running that polling station had seen that day). This election used a preference system – one vote for your favourite candidate and one for your second favourite. With three of the candidates being respectively Tory, UKIP and a highly suspect Independent, and a fourth standing for what is effectively an ex-party, I used my votes for the Green party candidate (1st) and Labour (2nd):
IMAGING
Today’s imaging consisted of two distinct parts, first a collection of police helmets and such, and second starting work on some postal history items. I will start with the…
POLICE HEADGEAR
These feature a wide range of police organisations.
POSTAL HISTORY
Most of the postal history stuff was not so interesting in appearance, although there were a few hihglights…
This cruciform pattern was the most distinctive of all the postmarks I saw today.
With so much of interest lot 371 merited a five image gallery
An account of James and Sons April auction, a plug for a petition to honour the Hillsborough campaigners and some photographs.
INTRODUCTION
The day before yesterday, at the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich, James and Sons had their April auction. Overall, the auction was a great success. Although the number of internet bidders did not equal that for the March auction, there were 180 internet bidders, and this was a one day sale whereas March had been a two day affair. I will also be sharing some other stuff, including photos, at the end of this piece.
GETTING THERE
My travel expenses have recently gone down, due to the introduction of an all-day ticket which covers travel on any Norfolk route save the Coast Hopper and costs £5.50. This did mean that I could not get to a Norwich auction as early as if I were to use the X1 route (run by a different bus company, therefore ipso facto not covered) but it was still a seriously early start, as I had to be on the first bus of the morning, at 6:10AM to arrive early enough to do everything that I had to do for the running of the auction. The run to Norwich was thankfully, save for the inevitable bottleneck near Hellesdon Hospital, a very clear one, and the bus arrived exactly on schedule.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE AUCTION
As I have indicated, this auction was a very successful one. The principal highlights according to my method of evaluating these things were in ascending lot number order:
Lot 78, a collection of British banknotes in a tin, valued at £30-40, sold for £65
Lot 87, a Lebanese 1 Livre note with a lilac overprint, valued at £25-30, sold for £45
Lot 232, an R101 Royal Airship Works cloth cap badge, estimated at £75-85 and sold for an eye-popping £170.
Lot 263, an Imperial German WI Zeppelin commemorative badge, estimated at £55-60, sold for £120
Lot 268, a British WWII Commandos Middle East cap badge (brass), estimated at £20-25, sold for £48
Lot 270, a WWI aerial flechette dart as dropped on enemy soldiers, estimated at £15-20, sold for £42
Lot 680, a postcard of the 1906 New Zealand rugby team, estimated at £10-20, sold for £45
Lot 714, a Victorian scrapbook assembled by Harriett Riches of Trunch, estimated at £40-50, sold for £90
Lot 715, a Victorian/ Edwardian scrapbook, estimated at £30-40, sold for £90 to the the same person who bought lot 714.
Here is a ’tiled mosaic’ of images of these lots – to see an image at full size click on it:
Lot 78
Lot 232
Lot 263
Lot 268
Lot 270
Lot 680
The main image of 714
714-a
714-b
714-c
715
PHOTOGRAPHER SNAPS UP THREE BARGAIN BASEMENT BUYS
I had contrived to arrange my breaks from computer work to coincide with periods when lots of interest to me were going under the hammer. The first such lot was number 460:
Don’s mugshot on one half of the stamps, him playing the pull shot (his trademark, and a shot about which he wrote a short piece which features in many a cricket anthology).
This was knocked down to me for £7, and better was to come near the end of the auction…
Lot 711 was a 1904 Erie Railway pass, for which a single bid of £8 sufficed:
The front of the pass.The back of the pass.Both sides of the pass.
Construction started on this railroad in 1835, and the first run along the full length of the route, from Piermont, New York to Dunkirk, New York took place in 1851. More information about this railroad can be found here. Below is a route map:
Lot 717, a print of old London Bridge based on the earliest known drawing of that structure, which is in the Pepys collection, attracted no interest from anyone save me, and was knocked down for £5:
A CALL TO HONOUR THE
HILLSBOROUGH CAMPAIGNERS
27 years ago 96 people lost their lives at Hillsborough football ground. Through most of this period people seeking justice for the dead faced a media and governments that were almost uniformly hostile to them, while the police force involved consistently refused to accept responsibility for the disaster. At long last, after a full inquiry and inquest into the deaths it has been established that these 96 people were unlawfully killed and that blame for their deaths lies squarely with the police. Just this morning I found out about a petition on38 Degrees to honour the campaigners who have fought so hard for this outcome. They are far more worthy of being honoured than many who have already been honoured (As a resident of King’s Lynn I think of Sir Henry Bellingham MP, apparently knighted for the great feat of having attended the same school as the prime minister, albeit at a different time). If you share my view…
Does this look like the start of a public footpath to you? It is, and you are looking at one reason why the developer who perpetrated this (with whose name I shall not sully this blog) are personae non grata in King’s Lynn
My contribution to this document was to scan the postcard that appears on the front cover.This is the only example of this particular £2 coin that I have thus far seen. I approve of commemorating Darwin, but not necessarily of the chosen picture (a Galapagos tortoise, or finch, or a map of the Galapagos islands would have been my choice).
Yesterday and today were both work days for me, and I stayed overnight in Norwich as I was attending an evening meeting in that fine city. I will not be covering said meeting in this post as I plan to write about it and about tomorrow’s protest against the possible closure of the Fermoy Unit in detail in another post. All my images today are presented as ’tiled mosaics’ – to view an individual image at full size click on it.
THURSDAY
Thursday was all imaging for the May auction. I finished the militaria imaging before moving on to some other stuff. Here a few highlights from these lots…
After the militaria I dealt with the coin lots that were unsuitable for being scanned…
These last two lots (three images each) are ex-coins that have been turned into jewellery.
There was then a mixture of items to finish the day…
Lot 275
Lot 392
Lot 397 – an item of local interest.
FRIDAY
Some of the last lots in theApril auction(this Wednesday in Norwich) were located, and there was some interesting stuff for the May auction to image as well. I start with some of those April lots…
This scrapbook is lot 714 – it has some Norfolk interest because the girl who assembled it back in the Victorian age lived in Trunch.
Lot 730 – four very miniature books in a plastic case
Lot 726 (two images for this one)
Lot 717 – an interesting old picture. One of Susanna Gregory’s Chaloner novels features London Bridge, and Edward Marston’s Elizabethan book-holder Nick Bracewell almost certainly finds himself on this birdge at some stage in his adventures.
Lot 725
Now for some of the lots for the May auction that I imaged today…
A plug for an important protest and some highlights from today at work.
INTRODUCTION
I have been at work today at James and Sons, and also a discussion has been taking place regarding a protest on Saturday. Thus this post is in two parts, starting with
PROTEST AGAINST THE POSSIBLE CLOSURE OF THE FERMOY UNIT
The state of Mental Health services in Norfolk is already, to put it bluntly, scandalous. Therefore, I have no hesitation in urging everyone who can to be present in King’s Lynn from 12PM this Saturday to be part of this protest.
Above is a jpg of the official poster for the event.
IMAGING
Here are a few highlights from today at work…
Lot 19Lot 40The hallmarks on lot 40Lot 43 – a five image gallery. The fact that I produced a full gallery of this lot and have sahred it here should absolutely not be taken as expressing support for the compnay being commemorated!
Lot 91 – this will be on the front cover of the catalogue – and I produced a nine-image gallery.A close up of the front of the medalsA close up of the rear of the medalsThe reverse of the two cruciform medalsThe obverse of the two cruciform medalsThe obverse of the two stars (a look at the reverse of the group will tell you why I did not do a close-up of the other side of this pair)The obverse of the two disc medalsAnd the reverse – the ninth image is a close up of anothe rpart of the lot and I de3cided not to include it.
Lot 207 – both sidesLot 207 – obverseLot 207 – reverse.
An account of today at James and Sons, featuring the construction of a press release, a bonus explanation of the origin of the phrase ‘bent as a nine-bob note’, and at the end a couple of important links.
INTRODUCTION
I have some old images to share, some new images to share, and a press release to talk about. Additionally I have a couple of important links that I will be sharing at the end of this post.
THE CREATION OF A PRESS RELEASE
There are several stages involved in creating press releases/ bulk emails. Stage 1 is working out what to cover, which in this case involved two aspects:
The success of the March 30th and 31st auction, with large numbers of internet bidders, and…
Each of the foregoing for maximum effect needed to be accompanied by an appropriate image. Hence:
IMAGE SELECTION
For the March image I was looking for something that had sold for well above estimate, and would look good in an email. Thus my attention focussed on lot 720, which I recalled as being both interesting visually and spectacularly successful in the auction room. Thus I needed to view the full image gallery and select from within that…
This full image is too busy for use in an email
This image showing the coins and ingot in their natural alignment looked good
I could have used this but decided against it
The obverses on their own are not very interesting – it is the reverses that are distinctive
It was close a call for this one.
The ingot on it’s own could not be used, but there were possibilities involving it…
I decided, given the shape of image I was looking for to combine the shot of the four coins and the ingot and the close-up of the ingot into a composite image (I considered the four reverses on their own, but wanted both parts of the image to have the same colour background).
The composite I created for the occasion.
For the image to accompany the text advertising the April auction the task was easier – I went for the front cover item for very obvious reasons.
Incidentally the above denomination of banknote provides the origin for the phrase “bent as a nine-bob note” – ‘bob’ was a colloquialism for a shilling, and as shown above, a ‘ten-bob’ note was kosher while a ‘nine-bob note’ would absolutely not have been.
ASSEMBLING A MAILING LIST
Coming up with the text for the press release is a straight-forward task, and assembling a mailing list is a simple matter of noting which categories of items are prominent in the upcoming auction, selecting the appropriate lists from the database and combining them into one big list. In this instance there were almost 400 names on the final list. As a security measure (and a guard against people hitting the ‘reply to all’ button) I am the designated recipient of the emails (my James and Sons email address, not my personal one) and the true recipients are bcc’d. Thus, given that our system can handle approximately 100 people being bcc’d at a time, this one involved sending the email four times.
THE FINAL PRESS RELEASE
I have a jpg of the final press release, and also a link that will enable you to view the document in its original word format.
In addition to the above, some work on the database and some fetching and carrying there were also a few items that had been catalogued but had not previously been in our possession so still needed imaging…
This ‘claymore’ type sword is an absolute monster – stood vertically it reaches my shoulder!
Finally, to end this post on an upbeat note, a story from the New Statesmanby way of Prides Purgeabout how badly the Tory campaign for London Mayor has come off the rails(attentive followers of this blog and my London transport themed website, www.londontu.be, will know that if I had a vote in that election I would be using it on Sian Berry’s behalf, but whoever ends up benefitting – most likely Sadiq Khan – bad news for Tories is good news for me!)
A brief account of today at work and a plug for the Green Party manifesto in the upcoming London mayoral elections.
INTRODUCTION
As well as details from today at work I have something else to share which will be revealed later.
THE APRIL AUCTION
Last week James and Sons had its March auction, which attracted unprecedented interest among online bidders, with almost 300 registering to bid. The April auction catalogue is available in print and can now be viewed online by clicking here. Today featured an big effort to get the imaging done, with the result that most lots now have their accompanying image or images. Some of the highlights from today’s imaging now follow…
GREEN MANIFESTO FOR LONDON MAYOR ELECTION LAUNCHED
The Green Party manifesto for the London Mayoral elections in 30 days time is now out, and very impressive it is too. Here are some links for you to follow up:
An account of James and Sons auction on March 3oth and 31st, with some other stuff at the end.
INTRODUCTION
As the main part of this post, about James and Sons’March auction (I am also sharing a few other bits at the end) develops it will become obvious why I am doing it now as one big post, and why I have posted very little these last few days.
PART 1: THE PRELIMINARIES (TUESDAY)
With the auction scheduled for Wednesday 30th (lots 1-699) and Thursday 31st (Lots 700-1051) the setup at the venue (The Prince of Wales Suite, Fakenham Racecourse) had to be accomplished on the Tuesday. This day did not require any earlier start than a regular work day would, and although a lot of heavy lifting was involved (a thousand plus lot auction, four people fit to do serious carrying) it was less draining than the other two days.
PART TWO: DAY 1 (WEDNESDAY)
I had to be at the venue by 8AM, which meant leaving my flat at 6:30AM to be sure of catching the 6:50 bus, to make sure that the IT setup was working and to assist with the viewing the precedes the sale. A couple of technical hitches at the start aside the day went smoothly. There were some great successes, although the flag that we had hoped would raise serious money did not attract a bid high enough to warrant selling it. The books tanked, as anyone with any experience of books at auction would have expected. Lot 466 fell to me, and lot 494, five volumes on Buildings of Scotland, found its way to East Rudham. Here are some pictures from day 1 at the venue…
This was still in the sky when I left my flat on the Wednesday morning!
Not one of ours – one the racecourse’s own pictures)
The view from the rostrum
The rostrum before the auction started.
This shell has been interestingly decorated, although it would still have looked better when it was on a turtle’s back.
The flag
A building frontage in Bridge Street, Fakenham that I had not previously noticed.
After the sale had concluded it was time to get the unsold lots from day 1 back to the shop (and they had to go on the top floor of the shop, including four plastic tubs full of back issues of Private Eye magazine). Then finally, work was done for the day.
PART THREE: DAY 2 (THURSDAY)
Fortunately I was able to set off an hour later than on the first day as although I would still have to do some preliminary IT stuff there were unlikely to be many viewers present (and indeed there weren’t). The internet was still very lively however, and a number of the early commemorative and proof coins on this second day sold exceptionally well. The stamps and postal history did not shine especially brightly. Lot 920, an Isambard Kingdom Brunel £2 set, went to me. The last lot went under the hammer just before 12:00, after which it was time for the clear-up. Once we had the first van load back at the shop we stopped for lunch, before doing the unloading, heading back to the racecourse for the last bits and getting them back. At this point there was a break from heavy lifting, during which I obtained a full printed list of those who had signed up to bid via http://www.the-saleroom.com, which ran to a James and Sons record 277 (paddle numbers 400-676 inclusive). There was a little bit more lifting to do before the end of my day, as it was necessary to get some stuff ready for loading for a collectors fair on the morrow. I have some pictures from day 2 as well…
One of theirs again!
This tapestry is also theirs.
Caravans parked where on race days there would be bookies.
Golfers in action, srrounded by the racecourse (hence no golf on racedays – a mishit shot might do more than frighten the horses!)
Che Simnor auditioning for the role of security guard!
An item on display in the shop.
The Fakenham Sign
A FINAL THOUGHT ON THE AUCTION
I have not previously been involved in running a two-day auction, and it was an incredibly tiring three days. However, the auction was very successful.
LOTS 466 AND 920
These were the two lots I bid on, and I got both. Both lots attracted my attention because of my special interest (in the best autism circles we do not use the word obsession) in railways (and indeed public transport generally – check out my website www.londontu.be).
LOT 466
This was a rail atlas of Britain, dating from around 1980 (Blake Hall station was open so it is pre-1982, but that whole section of the Central line – Epping– Ongar – was already being considered for closure), and it is very detailed, showing goods and passenger lines. Here are pictures, starting with the images that were available at auction and finishing with some later shots…
This was the image that people saw during the auction – the front coverThe three images starting with this one were also available to internet viewers.
A picture showing the Ongar page – and note where the Chelmsford oage continues to…The page from which this picture comes…A new post in ‘stations’ on my website will be coming soon.A joint pic of the images from pps 32 and 33 showing that the downright dishonourable “costs a Priti penny” Patel has nothing approaching a justification for claiming more in expenses than any other MP in the house – her constituency is hardly far-flung!
LOT 920
This was the Brunel £2 set, and I have the image that was available to auction followers, some images taken of it on display at the venue and some further images taken of it at home…
This image was one of the few at this auction not done me, hence the rookie mistake of showing an ‘obverse’ (just a portrait of a ridiculously over-privileged old woman), when the ‘reverse’ is the key face.On display at the auctionOne of the reverses (still at the auction)A picture taken at my workstation back at the shopThe outside of the folderThe two obverses.This one, showing both reverses and the accompanying info is an example of what the auction image should have looked like.A close up of the ‘reverse’ showing Brunel in his top hata close-up of the other ‘reverse’, a pattern based on Paddington station
What the folder looks like closed.
HAIRPIN POINT – UNINTENTIONAL COMEDY FROM THE GOP
I have called this ‘Hairpin Point’ because it represents a switch in direction on this post away from anything connected with my work to other matters. To set the scene, here is a screen-dump from my email inbox:
The Gun Obsessed Plonkers (GOP for short) have made a spectacular blunder here:
As my email address surely indicates (it ends .co.uk after all) I am not American.
Even I was American the odds against me ever even voting for a Republican, let alone being a registered member would be of the order of zillions to one against.
How someone came to perpetrate a bloomer on this scale I do not know, but it did provide a laugh.
And at the very end, a link to a piece by Mike Sivier of Vox Political about what Labour is doing to attempt to save British Steel, and a follow-up link to a petition on the same subject that has already garnered more than the 100,000 signatures needed for a debate in Parliament:
An account of setting up for the auction that will be taking place Tomorrow and Thursday at Fakenham Racecourse, and some pictures from yesterday at Fakenham races.
INTRODUCTION
Today was setup day for the James and Sons auction that is taking place at Fakenham Racecourse tomorrow and Thursday (lots 1-699 tomorrow and lots 700-1050 plus clear-up on Thursday).
TWO VAN LOADS
This auction being so large, it required two trips with the van to get everything down to the racecourse. Then came the sorting out, and checking that everything was there. I also had some queries to resolve, which meant taking a few pictures before getting back to the shop, from where I could send the necessary emails. All is now set for tomorrow.
PICTURES
Although I had no opportunity to take pictures that I could use here while I was helping with the setup, I was at the racecourse yesterday for its primary purpose, and have some pictures from then…
Hints of blue in the sky
This shell is mounted on the wall behind the bar in Prince of Wales stand.
God’s promise not to send another universal deluge (or the bridge of Bif-rost if you prefer Norse mythology) – yes a splendid rainbow.This one is colour-boosted
This horse, Master Workman had my £2 on it and came second (rather better than my horses usually manage!)
This was my choice for the last race, but the favourite, Kayf Grace (but for a spelling change a doubly cricketing name – Mohammed Kaif, current Indian international and W G Grace) demonstrated precisely the bookies had her at 6-1 ON as she won by almost the length of the home straight.
GREAT CENTENARY CHARITY AUCTION
aspiblog 