Smuggled Treasure Worth £10,000

Nautical memorabilia brought together over many years at the 500-year-old Smuggler’s Cottage at Tolverne, on the banks of the River Fal, reached £10,000 at auction as predicted.
 
March 15, 2012 - PRLog -- TO: News Desk
FROM: David Lay / Penzance Auction House
DATE: 15th March 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Smuggled Treasure Worth £10,000


Nautical memorabilia brought together over many years at the 500-year-old Smuggler’s Cottage at Tolverne, on the banks of the River Fal, reached £10,000 at auction as predicted.

One hundred historic lots went under the hammer at Penzance Auction House on Thursday, March 1, with 941 people registered to bid mainly from across Cornwall – but with some travelling from as far as Northumberland, as well as bids placed from Russia, China, Turkey, Portugal and America through the busy phone lines and live internet bidding.

“This sale was a treasure trove of historical items which were fascinating,” commented Auctioneer, David Lay.  “This was reflected in how keenly people were bidding – both from within the county and world wide.”

“Our top selling piece was a brass telegraph from the old Torpoint ferry. It is the machine used by the captain to signal to the engine room. Usually they are marked “full ahead” or “astern” but this one says "Cornwall" and "Devon" instead.”

“One of our most unusual items was a fiberglass figurehead from the HMS Foudroyant – an 80-gun ship in the Royal Navy.  It looked the part, but was a fiberglass copy which, despite its damage, incurred bids of up to £80.”

An oak US Navy issue office chair that was used at Smugglers Cottage and is reputed to have been sat in by General Eisenhower went to Lamorna for £480, whilst the telegraph from the Torpoint ferry reached £1700 and sold to a Saltash Museum.

An infantry helmet went to the Isle of White for £80 whilst eight 15th Century cannonballs dredged up from the River Fal were sold as two lots reaching £180 each.

Many items reflected the Second World War and Falklands Conflict, as Smuggler’s Cottage became a “second home” for members of the SS Uganda Society – devotees of the former passenger ship that was laid up in the Fal for a year after service as a hospital ship in the Falklands Conflict of 1982.

Auction lots included numerous SS Uganda souvenirs, such as a gangway departure board, sailors’ hats, commemorative plaques and ashtray, brass plate, copper and brass anchor lights, a collection of photographs and prints, and a wall-mounted cabinet containing more items from the ship.

Smugglers Cottage was also a major base for the build-up to the D-Day landings in the Second World War and the auction featured a cabinet full of D-Day memorabilia and an Ordnance Survey map of Truro and St Austell for the D-Day landings, published by the War Office in 1941 with various hand-drawn official markings and references for the historic operation.

A miscellany of items from various other ships – such as lights, anchors, sextants, rudders, old radios, clocks and compasses, bells, figurehead and ships’ logs - featured, along with a large collection of photographs of vessels that have been laid up in the Fal over the past century.  

Famous global sailors Robin Knox Johnston, Sir Francis Chichester and Claire Francis were also represented.

With catalogues of forthcoming sales on line at www.davidlay.co.uk and phone bidding available, David Lay’s Penzance Auction House is the foremost auction house in Cornwall selling locally, nationally & overseas.

END --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDITOR’S NOTES

CONTACT: Helen Mulhern 01326 376273 / info@eventy.co.uk
David Lay 01736 361414

PHOTO:  Please find attached a photo of Auctioneer David Lay with the fiberglass copy of the figurehead from HMS Foudroyant.  “It may look the part but this figurehead is a copy in fiberglass, despite its damage it was still bid up to £80”.

# # #

Eventy - Marketing & PR is a full marketing consultancy with specialist skills in PR and communications. For full info visit www.eventy.co.uk
End
Source: » Follow
Email:***@eventy.co.uk Email Verified
Tags:Cornwall, Cornish, David Lay, Penzance Auction House, Auction, Nautical, War, Fal, Smugglers, Memorabilia
Industry:Business, Defense, Services
Location:Cornwall - England
Account Email Address Verified     Account Phone Number Verified     Disclaimer     Report Abuse
Eventy - Marketing & PR News
Trending
Most Viewed
Daily News



Like PRLog?
9K2K1K
Click to Share