Tag: Toys

Operation Catch Up

INTRODUCTION

As well as my title piece I have some photos which connect to that and some cracking links to share with you. Read, enjoy and please share…

OPERATION CATCH UP

The combination of two auctions happening in the space of four days and a degree of failure on the organsiation front has made things somewhat hectic of late. However, after a full day imaging for our June auction today, I believe that we will be able to give our online viewers a week to look at the items that will be going under the hammer, which did not look likely at one point. Today’s imaging has been very varied, including some lovely Hornby toys (Hornby for the uninitiated are THE name when it comes to railway themed toys and models). There were also some decent stamp lots and some interesting militaria. To end this section here are some pictorial highlights…

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LINKS

Here as promised are those links, starting with a fistful on the subject of…

RELIGION

My first three links are all related to the same organisation:

1)Atheist Republic home

2)Atheist Republic blogs

3)Atheist Republic’s brief explanation of atheism.

Patheos, so often a source of good material have done it again, this time with a piece about Christian extremist opposition to higher education.

A CHANCE TO BRING A VILE CRIMINAL TO JUSTICE

A single link, being given a subsection to itself. This is a petition being run by Avaaz to ensure that the South African government does the right thing and takes the opportunity to arrest and incarcerate former Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir

SCIENCE AND MUSIC

An unusual juxtaposition, but both my science related pieces are concerned with planets, and there is a very well known piece of music called The Planets, so I considered it acceptable on this occasion. The music related link is to a piece by Charlotte Hoather about Madama Butterfly, in a production of which she will soon be appearing. My two planets themed pieces both come from Cosmos Up:

1)Juxtaposition of Jupiter and Venus

2)A possible preponderance of Neptune sized planets in our galaxy.

A FINAL SELECTION

Three more links, starting with this from Jayne Linney.

Stop Homophobia have collected some superb responses to hate mail.

Last but most definitely not least is this piece from network autism about gender dysphoria and autism.

A Pot-Pourri of a Post

Some good links to various interesting and important items, an important infographic in among them, a couple of classic recipes and some excellent images.

Before I get into my own stuff, I have some links to share…

LINKS

I start with a series of posts about the general election that has just happened:

First up, the ever reliable Mike Sivier of Vox Political. It was also Mr Sivier who provided the introduction to the my next post, written by David Hencke. Another frequent source of good material is John P Ointon who blogs as notesfromthenorth and who provided a fine response to the general election. My final piece of election related material, given that the Tories have an absolute majority in the house on 36% of the votes cast, is a petition calling for a change in the system of parliamentary representation courtesy of change.org, accompanied by a graphic showing what the the break down of MPs would be under PR…

PR

My penultimate link is to the petition currently being run via 38 Degrees by the Save Southwark Woods campaign.

My last link is to a post from Autism Mom.

IMAGING AND OTHER STUFF

A combination of two busy and eventful days and a sleepless night in between (following the election) has meant that I have not posted recently. I revisited a classic recipe of mine this week, my own customised version of Madhur Jaffrey’s Lemony Chicken and Coriander, although rather than using thighs I used a half chicken cut into managable size pieces with the aid of ‘the world’s sharpest knife’. This recipe featured, along with another that I have not used in a very long time in my first ever blog post. Here are both recipes in a graphic…

Kitchen Specialities

The ‘PR’ graphic I put up earlier of course is based on actual votes and not on how people would have voted had PR been in force (e.g. I voted labour in the general election for a combination of reasons which would not have applied under PR – the question would have been whether to vote Green – as I did in the local elections – or for the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, TUSC). In view of the number of people who clearly did not vote the way they had told pollsters they would, here is photographic proof that I did precisely what I said I would…

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I have done some interesting imaging at work this week, finishing off the May stuff and imaging one piece of stock for the June sale that needed to be protected from damage…

These five images are of the medals that feature in lot 424A in our May auction. There were two pics, one taken with flash and one without, the latter of which was treated in three different ways and the former in two.
These five images are of the medals that feature in lot 424A in our May auction. There were two pics, one taken with flash and one without, the latter of which was treated in three different ways and the former in two.

Flash No Flash - edited

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No Flash

These date from Thursday, now some stuff from yesterday…

The documents that accompany the medals pictured earlier.
The documents that accompany the medals pictured earlier.
The next six images are of lot 653 in the June sale (It was mighty hard to capture every detail of something so intricate as this, hence so many pics)
The next six images are of lot 653 in the June sale (It was mighty hard to capture every detail of something so intricate as this, hence so many pics)

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ON SHARING

At the start of this post I shared various things from other sources, because they had made an impact on me. If you enjoyed this post I would be very grateful for you to share it, and I also encourage you to share individual items from within it if they particularly appeal to you. My final words, once rendered by the estimable Mr Bilbo Baggins as “thag you very buch” are embodied in the image with which this post concludes and apply to all who read it through to the end:

TY3

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…

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

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

Antiques Road Trip Comes to Fakenham

The BBC Program Antiques Road Trip will be at James and Sons’ auction at Fakenham Racecourse on April 29th. The program pits two experts in a head to head contest to turn a starting kitty of £200 each into as much money as possible. A total of twelve lots will be going under the hammer, and one of the things I did in the course of yesterday’s work was to image them…

This is lot 603A, the first Antiques Road Trip lot, which will go under the hammer at 2PM.
This is lot 603A, the first Antiques Road Trip lot, which will go under the hammer at 2PM.
And yes, you can open up the bonnet to check out the engine.
And yes, you can open up the bonnet to check out the engine.

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The last of the Antiques Road Trip lots, number 700A (three images)
The last of the Antiques Road Trip lots, number 700A (three images)

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Lot 687A, a stuffed pheasant.
Lot 687A, a stuffed pheasant.

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Lot 685A - two images
Lot 685A – two images
A close up of the decoration on lot 682A
A close up of the decoration on lot 682A
Lot 682A - letter opener with enamelled penny black handle
Lot 682A – letter opener with enamelled penny black handle

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Lot 675A, two images
Lot 675A, two images
Lot 669.
Lot 669.

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This toy car, lot 660A also warranted three images
This toy car, lot 660A also warranted three images

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The next three images are of lot 630A
The next three images are of lot 630A

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Lot 625A - three images
Lot 625A – three images

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Lot 619
Lot 619

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Lot 612A (four images to do it justice)
Lot 612A (four images to do it justice)
A close up of the bottom
A close up of the bottom
A close up of the top.
A close up of the top.

If you are anywhere near Fakenham on April 29th do not miss this auction. A full catalogue can be viewed online. The lots shown above will start going under the hammer at 2PM.

Thursday and Friday

On Thursday, the printed catalogues for James and Sons next auction got to the shop. Here is a cover shot…

Catalogue Cover 001

A full catalogue can be viewed online by following this link.

As well as producing images to resolve queries, I imaged a couple of lots that had not previously been done.This gave me some good pictures to choose from…

This is the first image for lot 452, which needed 18 images in total.
This is the first image for lot 452, which needed 18 images in total.

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The relevant detail from the front cover
The relevant detail from the front cover
This is one of the ten maps mentioned on the front cover.
This is one of the ten maps mentioned on the front cover.
Lot 497 was a box full of stamps and postal history items. I have included only the small high quality bits in this blog.
Lot 497 was a box full of stamps and postal history items. I have included only the small high quality bits in this blog.

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This vast collection of buttons was hard to do anything approaching justice to, so it was no surprise to get a query about it them. This was the main image I produced in response.
This vast collection of buttons was hard to do anything approaching justice to, so it was no surprise to get a query about it them. This was the main image I produced in response.
I then produced a close up shot of some of the finest items in the collection.
I then produced a close up shot of some of the finest items in the collection.
The label on this toy was just one thing that was requested in addition to the original image.
The label on this toy was just one thing that was requested in addition to the original image.
One of the two new images I produced to show the toy in its full glory.
One of the two new images I produced to show the toy in its full glory.

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The bus journey home that day was not a good one (n.b. Norfolk Green usually provide an excellent service – stories like this are very much the exception) since the engine of the bus were on overheated and shut down. Since were on Queen Elizabeth Way, in between Knight’s Hill and the hospital, the driver tried to keep it going to reach the hospital where we could pick up other buses into town. Sadly, he was not able to achieve this, and we had to wait within sight of the hospital for a replacement bus to pick us up, while the driver of the original then had to wait for a maintenance vehicle to arrive and tow his bus to the depot (I presume). Opposite Gaywood Tesco, someone having failed to spot that the destination board on the front of the bus said “PRIVATE HIRE” by way of indicating that it was not picking up tried to get on and had to be told twice that this bus was not picking up. Meanwhile, to put in perspective how unimpressive it was for someone who was not apparently incapacitated in any way to want to get a bus in to town from there, one passenger (’twas I) had decided that as it was bright and sunny outside he was going to walk the rest of the way to the town centre.

After attending to matters at Nelson Street, I got some close up pics of decorated windows at King’s Lynn Minster…

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Friday featured both some imaging to resolve queries relating to the April auction and starting to image for the May auction. It also featured in a big way one of other regular duties, that of porter. I have some good images to share, including a map from just outside Fakenham Library…

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However, I did get away early owing to the fact that none of the people who had keys could stay on beyond 3 o’clock. The bus home did this time survive the journey. Queen Elizabeth Way was slow again, but this time that was caused by nose to tail traffic, and the bus was stationary long enough for me to snag two excellent shots of the ruins of Bawsey Abbey…

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A Frantic Day’s Imaging

Before getting to the main meat of my post, as usual I have some links to share with you. So…

LINKS

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/amazon_corridor_dn_c/?bYDPLib&v=56336 This is a VERY IMPORTANT petition.

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/04/02/are-zero-hours-employers-committing-electoral-fraud/ Rumours have reached Mike Sivier that some of the unscrupulous bosses who use zero hours contracts have been threatening those on such contracts with dismissal if they dare to vote for anyone other than the conservatives. If these rumours are true, they are prima facie evidence of criminal activity.

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/electoral-fraud/preventing-and-reporting-electoral-fraud This is the website to visit if you suspect someone on electoral fraud.

http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/04/02/economists-agree-austerity-is-bad-for-you/ Mike Sivier acts as a conduit to…

http://mainlymacro.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/economists-vs-business-leaders.html This very interesting post from a professional economist.

https://www.change.org/p/politicians-ian-duncan-smith-come-clean-about-cuts-affecting-disabled-people?utm_campaign=fb_dialog&utm_medium=email&utm_source=signature_receipt&post_id=1319562568_10206450022592245#_=_Not only this is a very important petition, signing it will also help to clog up IDS’s email inbox!

https://tompride.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/ceo-accuses-tories-of-using-his-name-in-business-letter-without-his-permission/ Hot off the press – more bad news for the Tories re yesterday’s infamous letter.

Before moving on to today at work here are some pictures that will feature in the printed catalogues…

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This one, unusualyy is not 100% my work - it is my photography but my colleague Andrew's editing.
This one, unusualyy is not 100% my work – it is my photography but my colleague Andrew’s editing.

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IMAGING

A combination of factors made today a bit of a tough day, but at the end of it I had accomplished a good deal, and had imaged some very interesting items. By the end of tomorrow the imaging for April’s auction should be complete. Meantime, here is a selection of interesting images from today…

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Press Releases, Emails and Other Stuff

I did not have time to write a post yesterday as I had an evening engagement in Norwich (a public meeting about the situation in Greece, which was excellent). Thus, I have several things to share. This is the press release I sent off in the run up to our auction on Wednesday 28th (full catalogue available at www.the-saleroom.com, from which source we have already had over 40 bidders):

A JPG of the press release
A JPG of the press release

HISTORIC FOOTBALL MEMORABILIA SCORES BIG SUCCESS AT FAKENHAM AUCTION – multi-image

Today I sent out a bulk email regarding the auction. I assembled the document myself with two images and several blocks of text. The stamp image was done by my colleague Andrew. Enjoy this gallery…

Owing to the method of assembly it actually worked out easier to save the completed document as a JPG and copy and paste into the browser than to use it in its original form.
Owing to the method of assembly it actually worked out easier to save the completed document as a JPG and copy and paste into the browser than to use it in its original form.

Press Release

Going back to yesterday I resolved a query regarding lot 757 by producing these images:

I produced this montage for embedding in the body of the email just in case the recipient had a problem opening attachments.
I produced this montage for embedding in the body of the email just in case the recipient had a problem opening attachments.

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????My final image regards a demonstration taking place in Norwich…

Maximus Demo FinalIf you are going to be in King’s Lynn on February 28th and you would like to campaign on behalf of the NHS there is an event organised b y 38 Degrees happening in the town centre that day. People will be meeting up outside Top Shop at 11AM. Even if you can only spare a few moments every little helps!

If you have enjoyed this check out my twitter account, aspitweets.

Catalogue for February Auction now Live

After some hard work on the imaging front a full catalogue for the James and Sons auction on February 25th at Fakenham Racecourse is now ready for viewing on www.the-saleroom.com and a printed version will be available by Tuesday morning.

There was certainly a full range of items to be imaged today. The pick of the pre-lunch lost were these…

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Post lunch, the number of lots left was thankfully small, nut there was still some very interesting stuff to do…

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Some Interesting Lots From Yesterday

All the items featured in this post will go under the hammer on February 25th at Fakenham Racecourse, sale to commence at 10AM. In each case bar one they warranted more than one image, and in each case I am including the whole gallery.

I will go in number order, so here is lot 761:

Lot 761 (all items)
Lot 761 (all items)
A close up of the watch and the two mini plaques.
A close up of the watch and the two mini plaques.

Next up comes lot 794, a ships wheel with clock set into the centre and accompanied by a brass anchor…

The full lot 794
The full lot 794
The clockface
The clockface
The wheel in full without the anchor.
The wheel in full without the anchor.

Lot 797 was also a wheel of sorts, a Cinderella style spinning wheel…

The spinning wheel in all its glory.
The spinning wheel in all its glory.
A close up of the wheel itself!
A close up of the wheel itself!

Lot 798, is certainly a striking piece…

The whole of lot 798
The whole of lot 798
A close up of one of the handles.
A close up of one of the handles.

Lot 875 only got the one image, and no prizes are awarded to anyone who knows anything about me for guessing why I considered it of particular interest!

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Finally, a couple of potential posters based on the toys I imaged yesterday…

The first composite image
The first composite image
The second composite image.
The second composite image.
The central part of my first composite image.
The central part of my first composite image.

Toy Poster 1 Toy Poster 2

Pictures for the Cover of James and Sons Next Catalogue

After a morning spent editing and transferring images from last week, I spent the afternoon imaging new stuff for our February auction, including producing some images for the cover of our catalogue, which will be available be early next week (sale date is Feb 25th, Fakenham Racecourse, first item goes under hammer at 10AM). I will deal with the non cover images in a subsequent post.

The first item I imaged for the cover was a set of coins:

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Big coin lots can be tough to image - especially if there is a strip light anywhere near them! - hence six pics in this gallery.
Big coin lots can be tough to image – especially if there is a strip light anywhere near them! – hence six pics in this gallery.

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These were followed by some vey fine old toys…

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