Michael E Haskew returns to share the provenance of a shotgun and a rifle coming up for sale: a handsome Hereward and a princely Purdey The Holt’s December auction and Gavin Gardiner’s Bond Street event feature an outstanding shotgun and…
Holt’s
Trading places
We look back on a summer of deals, and with business deals signed, sealed and delivered at the Game Fair, Diggory Hadoke shares a refreshing take on the industry The Game Fair The weather was varied, the crowds reasonable and…
Tagged with: bonhams, British Game Alliance, business, deals, diggory hadoke, fieldsports, game fair, Gavin Gardiner, gta, gun trade, guns, Holt's, industry, Purdey, shooting, southams, sporting guns
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Reaping the rewards with Diggory Hadoke
With the first auctions of the year looming, Diggory Hadoke reflects on the frustrations, tribulations and ultimate rewards of the auction circuit. As I write this in February is beginning to fade into memory, the weather is feeling pretty wintery…
Tagged with: auctions, bonhams, diggory hadoke, Holt's, j-p daeschler, perugini & visini, the army reserve centre, watson bros
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The Viennese faults
Diggory Hadoke explores the possibility of European auction houses usurping classic British sales. An interesting letter appeared on my desk recently. It was from a European auction house and it was asking for consignments from the UK. The auction house…
Wild wild west Kensington
Holt’s have enjoyed big sales of late – and with a change of address and even more hammer action on the horizon, Jonathan Downs gathers for a Holt’s extravaganza. Holt’s Blackheath, London – 13 December 2018 …
Tagged with: 20-bore, buyer, churchill gunmakers, high st kensington, holland & hollandm sporting model, Holt's, John Rigby, jonathan downs, nitro express, sales, sidelock, top seller
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Setting the Standard
The major auction houses all had good pre-Christmas sales to round off 2018, from the intimate to the gargantuan. Beginning with Bonhams, who set the bar at the end of November, Jonathan Downs explores how the estimates fared Bonhams, Knightsbridge…
Tagged with: auction, bonhams, christmas, Gavin Gardiner, gtn, gun trade, Holt's, knightsbridge, moline, news, november, rock island, sotheby's, under the hammer, winter
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Point and Click
Social Media has altered the way we do everything. Even the gun trade, the steeped-in-history, grizzled, old, gun trade has bent a knee to the new king. Frequenters of Facebook will know that there are interest groups of all kinds…
Get With The Times
Auctions, in my opinion, offer different things to different people. I have been writing about the London gun auction scene in magazines, both at home and in the USA, since 2003. There have been some significant changes over those fifteen…
Tagged with: auction, bonhams, christie's, dickson, Gavin Gardiner, gleneagles, gtn, gun trade, Holt's, internet, news, phoenix gun, sotheby's
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RBSS Welcomes Alastair Phillips
The Royal Berkshire Shooting School has announced the arrival of Alastair Phillips as Gunroom and Shop Manager in August. Alastair has over 15 years of experience in the industry and is recognised, throughout the industry, as having a fantastic and…
‘Hidden gems’ are no longer so hidden, says Diggory Hadoke
‘Hidden gems’ are no longer as elusive as they once were and, as Diggory Hadoke explains, lots from the provincial auctions may be worth the gamble A surprising number of people seem to be buying guns unseen from provincial auctions…
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