THE photograph album of Capt William Colbeck, with accounts of Capt Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic adventures on the Discovery, sold for £20,000 at a Tavistock auction this week.
The album was just one of many items included in the sale of the contents of the house of celebrated Tavistock cabinet maker, Judith
Hughes. The sale was organised by Robin Fenner, of the Stannary Gallery.
Capt Colbeck's grand-daughter was hoping to buy her grandfather's penknife, but was disappointed when it went for £2,000 to a collection.
Of the several letters from Charles Dickens, the most important went for £5,000 to a major British collection, the others reaching up to £1,800 each. This broke the previous record for a Dickens' letter, which was £3,200.
The veneered cabinet by Judith Hughes raised £4,000 — a good price, according to Mr Fenner, as although Miss Hughes was well-known locally this was not the case nationally as her work was sold under the name of various stores in London.
Her hanging cabinet, containing many of her tools, sold for £2,600, her arts and crafts cabinet for £3,000 and the long-case clock for £3,400.
Mr Fenner said his one regret was that two of Miss Hughes' pieces had gone overseas, one to the son of a man who had commissioned a piece by her in the 60s. None of the pieces were bought locally.
'It was very successful and extremely well attended, which was down to prior publicity and the media interest. We were delighted with the response,' he said.