Doll, Dolls' House, Teddy Bear and Toy Auctions
For many years Daniel Agnew has been advising on and holding bear and toy auctions.
Daniel's last auction with Christie's was in 2007.
Following on from the success of the three auctions held under the banner of The London Toy Auction (2009-2012), his next step has been to firmly establish similar teddy bear and toy auctions.
As the auctions have grown it became more important to make sure that everyone involved received a great service.
Contributing Items for Sale
If you wish to discuss consigning items for a future sale please contact Daniel:
Face-to-face: Daniel is generally based at the Newbury office each Wednesday. Please call to book an appointment on 01635 580 595
E-mail: daniel@danielagnew.com
Tel: 0751 500 4635 Monday-Friday 9.00am-5.00pm (GMT)
By post: Daniel Agnew, c/o Special Auction Services, Plenty Close, NEWBURY, RG14 5RL
By road: If using SAT NAV please use RG14 5TR
Closing date for entries: is eight weeks before the auction.
In 2013 Daniel joined the well-established toy auction house, Special Auction Services, where his ex-Christie's colleague Hugo Marsh had been running highly successful toy auctions for many years. This seemed a natural step forward.
We now hold two specialised doll, teddy bear and traditional toy auctions a year at the Special Auction Services saleroom, 81 Greenham Business Park, Newbury, RG19 6HW. To find out more please visit their website or request a catalogue call 01635 580595. Follow all the auction news by 'friending' Daniel on his Facebook page.
Upcoming Auctions
The Important Private Antique Doll Collection
of Austin Smith and Margaret Harkins
Part 1: Date: 22nd Feb, 2024 12:00: Part 2 - 25th April 2024 at 11.00am
The collection was built over the last 75 years and began in 1949 when Austin Smith and his late partner Margaret Harkins rescued a broken doll from an attic house contents sale in the West Country. The collection is now worth more than £500,000. The collection will be offered in two large single-owner dedicated auctions through Special Auction Services. The collection is probably the largest and most valuable sold in the UK in the last 25 years.
Previous Auctions
Two Days of Auctions
Teddy Bears, Traditional Toys and Entertainment
6th December 2023
Dolls’ Houses and Dolls
7th December 2023
Auctions begin at 10:00 am
More than 1,000 lots over the two days.
Day 1 features: Limited Edition and Artist Teddy Bears; Antique and Vintage Teddy Bears and soft toys; Traditional Toys (forty-seven lots direct from 'The Forest Toy Workshop'); Playing Cards and Traditional Entertainment.
Day 2 features: Dolls’ houses and chattels; Dolls and doll’s accessories
Popular Teddy Bears and Dolls
13th April 2023 auction starting at 10.00 am
500 lots of collector's teddy bears, antique and vintage teddy bears including part 2 of the Susan Collard Collection and antique, vintage and collector's dolls.
#1 Express Auction - The Teddy Bear & Doll Auction - 19/07/2022 10:00 AM GMT+1
We are delighted to present Dolls & Teddy Bears, the first of many express auctions we are collating. We have just under 400 lots of teddy bears, dolls & accessories including a small section from 'The Linda Fairhurst' teddy bear collection. We have lots that include Steiff limited edition bears, modern collector's dolls, antique bisque-headed dolls, toys and much more.
Don’t forget to view, register and bid via our saleroom SAS Live or the saleroom.com, online catalogue links below.
Day 1 - Tuesday 21st June at 11am
Lot 1 to 33 - Limited Edition and Collectors Teddy Bears
Lot 34 to 117 - Antique and Vintage Teddy Bears
Lot 118 to 322 - Lynda Fairhurst Teddy Bear Collection - part 1
Over 1500 bears consigned for auction, Lynda Fairhurst has been collecting for over 50 years and is still retaining about 500 bears. Now is time to find homes for the majority. Further bears will be included in July, September and November
Lot 323 to 376 - Post-war Dolls and Toys
Day 2 - Wednesday 22nd June at 10am
Lot 377 to 506 - Antique Dolls
Lot 507 to 783 - Jackie Wyartt Collection of Dolls, part 1
Hugo Marsh and Daniel Agnew have known Jackie for over 30 years. She was a regular visitor to Christie’s South Kensington when they worked there in the 1990s/early 2000s, often visiting with her devoted train collecting husband Bernard Hinchley.
Jackie has been a long-time collector of antique dolls, inspired by her grandmother running the Birmingham doll’s hospital between the wars, up until her death in the early 1950s. She bought from all over the world and especially loved large dolls 25/28in. - particularly bisque and china shoulder heads - papier-mâché, English woods, wax over papier-mâché, American Indian dolls and much more.
Part One of her collection will include over 300 dolls, the remainder of the vast collection will then appear in July and November auctions.
Lot 784 - Katherine Jeffray's Dolls' House
Lot 785 to 921 - Dolls' Houses and Chattels
Lot 922 to 1039 - Traditional Toys
The Whopper Three-day November Sale
Teddy Bears, Traditional Toys, Dolls and Dolls' House - truly a whopper of an auction!!
Monday 22nd, Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd November 2021
Day 1: Monday 22nd November 2021
The Steiff Collection of Margaret and Gerry Grey of Margaret & Gerry Grey's Teddy Bear Shop (Est.1984)
The largest and most comprehensive limited edition collection I have ever handled, currently a work in progress, but probably around 500 lots. All four bears shown here are pre-production sample bears with blank reverse of white flag tag.
Day 2 of this whopper of an auction will be Teddy Bears and Soft toys, Tuesday the 23rd of November, lots already consigned including this lovely Steiff cinnamon centre-seam bear.
Whopper Sale Day 3 is dolls and dolls' houses, several collections already consigned, this will probably be the largest doll section I have had.. 24th November 2021 including this pretty Bru Jner bebe.
Traditional Toys will be either day 2 or 3 depending on how big each section turns out to be.
Open for entries during September, but probably single to a few items or small collection only.
Teddy Bears, Dolls, Dolls' Houses and Traditional Toys Auction
Tuesday 8th June 2021 at 10am
Including -
Sue Pearson's personal collection of antique teddy bears.
A rare Steiff black mohair teddy bear 1908-1910 - £3000-£5000
A rare Steiff hot-water bottle teddy bear, circa 1907 - £6000-£8000
Grandma's Teddy Bear Museum Auction
Wednesday 9th September 2020
Dolls, Dolls' Houses, Teddy Bears and Traditional Toys
24th November 2020
Featured Lot
Two rare intaglio eyed Armand Marseille
The childhood toys of Anne Messel, mother of Anthony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, the husband of Princess Margaret
Estimate: £6,000-£8,000
The Joan Dunk Collection
9th & 10th June 2020
THIS IS AN AMAZING COLLECTION TO BE SOLD OVER TWO DAYS!
JOAN DUNK 1930-2019
The passing of Joan Dunk represents the passing of an era in the antique trade. A stalwart of Portobello Road, for decades she had an outside pitch strategically positioned on the corner of Westbourne Grove, only moving indoors in comparatively recent years. It is fitting that on the fatal Saturday she had just packed up and returned home with her friend Matthew, many of whose miniature ceramics are included in this sale before she died in mid flow of ordering fish and chips.
Summer Teddy Bear Auction
Thurday 30th July 2020
Highlights of June 2018 Auction
Dolls, Dolls' Houses, Traditional Toys and Teddy Bears - 19th June 2018
The Byne Ladies
The Byne ladies and their related items sold for a total of £63,500 + buyers premium
Wanted for Sale
Teddy Bears and soft toys by Steiff, Farnell, Bing, Schuco, Merrythought, Deans, Chiltern and others; Dolls including Jumeau, Bru, Kämmer & Reinhardt, Simon & Halbig, Käthe Kruse, Kestner, Heubach, early woods and waxes, excellent condition vinyl fashion dolls; all manner of dolls’ houses and dolls’ house furniture, automata, rocking horse, wood, paper and composition toys and games, juvenilia and much more.