Attics aren’t just home to dust and spiders they can be awash with forgotten treasures which excel under the hammer.
In 2023 an unusual loft find achieved hundred of pounds at auction. Some 37 original mid-20th century textile designs for curtain and furnishing fabrics were discovered in an attic when a house was sold.
They were addressed to the salesperson for Frank Studios which operated from 1935-1965. This business belonged to renowned designer/artist Julius H Frank (1897-1985). He fled Germany in 1936 to escape the Nazi uprising and opened a design studio in Manchester.
He went on to collaborate with important designers of the era and their vibrant creations proved irresistible to bidders. From a guide price of £140 the collection achieved £300 at Hansons Auctioneers.
Another magical find was Blitzy the bear. The 1930s Chad Valley teddy provided comfort to a little girl during the World War Two Manchester Blitz. Some 82 years later the cuddly survivor was rediscovered in a loft.
Blitzy, complete with injured arm and wonky eye, was bought to comfort Mary Gaskell, who was five when the conflict broke out in 1939. Mary’s son Jon McCue found the bear in his Manchester attic ahead of a house move. Blitzy achieved a mighty £1,000.
A clear out was the trigger yet again for a discovery which yielded a rich reward for a Hertfordshire gardener. The 25-year-old was clearing his mum’s loft when he came across what he thought was an old bronze vase.
He had no idea if it was worth anything but decided to put on eBay. It immediately sparked a huge bid from China so he sought expert advice. Hansons identified it as a late Ming-style archaic ring-handled vessel decorated with a clawed dragon. It soared to £1,450 in the saleroom.
While many loft finds are unexpected some people simply choose to store items there. That was the case for one of the rarest Harry Potter books ever sold by Hansons.
The attic was where Chloe Esslemont kept a book she’d won as a prize. In 2012 when she was a 16-year-old school girl at The Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton, Cumbria, she entered a Harry Potter competition ran by publishers Bloomsbury’s.
She had to write a letter explaining why she loved Harry Potter and entrants were encouraged to make their letters elaborate. Chloe, one of 14 runners-up, won a leather-bound special 15th anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – published exclusively for the competition and signed by author J K Rowling.
Hansons valuer Jim Spencer, a world-renowned Potter books expert, said it was technically the rarest Potter book he’d ever handled. The rarest is generally regarded as being one of the original 500 hardback copies of Philosopher’s Stone from the first-ever print run in 1997. He’s found 18 of those and the highest hammer price achieved to date is £69,000. However, Chloe’s book, being one of only 15 specially published to mark the 15th anniversary of the Potter phenomenon, was rarer. It achieved £8,000.
An attic was also one of the hiding places for some 330 gold sovereigns found among linen and even inside an old sock during a routine house clearance in Leicestershire. Together they achieved £118,000.
According to Hansons, lofts inevitably get crammed with objects people forget about. It’s a case of out of sight, out of mind, sometimes for decades. Likewise garages, wardrobes, drawers, sheds and outhouses harbour treasure. So check out those hiding places because an auction windfall could be yours.
Hansons will offer free antiques valuation at Sutton Arts Theatre, S Parade, Sutton Coldfield, B72 1QU, on April 3, May 1 and June 5, 11am-1pm.
To discuss a consignment or to book a free home visit, please call 01283 733988 or email [email protected]
