Tag: Postal History

Yesterday at James and Sons

This is the first of two blog post I shall be putting up in the course of today. The other relates to an important meeting that I attended in Norwich last night. I have three things to cover from yesterday at work, after I have shared a few links with you…

LINKS

My first link is to a very interesting post in support of the tax dodging bill.

The other links I am sharing here rather than saving for my next post are all concerned with petition seeking to get Katie Hopkins sacked, about which I have already blogged. At present it has just passed 270,000 signatures, as you can see by visiting its home page. As well as the petition, complaints have been flooding in to IPSO, the press watchdog – more details can be found by checking out this piece from Huffington Post. Finally, both Ms Hopkins and the editor of the filthy rag that published her imitation of the Third Reich have been reported for incitement to racial hatred – more details in this piece from The Independent.

YESTERDAY AT WORK

My day at work yesterday featured three different strands, a press release, the official post about which can be viewed on the James and Sons website. I now reproduce the jpg version of the original document and a link to the word document…

Antiques Road Trip

The composite image I created for the press release.
The composite image I created for the press release.
The press release in picture form.
The press release in picture form.

The second strand was resolving queries, which involved taking a picture of some old writing so that it could be sent to someone for translation, and also getting some close ups of stamps to resolve a query about lot 491 in our April sale…

DSCN4132 DSCN4133 DSCN4134 DSCN4135 DSCN4136 DSCN4137 DSCN4138

Finally, the greatest part of my day was spent imaging new stuff for our May auction (27th, Maids Head Hotel, Norwich):

511 518 518a 519 519a 520 520a 520b 525 525b 525c 526 526a 529 529a 537 708 708a 758a 760b 760c 760d 774a 774b 774e

Please share widely and do look out for my next post which will be about the Save Ashcroft Campaign.

More May Imaging

As is now quite frequently the case I start by sharing some important bits and pieces…

LINKS

First of all, a shocking story from across the pond concerning an 11 year old autistic boy who has been convicted of assaulting a police officer. The story, from which no one in any position of authority emerges with the slightest shred of credit is the subject of a petition, courtesy of change.org, which I urge you to SIGN AND SHARE. Further details of this truly appalling story can be found by following this link. Another unpleasant story concerning autism features a 12 year old who was beaten up (to the extent of spending five days in hospital) by a known and reported bully. An up to date account can be found here.

After these horror stories, some more positive autism related stuff. Firstly, a piece on the subject of inclusion, which deserves to be read in full. My final autism related piece is by way of introducing you to a site called the art of autism and it concerns somebody named Jason.

Moving on, and interesting science piece from the Independent about an early, major collision and its role in shaping our planet. The very last item in this little collection comes courtesy of journeyaroundtheglobe.com and concerns the town of Volterra.

MAY IMAGING

Today I got to image a variety of items, some of which I shall now share with you to conclude this post…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? 352 352a ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????

Auctions, Images, Press Releases and Other Stuff

This post is going to be in several parts. First off some good links for you to follow up, then a bit about yesterday’s auction, then an account of an evening’s bridge, then today, all interleaved with some pictures.

PART 1: LINKS

https://cablestreetbulldog.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/establishment-figures-ed-milliband-vs-nigel-farage/

https://tompride.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/relatives-of-german-air-crash-victims-send-commiserations-to-jeremy-clarkson-on-losing-his-job/ Tom Pride in fine form as usual.

https://www.change.org/p/british-airways-stop-selling-trips-to-seaworld-end-your-support-for-these-cruel-orca-circuses/u/10195326?tk=oVXFDImifNTr-Vwe2Y6XEhoXCzfib-B6Fg6q1O-1ono&utm_source=petition_update&utm_medium=email An update on one of the petitions that I have signed.

http://seekingalpha.com/pr/12931686-hagens-berman-consumer-lawsuit-alleges-seaworld-deceives-public-while-its-orcas-suffer An in depth account of the pending lawsuit against Sea World

https://tompride.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/police-statement-north-yorkshire-police-to-investigate-jeremy-clarkson-attack/ Tom Pride mauls Clarkson again.

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/03/26/budget-debate-exposes-osbornes-boasts-as-lies-michael-meacher-mp/

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/03/26/after-aidan-burley-will-cannock-chase-ever-trust-a-tory-again/ Aidan Burley on the receiving end of a Mike Sivier special!

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/03/26/its-time-for-labour-to-talk-tough-about-the-benefit-deniers/ Another quality post from Vox Political.

PART 2: AUCTION DAY

The first items under the hammer were the banknotes, the first part of a very large, very high quality collection which has come into our possession. This part of the sale was extremely lively, and there were some huge results. Here in pictorial form are five of the finest (four of the original images were scanned by my colleague Chris and have subsequently been edited by me)…

17 ?????????? 91 92 136After the banknotes came some coins, then militaria, medals and badges. There was a brief lull when some postcards went under the hammer, and then after a break for lunch, it was time for the stamps. These fared respectably. The postal history and ephemera items brought up the rear of the auction, by which stage hardly anyone not helping to run the auction was still in the room, and they fared poorly.

Another feature of this auction was the presence of the latest advertising tool for the Great Centenary Charity Auction, which has already featured on twitter and facebook…

A close-up
A close-up
A panoramic view showing it alongside the auction lots.
A panoramic view showing it alongside the auction lots.

PART 3: JOLLY BRIDGE

Last night was another bridge evening at the Jolly Sailors. Although I finished up a few pence down on the evening, I had a good time. I pulled off a few good pieces of dummy play and played my part in more than one successful defence. The meal was excellent.

PART 4: TODAY

Today I have imaged some 50 lots for the April auction (Fakenham Racecourse, 29th), updated the client database with records of all the saleroom.com bidders at yesterday’s auction and created a press release, which I aim to put out early next week.

Building a Press Release

The text part of a press release is quick work. Creating and placing an image takes much longer. For the particular composite image I envisaged, going right at the heart of the piece I needed to create three half-way house composites and then assemble them into my final image…

This was to be the central panel of the final image.
This was to be the central panel of the final image.
With this on one side of it
With this on one side of it
And this on the other.
And this on the other.
And this was the final image.
And this was the final image.

With some carefully chosen text above and below you have your press release – but I will not share the full thing until I have actually released it.

Most of the imaging I did for the April sale today was not especially inspiring, but I have a handful of final pictures to share…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????

A Difficult Day at Work

I spent today imaging items for a Timed Bid auction which will go live on Monday (check out http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/search-filter/auction-catalogues?AuctionType=3 at that time). I managed to get everything I needed to do done in spite of the fact that my work computer was functioning at about the same level as the West Indies batting had been when I listened to commentary from the cricket world cup before setting off for work!

The items covered a variety of categories. This set of Royal Doulton plates was the very first lot I imaged today…

??????????While these could appeal either to pottery enthusiasts or lovers of railwayana, they were beaten for breadth of appeal by lot 2085, which has stamps, postal history, medals and art (at least) covered…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????This French medallion (lot 1502) came out well…

??????????I finish this eclectic selection of images with some stamp album lots where I decided rather than photographing whole pages to focus on smaller quantities of stamps…

?????????? ?????????? ????????????????????

Two Days at James and Sons

Yesterday at James and Sons was devoted to finishing the imaging for the January auction (Jan 28th 2014, Fakenham Racecourse). It is in the nature of last items to be imaged that they are not the most interesting, but there were some good ones in there…

This is one of five images of lot 324
This is one of five images of lot 324
This is one of five images from lot 325.
This is one of five images from lot 325.

???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????

The next four images are of lot 601
The next four images are of lot 601

???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????

This is lot 736 - the map is in the frame at right angles to the normal orientation.
This is lot 736 – the map is in the frame at right angles to the normal orientation.
The next five images are from lot 780. a giant scrapbook full of beer mats
The next five images are from lot 780. a giant scrapbook full of beer mats

???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????Today however was a much more varied day. The morning was devoted to the heavy work of clearing the alleyway behind the shop (our neighbours in Fakenham who I won’t name had failed a fire inspection). Thereafter a new advertising board to replace the clapped out and out of date one was constructed (I did some of the selection and layout work, my colleague Andrew then assembled it) – I have a picture of it laid out ready for construction and one of it standing in the shop window, both of which I have tweeted out to my followers on @aspitweets…

The new advertising board, ready for assembly.
The new advertising board, ready for assembly.
The new advertising board in the shop window.
The new advertising board in the shop window.

The imaging for February only involved four lots, but some needed multiple images as you will see below…

The first four images are of Lot 1 in the February auction
The first four images are of Lot 1 in the February auction

????????????????????????

The next two images are from lot 103
The next two images are from lot 103
This postcard album is lot 102 in the February auction.
This postcard album is lot 102 in the February auction.

???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????

Lot 101 for February warranted no fewer than eight images.
Lot 101 for February warranted no fewer than eight images.

1c ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????

Running an Auction and a few Other Bits

The December auction of James and Sons took place at the Maids Head Hotel, Norwich yesterday. As the person running the company database it was a particularly full-on day for me, and I have decided to take you through it in chronological order:

5:45AM: Left the flat to be sure of being at bus station in time for 6:00 bus to Norwich (although the sale does not being until 10, with my responsibilities it is mandatory that I be at the auction venue by 8 at the latest and this is the last bus that will enable me to do that)

7:35AM: Bus arrives at Norwich bus station bang on schedule (not even a British bus company can contrive to be running late at this stage of the morning) and I head straight but unhurriedly for the Maids Head Hotel.

7:45AM: Arrive at the hotel and find my way to the Erpingham Room where I will be based for the next few hours.

8:30AM: By this stage the setup and layout are complete and viewers are starting to arrive. My computer is set up in a location that ensures that no punters will have access to confidential information and the internet connection is working, although it will still be necessary to phone the shop in Fakenham every time someone wants to pay by card as the connection does not extend to our portable card reader. Before attending to my own specific tasks I print out a listing of commssion bids that have been registered online via http://www.the-saleroom.com. Between the information on the registrants page of http://www.the-saleroom.com and the written and printed records of bids received in advance I am able to ensure that my database is as up to date as it can be before the auction starts.

10:00AM: Kick off, and the auction starts with a bang as lot 1 sells for £130 against an estimate of £50. This is the occasion for the first of various live tweets I manage to post in between doing the work I am paid for.

The lots come and go very fast, and it is significantly before 11 that the first lot I am interested in, number 171, two postcards of East Rudham and West Raynham churches goes under the hammer. I stick in a bid but then realise I am up against the proprietor of Lynn Gold and recognising that he has much greater financial firepower decide not to bother contesting further.

After 250 lots the auctioneer takes a brief break and I have my first problem of the day, when instead of printing out an invoice as I require my computer wants to print out the entire Auction Form record (fortunately I am able to cancel the job before a single page has been wasted). I resolve the problem by the tried and tested if unscientific method of closing the database down and reopening, and as it happens there will be no further technical malfunctions that day.

Approx 12:30PM: We have now been through 500 lots, and are about to move on to coins and banknotes, with militaria, ephemera and some misecllaneous items still to come. This is a sensible point at which to take a 15 minute break, as planned by the auctioneer. Lot 441 in the meantime had been knocked down to me for £12.

A combination of the speed at which auctioneer David is getting through the lots and the frequency with which I have to produce invoices causes me to fall behind, but with only two room bidders other than myself still left this is not actually as serious an issue as it feels at the time.

14:18PM: Lot 786, the last item in the sale goes under the hammer.

14:40PM: The clear-up is complete and I take my leave. A call at the Glasshouse just down the road for some liquid refreshment and a visit to the library (which I regard as a must when I am in Norwich) mean that I end up on the 16:40 bus back to King’s Lynn. The front of the bus provides a sight I have not previously been treated to: although we are in Norwich and the bus is terminating at King’s Lynn the intermediate destinations listed are those between Peterborough and King’s Lynn! This causes a degree of confusion among my fellow passengers, especially those travelling to intermediate destinations, as you might imagine.

It is just a shade under thirteen hours after setting off in the morning that I finally arrive back at the flat. Come Dine With Me via 4OD followed by Strictly on iplayer complete the day. It was semi-finals week on the latter, meaning that each couple had two dances to perform. The best was saved till last as Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev produced the routine that finally persuaded Craig to flourish the 10 paddle.

I have a few pictures for you…

This is the Dereham Christmas tree.
This is the Dereham Christmas tree.
Part of the sale as laid out before the start.
Part of the sale as laid out before the start.
More of the sale.
More of the sale.
The Christmas tree in the Erpingham Room at the Maids head Hotel
The Christmas tree in the Erpingham Room at the Maids head Hotel
The last four images are of my purchase, taken this morning, this full picture and three close ups.
The last four images are of my purchase, taken this morning, this full picture and three close ups.

???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????

Auction and a Response to ClivveW

The catalogue for James and Sons sale this coming Saturday at the Maids Head Hotel, Norwich is available for viewing at http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/james-and-son-auctioneers/catalogue-id-2901714

Today I have both managed to complete the information gathering for our last sale on 29/11/2014 and get the database ready for our next sale this coming Saturday. As part of this I am able to share with you descriptions and images of the lots that did best in relative terms at our last auction. Some of the images included as part of this are not my work. I will mention in the captions I provide when images are not mine.

The second part of this post is a response to the following tweet (I did not think I could do it in 140 characters):

Clivve ‏@ClivveW 4h4 hours ago

The killing fields in Cambodia is why I have no time for atheism.

As briefly as possible: this was an atrocity committed by an atheist not an atrocity committed in the name of atheism. This is in direct contrast to the almost innumerable list of atrocities carried out not merely by religious people but in the name of religion.

Now for those images (and a PDF file – I have taken care that no personal details of anyone are included)

This is lot 13 - the first item to do significantly better than expected
This is lot 13 – the first item to do significantly better than expected

347a 347 ???????????????????????? 344a 344

This is the last image that is not my work.
This is the last image that is not my work.

295

Again, not imaged by me.
Again, not imaged by me.
Another of the ones I did not image.
Another of the ones I did not image.

40 ?????????? 37a

The next three images are of the sewing machine which astonished us all be reaching £140
The next three images are of the sewing machine which astonished us all be reaching £140

Bragging Rights

This item is another not imaged by me.
This item is another not imaged by me.

?????????? 754 ?????????? 753 725b ????????????????????????

In going above estimate this item also went out of my reach.
In going above estimate this item also went out of my reach.

592 581

This was one of the items I did not image .
This was one of the items I did not image .

352

We were delighted when this sold - and it going for above estimate was a bonus. The weight of this item meant that we had specified that the buyer had to collect.
We were delighted when this sold – and it going for above estimate was a bonus. The weight of this item meant that we had specified that the buyer had to collect.

Invoicing, Stock Database and Resolving an Image Issue

Today at James and Sons I have moved ahead of where I expected to be. Not only have I produced proper copies of all paid invoices for the last sale, I also have a complete and checked stock database for the next one, have produced those pre-auction Vendor Advice Notes that I had sufficient information to do and I amongst all that also spotted and resolved a small but serious problem with the December images.

Lot 109 is a piece of Hungarian Postal History which is unlikely to make a fortune, while lot 601 is a pair of binoculars specially designed for use on a U-Boat which will make a fortune. The image for 601 was with lot 109 while there was no image with lot 601. A quick renumbering of the binoculars image and a scan of lot 109 followed by an apologetic email to the people at the-saleroom.com did the job.

The catalogue listing we now have for this auction, which takes place at the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich, is available at: http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/james-and-son-auctioneers/catalogue-id-2901714  while those who would like to follow the auction but cannot get to Norwich can sign up to bid via www.the-saleroom.com.

I have a few images of lots that exceeded their estimates (in one case spectacularly so) at the last auction, as well as two items mentioned earlier.

My personal twitter account, @aspitweets continues to thrive, having recently passed 700 followers.

Now for those images…

This sewing machine was estimated at between £15 and 20 and actually made £140 - and with the successful bidder being Tunisian the postage was nearly as much!
This sewing machine was estimated at between £15 and 20 and actually made £140 – and with the successful bidder being Tunisian the postage was nearly as much!

37a ??????????

This whistle managed only to double its estimate!
This whistle managed only to double its estimate!
Lot 109 scanned in by me today as part of the3 resolution of a problem.
Lot 109 scanned in by me today as part of the3 resolution of a problem.
These binoculars were the bigger issue since they carry a four figure price tag.
These binoculars were the bigger issue since they carry a four figure price tag.

????????????????????????

Auctions, Stephen Dorrell and Cricket

Owing to the decision to have James and Sons December auction a mere two weeks after the November auction I am currently in the position of simultaneously attempting to deal with the post-auction side of November and produce pre-auction paperwork for December.

A full catalogue for the December sale can now be viewed at http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/james-and-son-auctioneers/catalogue-id-2901714

I have two other topics to mention, firstly the appalling behaviour of the Right Dishonourable Stephen Dorrell who in spite of admitting to a conflict of interest between his role as an MP and his employment by one of the companies who are looking to profit from a carve-up of the NHS has refused to stand down. A petition regarding this is being run by 38 Degrees. To view and/or sign click here: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/david-cameron-force-stephen-dorrell-mp-to-pick-a-job-now#petition

Finally a brief comment about Englands performance vs Sri Lanka yesterday, only their second win in nine ODIs. It was not nearly as conclusive as the final margin of five wickets with an over to spare suggested, the match being decided by a flurry of boundaries immediately after Joe Root had been reprieved by the TV Cameras spotting an overstep by the bowler. Since Root, along with Buttler, was one of the two batsmen who carried England victory more than a little was owed to fortune. England looked second favourites for substantial periods, notably between the end of Moeen Ali’s innings (brought about by his partner Alex Hales) and the flurry of boundaries already alluded to.

I have some pictures for you…

????????????????????????

Invoices and Imaging

A somewhat frustrating day today, as just when I was about to start making really serious progress with the invoices I was required to switch to imaging (this is just one of the problems that arises when there is only a two week gap between auctions).

However, I did get to image some interesting stuff as you will see.

Also some good news from my online contacts – a petition which I had signed and shared via both facebook was handed over to its intended recipient Mr Cameron with no fewer than 300,000 names on it.

Here some of the lots that will be going under the hammer on the 13th…

???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? 301 303 306 ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? 314 336