Three-day auction of toys, dolls and teddy bears at SAS

A three-day auction of toys, dolls and teddy bears this month – the largest ever to take place at Special Auction Services in Newbury - is expected to total £200,000.
 
The first day (Monday 22nd November) will be dedicated to the ever-popular teddy bears, including an exceptionally fine 24in. high Steiff centre-seam teddy bear which is estimated at £5,000-8,000 as well as The Margaret and Gerry Grey private collection.
 
Margaret and Gerry were one of the first teddy bear shops to open in the UK (Wellingborough, Northants) which gave them access to fantastic examples especially during the mid-1980s as the antique bear market was taking off, and their limited edition collection comprises 221 lots of collectable Steiff toys and bears including four unnumbered pre-production samples each estimated at £300-500.
 
The following day (Tuesday 23rd November) will give collectors the opportunity to purchase other Teddy Bears as well as Dolls’ Houses.

The main focus of Julia Morgan-Swinhoe’s collection is antique Bing teddy bears, and highlights include a rare early Bing white mohair bear circa 1908 (£800-1,200), a Bing clockwork tumbling teddy bear circa 1919 (£600-800) as well as Fireball, a cinnamon mohair Steiff centre-seam bear circa 1908, which is expected to fetch £2,000-3,000.
 
For fans of the miniature world of dolls' houses, there is a fabulous late 19th century house based on a Park Lane stucco town house, which opens on both sides and at the base to reveal the basement, stables and carriage house (estimate: £1,000-1,500). There is another brick painted dolls' house, a ‘doer-upper’, dating around the 1830-40s, which is estimated at £500-800; and a large 1905 dolls' house on a stand, at an ideal height for an adult to play with, is fully furnished with early 20th century furniture and carries and estimate of £1,000-1,500.
 
The final day of the auction (Wednesday 24th November) will offer Dolls including the Betty Fox Collection as well as Traditional Toys, which are always popular at Christmas.
 
The Betty Fox Collection, is over 300 lots which were amassed over the last 60 years by Betty, a Midlands farmer's wife and is expected to fetch over £40,000. The collection consists of mainly bisque headed German child and baby dolls with some French examples. Highlights include a A Kämmer & Reinhardt 101 Marie character sad faced girl doll (£700-£1,000), a rare Phénix Star bébé (£2,000-3,000), a Paris bébé No 10 (£1,500-2,000) and a charming doll of our Queen as a toddler, a rare Schoenau & Hoffmeister Princess Elizabeth with original card tag (£500-800); Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was said not to approve of this doll as she thought it looked too chubby and as it didn't receive royal approval, it was not a big seller.

The Traditional Toys category is led by a rare mid-19th Century German (Erzgebirge) turned and painted wooden market, in its original wooden box with three men and four women with various fruit and vegetable stalls which is estimated at £2,000-3,000. A large German clockwork window display of a nodding Father Christmas automaton smoking a cigar will also go under the hammer and is expected to fetch £800-1,200.