Devon Cream
Sale 1 in the main building started at 10:30am with an eclectic mix of automobilia and enamel signs, several of the enamel signs topped the £200 mark with a double sided AA Garage sign taking £380 and a Morris Service & Sales example at £340. Uniformed mannequins took the crowds fancy on the hottest May Saturday and a garage mechanic made £160 followed by a postman who posted £400, the West Mercian policeman took an arresting £480 but the AA patrolman took the prize at an amazing £1,400. The AA theme continued with the 1947 600cc BSA M21 AA patrolman’s motorcycle outfit being competed to a remarkable £7,400 only to be outdone moments later by the AA call box which soared to £7,400. In the motorcycle section the 1927 BSA 500cc Outfit took a very commendable £5,300 to a commission bid from Austria, 21 of the motorcycles offered found new homes. The collection of cars started with a rare but unrestored 1926 Hanomag 2/10PS which was sent on its way to a European buyer for £7,000, a nicely restored Austin 7 box saloon made a very respectable £5,600 and a late 1930’s Morris Minor Post Office van saw hot competition eventually selling for a first class price of £9,300. A 1928 Morris 2ton commercial proved popular at £10,000 which was followed by a Ford V8 Pilot which seemed very reasonable at £6,300 although finished in a non standard green. A 1950 Ford Thames pick up sold at a fine £6,850 and was closely followed by a 1948 Fordson 10 Van at a sound £8,000. The restoration projects saw a 1960’s Austin 750 special in complete but poor condition achieve £2,400, a remarkable price and happily purchased by the last man to drive it in the 1960’s, the gasps were preserved for a c1937 Daimler straight Eight 4.5litre saloon, with a sound looking body but very little of the interior left, the engine out and in bits albeit having had new white metal bearing surfaces, pistons and cylinder head work, the eventual £9,800 bought the happy buyer a labour of love that will keep him out of mischief for some while.
Sale 2 kicked off at 11am sharp and the eager crowd gathered around lot 340 the 4 seat cast iron table and seats which sold quickly at £80. Two very fine Huxtable and Harris horse drawn reversible ploughs made good money at £260 and £240 and will be winging their way to Scotland. Plough trade remained strong with a David Brown 2furrow at £260, Ferguson 2furrow at £300 and a Ransomes 2furrow at £320. Once finished outside we headed into the ‘tractor’ building and started with the lots round the outside.
Prices of note were a Fry’s Chocolate 300 Gold Medals enamel sign at £140, Dunlop Motor Tyres enamel sign at £340 and a real surprise was a Heydan Allball foot operated forge and tools at £300. Stationary engine trade was keen with a Lister A691 3hp with trolley and pump at £360 and a Wolseley WD at £100. Three lots of notes of note before we started the tractors were two trailed dog carts at £140 and £180 and one of the real talking points was the whopping £1,900 paid for the farmer and Land Army girl mannequins.
There was a fine selection of vintage and classic tractors on offer and a large number of keen bidders ready to wave their bidding cards in the air. Top lots were a 1941 Fordson Standard N at £2,400, Allis Chalmers Model B at £1,350 and a very sharp 1956 County Fordson E1A crawler tractor at £3,700. Another presentable Fordson made strong money with an early 1952 Fordson E1A Major hitting £3,650, a shiny 1966 Nuffield 10/60 topping £2,500 and a presentable 1952 Ferguson TED20 made £1,000. One of the top bids went to a very well restored Ford 2000 at £4,050. Another surprise was the £2,850 paid for a very tidy Massey Ferguson 821 and £2,500 for a very presentable Fordson Super Dexta. Finally a very clean and tidy 1991 John Deere 3050 hit an impressive £6,000.
With the tractors complete it was time to sell a very impressive selection of restored classic commercial vehicles. Top lots went to a superb 1950 Albion FT35L Clansman flat bed lorry at £10,500, a shiny 1950 Bedford O Type dropsied lorry at £7,500 and a rare 1947 Fordson 7V V8 steel tipper made strong money at £9,600. A much sought after 1960’s Land Rover Series II made a surprising £4,000 and a tremendous 1970 Willey’s CJ3B replica made a satisfying £6,900.
In conclusion a very satisfying day with a huge attendance of nearly 1,000 people, on one of the hottest days of the year. Trade was good for a very diverse and enjoyable sale.
Our attentions now turn to our 24th July 2010 collective vintage sale at Sutton near Ely. Entries close on 7th June 2010 with entry forms available online
