A collection of antiques from the estate of the late Arnold 'Bill' Beresford of Lincoln will be featured in the next sale at the Lincoln auction rooms. Mr Beresford, who lived off Doddington Road, passed away earlier this year and now items from his large collection will go under the auctioneer's hammer at Golding Young & Mawer on Wednesday, August 15.
Auctioneer William Gregory said: "Mr Beresford and his wife were well known in Lincoln and could be considered collecting connoisseurs. Over the years, they amassed a superb collection of antiques, always buying the very best they could afford.
"We are delighted to be offering the furniture and china for sale in our August auction with the fine art, collection of miniatures and oriental porcelain being sold in our September sale." The collection, which has been described as 'eclectic but quality' includes 18th and 19th century drinking glasses, an unusual 19th century two handled cup engraved with Lincoln Cathedral, Derby and Miessen porcelain and a number of paperweights. Several items of Georgian and later furniture include a serpentine fronted chest, a small George IV writing table in the manner of Gillows of Lancaster, six small Georgian chests of drawers of various forms, a French ormolu mantel clock, a George III bracket clock and two George III longcase clocks. Elsewhere in the sale, there is a pair of early 19th century duelling pistols by Kavanagh of Dublin in their original mahogany and brass bound case with some fittings, which are estimated to sell for between £3,000 and £5,000.
Meanwhile, the Olympic and Sports Collectiblessection includes a letter written by gymnast Frank
Turner who competed at three Olympic Games (London 1948, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956) and was captain of the British Gymnastics Team in 1948. Frank wrote the letter to Sister Horbury of the London Hospital where he was treated for a back injury before the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia. The envelope bears the original 'Official Souvenir Cover' and the official Olympic First Day Issue stamps which he had promised to send. It reads: 'I should like to take this opportunity of thanking you and the nurses for the wonderful treatment I received whilst a patient in your ward. My back is holding out very well and by the time I actually compete 4th Dec I should be in fine fettle.
'Did you see the Sports View programme on BBC TV the Wednesday before the last batch of athletes departed from England? I gave good publicity to the London Hospital when they interviewed me.' He adds: 'The opening ceremony was a spectacle never to be forgotten. The sun was shining all day, about 80 degrees in the shade. 'This Olympic Games surpasses the previous two I attended; in fact, it's the best ever since the revival of the Games.'
Frank passed away in September 2010 aged 88 at his home in Bricket Wood, St Albans, Hertfordshire after a long battle with cancer. In the same section, a Bronze figure of an Olympian from the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris is expected to sell for £60 to £80. Harold Abrahams won the 100 metre sprint in these Games ahead of Jackson Scholz of the US and Arthur Porritt of New Zealand in a time of 10.6 seconds. His story was immortalised in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire. The same sale also includes several items of studio pottery to include a collection of bowls by Brian Dickenson.
