Auction House Details
Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood
| Auction House Name | Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood |
| Site URL | https://www.bhandl.co.uk/ |
| About Us | The firm covers Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. It regularly attracts buyers from around the World who are able to bid online at all of the firm's major sales. The firm's history stretches back to 1945 when Arthur Bearne established auction rooms in Torquay, which were expanded by his son Brian. The firm realised its first auction record in 1963 when it sold a Spode dinner service from Saltram House on behalf of The National Trust for £3,400. Bearne's subsequently identified other important works of art including an unrecorded Hogarth portrait, which sold in 1967 for £24,000. In 1968, after extensive research, an Hawaiian wood bowl brought back to England from Captain Cook's third voyage and originally in the collection of Sir Ashton Lever, realised £15,000, which was a world record at that time for any item of ethnological art. In 1976, Bearne's formed a close association with Sotheby's and in 1977 became part of the London company and operated from Rainbow, an imposing mansion overlooking Torbay. The Torquay business operated under the name of Sotheby Bearne until 1982 when, following a reorganisation throughout Sotheby's worldwide, a partnership was formed to re-acquire and continue the business. In 1997, in order to develop the business further, Bearne's relocated to Exeter, Devon's capital city. The salerooms at St Edmund's Court in Okehampton Street were purpose built and have proved to be an ideal location from which to expand. Christopher Hampton and Rachel Littlewood established Hampton & Littlewood in 2001, specialising in antiquarian books, maritime and sporting sales as well as holding regular sales of selected antiques in salerooms previously occupied by the internationally renowned auction house Phillips. Christopher Hampton was the former South West Regional Director for Phillips, while Rachel Littlewood was the firm's Probate Manager in the West Country. Hampton & Littlewood have built strong links with the professional community in Exeter and had sales in excess of £1.4M in 2008. As a founding member of the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers (SOFAA), Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood is committed to the highest standards of ethics, probity and performance and have a long track record for identifying, valuing and selling fine art, antiques and collectables. |
| Who do I contact if I have questions? | |
| City | Exeter |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Zipcode | EX4 1DU |
| Contact Number | +44 (0)1392 4131 |
| Buyer's Fee | Our Buyer's Premium is 23.0% (plus VAT at 27.6%), which is equivalent to a VAT inclusive rate of 25.2%. |
| Consigner's Fee | 18% seller's commission. This rate includes VAT (at 20%) |
AUCTION LIST
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Sotheby’s
Original Film Posters
Open for bidding 5-20 MaySotheby’s, May 5-20: King Kong (1933). Rare Czech poster for King Kong, 1933. £40,000 to £60,000.Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). British One Sheet for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986. £4,000 to £6,000.Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Goldfinger (1964). British Quad for Goldfinger, signed by Shirley Bassey, 1964. £7,000 to £10,000.Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Alice in Wonderland / Alice au Pays des Merveilles (1951). French Grande for Alice in Wonderland / Alice au Pays des Merveilles, 1951. £7,000 to £10,000.Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). US poster for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961. £15,000 to £20,000.Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Star Wars (1977). British Quad for Star Wars, 1977. £5,000 to £8,000. -
Forum Auctions
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
28th May 2026Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000Forum, May 28: The Christ Child holding a crystal orb and surrounded by banderoles with devotional exhortations, on a leaf most probably from a Book of Hours, [Southern Netherlands, last decades of the fifteenth century]. £2,000-3,000Forum Auctions
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
28th May 2026Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000Forum Auctions
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
28th May 2026Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000Forum Auctions
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
28th May 2026Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000Forum, May 28: Ribelles y Helip (José), Attributed to. An album comprising 33 finely executed watercolours of Spanish costume, bull-fighting scenes, and other genre subjects, [circa 1830]. £10,000-15,000 -
Freeman’s, May 15: William Shakespeare’s Fourth Folio, Printed by Robert Roberts, Robert Everingham, and John Macock for Henry Herringman, 1685. $60,000 – 80,000.Freeman’s, May 14: Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Lord of the Rings trilogy. All First Editions and First Impressions. 1955. $15,000 – 20,000.Freeman’s, May 15: A significant archive of works on communications theory, comprising foundational texts by leading mathematicians. $20,000 – 30,000.Freeman’s, May 15: ALS, Albert Einstein to President Hoover, Berlin, 1929. “I alone am but a grain-of-dust in the development of the human spirit.” $15,000 – 20,000.Freeman’s, May 14: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew. First Printings of Two Complete Plays From Shakespeare's First Folio. 1623. $30,000 – 50,000.Freeman’s, May 14: Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949. First Edition with the Rare Publisher’s Printed Wrap-Around Band. $8,000 – 12,000.Freeman’s, May 15: Complete Set of 52 Tinted Lithographed Plates Containing Pre-Fire Chicago City Views by Louis Kurz and the Chicago Lithographing Company. $10,000 – 15,000.Freeman’s, May 14: Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. First London Edition. $10,000 – 15,000.Freeman’s, May 15: A significant archive of works on game theory, comprising foundational texts by leading mathematicians. $20,000 – 30,000.Freeman’s, May 14: Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven" in The American Review. Volume I, number II. February 1845. First Printing in Original Wrappers. $8,000 – 12,000.Freeman’s, May 14: Stoker, Bram. Dracula. First Edition, First Issue. $6,000 – 8,000.Freeman’s, May 15: A group of artifacts relating to the Pre-Fire Chicago courthouse bell, ca 1871-1877. $800 – 1,200. -
Ketterer Rare Books
Auction May 18thKetterer Rare Books, May 18: Linschoten, Navigatio ac itinerarium. 1599. Est: € 80,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Basilius Besler, Hortus Eystettensis, 1640. Est: € 180,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Alberto Giacometti, Paris sans fin, 1969. Est: € 15,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction May 18thKetterer Rare Books, May 18:
J. Glogoviensis, Introductorium compendiosum in tractatum spere, 1513. Est: € 8,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18:
G. W. Knorr, Verlustiging der oogen en van den geest, 1717-50. Est: € 5,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Albert Einstein, Signifcant scientific letter to his Princeton colleague E. G. Straus, 1945. Est: € 10,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction May 18thKetterer Rare Books, May 18: Ostrog Bible, 1581. Est: € 18,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: PAN, 10 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: € 12,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Kurt Schwitters, Merz 11, 1924. Est: € 10,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction May 18thKetterer Rare Books, May 18: H. Schedel, Liber chronicarum, 1493. Est: € 35,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: A.-E. Gautier d’Agoty, Cours complet d’anatomie, 1773. Est: € 8,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Ch. Bukowski & K. Price, Heat Wave, 1995. Est: € 5,000 -
Heritage, May 13: Isaac Asimov. I, Robot. The dedication copy, inscribed to John W. Campbell, Jr.Heritage, May 13: Aldous Huxley. Brave New World. A fine copy, in a brilliant dust jacket.Heritage, May 13: Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author.Heritage, May 13: Robert A. Heinlein. Stranger in a Strange Land. A fine copy, signed by the author.Heritage, May 13: Jules Verne. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Exceedingly rare true first American edition, first issue.