Continuing a run of exceptional single-owner sales, Sworders is to sell the principal contents of the Cheshire country house Boden Hall in March 2025. The carefully curated selection of period furniture, objects and fine paintings were assembled for the Georgian home by its most recent custodians, Victoria Wrather and her late husband William. With its long sweeping drive manicured formal garden and intricate neoclassical plasterwork, Boden Hall is the textbook Georgian manor. Set in almost...
Following 61 incredible years on the King’s Road, London, Guinevere Antiques shut its doors for the last time at Christmas 2024. The closure of this remarkable family business will be marked by an auction at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet on February 18th when up to 500 lots will be offered without reserve. Guinevere Antiques has been a fixture on the Fulham-Chelsea border since 1963. Founder Genevieve Weaver had arrived in post-war London from Normandy in...
Sir Donald Campbell’s Jaguar XK150 comes for sale at Sworders this summer. The classic sportscar, bought by the British speed record breaker in 1958 as his regular runabout, is expected to bring over £150,000 on June 18th, part of a stand-alone auction of classic cars. The car’s full history is confirmed by a Jaguar Daimler Heritage Certificate. Campbell, the only man to hold both the land and water speed records, received his fixed head coupe...
An extraordinary single-owner collection of 37 pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage – including a bespoke trunk made for a large rubber duck – comes to auction this spring. The luxurious array of travel accessories, all covered in the iconic LV monogram canvas, form part of Sworders’ April 30th Design sale. The duck trunk, measuring 34 x 24 x 27cm, is the only one in existence – the design and manufacture a collaboration between its owner...
Sworders will conduct a single-owner sale on January 25th devoted to the contents of Barons Court flat of Maurice Turpin (1928-2005). Maurice, known throughout the trade as ‘Dick’, was one of Britain’s foremost antiques dealers of the second half of the 20th century, achieving near legendary status over a 50-year career. Born in Bow in 1928, the son of an East End fruit seller, Turpin originally trained as a sound engineer for the BBC, before...
Sworders has announced a single owner auction for Lord Iveagh at Elveden Hall in Suffolk this autumn. The auction on 14th September will include inherited furnishings with Guinness family connections from several properties including Elveden and Farmleigh, the Irish State Guesthouse. The auction itself will be held in the oak-panelled Dining Room at Elveden Hall with a pre-auction reception staged in the Mughal-inspired Main Hall that was built for the estate’s most famous occupant, the...
During his lifetime the Shalford, Essex property developer Alex Tanner (1942-2022) built up a collection of 64 cars. It had been his ambition to own at least two of the best cars from each of the last eight decades of the motor car and for Tanner, the best cars were Bentleys. Alex Tanner joined the Bentley Drivers Club in 1974 and served as club chairman from 2008 to 2011. At one time or another he...
Original photographs of Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Robert Plant and Elton John performing in their pomp come for sale at Sworders next month. The Design sale on July 14th includes a cache of prints taken by music photographer Ed Finnell at legendary gigs held in Los Angeles in the 1970s. (Top of page – Ed Finnell (American, b.1956) ‘Mick Jagger – The Rolling Stones, Tour of The Americas’ Los Angeles Forum, 13 July 1975 gelatin...
Sworders’ Mid Century Design sale on June 23rd includes items from the family of Kurt Heide (1919-85), the German émigré who set up the influential London design store Oscar Woollens in the 1960s. The sale includes original Scandinavian furnishings bought for the North London flat he shared with his wife Nanna Ditzel (1923-2005), a Danish furniture and jewellery designer. The interiors of the property including Danish teak furniture France & Søn appeared in an Ideal...
Lovers of Sir Rod Stewart and stuffed foxes rejoice. The internationally famous singer has had a clear-out of his Essex pile, and is offering fans the chance to buy a items in his own particularly tasteful style, ranging from a stuffed fox to a Georgian table. The 20 items for sale include the stuffed and mounted fox, estimate at £200-£300, a George III carved and gilt wood settee with a price tag of £1,500-£2000, and...
