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With unfavourable weather forecast and snow falling on the morning of the auction, it would have been understandable for most auctioneers to have butterflies in the pit of their stomachs on an auction day, with a fear of lack of clients and atmosphere for a sale. Nevertheless, there was no talk about delaying the auction at Mallams Cheltenham on Wednesday 20th January, after four days of crowded viewing. The auctioneer’s instinct proved to be correct, as those eager to take part in the auction of the Carter Collection, a well known Cheltenham family, battled against the weather to be there. An hour prior to the auction the room was fit to bursting with people who had battled through the snow and sat in queues for hours outside Cheltenham. The Carter family, who resided at Cold Slad, just outside Cheltenham had a property which overlooked the Brockworth Airfield and was filled with interesting antiques of local and national interest. Indeed the fact that it was an ‘old style’ country house sale, combined with the lack of sales for dealers eager to get back to work after weeks on the sidelines because of the Christmas holidays and the bad weather, probably accounted for the huge amount of interest beforehand and resulted in a 100 per cent selling rate. One of the most eagerly anticipated lots of the day was the collection of Aeronautical effects of W. G. Carter, former chief aircraft designer to the Gloster Aircraft Company. A largely unsung hero outside of aeronautical circles, Carter ranked amongst the greatest of aircraft designers, helping to design biplane fighters for the RAF (notably the Gauntlet and Gladiator), alongside competing for and breaking World Speed Records. However, perhaps he was best known for his seminal part in the creation of the Jet aircraft engine alongside Sir Frank Whittle. The Ministry of Aircraft commissioned Carter in the Second World War to design a brand new aircraft for Whittle’s engine and the result was the Gloster E. 28/29 ‘Pioneer’. Built in secret at the Regents Garage in Cheltenham, it had its first flight at Hucclecote, Gloucestershire on 8th April 1941 and subsequently became the first Allied jet aircraft. Following the success of the Pioneer, he was encouraged by the Ministry to design an even more practical and dexterous fighter for the war. As a result, Carter made the decision to design a plane with two engines, resulting in the creation of the F.9/40, which found worldwide fame as the Gloster Meteor. In the hands of the RAF the Meteors were the first jet aircraft in operational service and were used primarily against the V1 flying bombs. The first ‘kill’ came when Flg. Off. Dean ‘knocked down’ a V1 by flipping it onto its back with the Meteor’s wingtip. In total 3875 Meteors were built, in over 34 versions, for 14 different nations and it changed the course of military aviation across the world. The aeronautical effects of Carter included post office telegrams and letters relating to the successful first flight of the Gloster-Whittle in 1941, Post Office telegrams relating to the successful attempt on the World’s Air Speed Record in 1945 (which achieved 606mph over Herne Bay, Kent), notable other aeronautical letters related to his work, his C.B.E. and a Royal Aeronautical Society silver medal given to him in 1947 for his work on the jet propelled aircraft. Against an estimate of £2,000 to £3,000, a bidder in the room fought off considerable interest from a number of phone lines and bought the lot towards the upper end of the estimate at £2,900 (excluding premium at 17.5% plus VAT). More of a surprise came in the following lot of the sale, when another personal item related to Carter went under the hammer. A copy of Sir Frank Whittle’s book ‘Jet – The Story of a Pioneer’, would not normally cause intense bidding at auction, but the fact that it had a handwritten dedication from Whittle to Carter on the title page inscribed ‘To George Carter, as a small memento of our joint efforts with very best wishes, from Frank Whittle, 24 Nov 1953’, meant it became a unique and rare piece of aeronautical memorabilia. As a consequence it outstripped its estimate and bidders in the room battled it out until it fetched £680. Nevertheless, the most successful section of the sale turned out to be the clock and mechanical music segment, which saw three lots reach over £5,000. A 19th Century Swiss floor standing orchestra music box, with snare drum, ten bells, castanets, organ and bells with enamelled fly hammers and bird finials was one of the largest, at 61” wide, and imposing music boxes the most of the prospective buyers had ever seen. The general impression was one of awe, but it was also usually accompanied with the question ‘Where would you put such a thing?’. According to one dealer pieces of this size were usually made for the Indian market, who had the Maharajas in mind as they competed against each other to own the largest and most elaborate pieces of this type. However, the fact that it only had one 26” cylinder, had had a lot of work to the box and was of such a large size slightly detracted from its allure. With a reasonable estimate of £3,000 to £5,000, a telephone bidder won the day with a bid of £5,600. The other pieces of notable interest in this section which attracted lots of interest included a German walnut symphonium reaching £5,400 and a walnut and beach architectural Euphonion that made the same sum. Also recognised as a quality piece was a burr walnut cased wall clock of superb quality which fetched £4,000 and a Thomas Drury of London long case clock, which surpassed its estimate making £2,300. Altogether the sale showed that even though the recession is hitting some people hard, others are still desperate for new honest stock and are willing to pay for the privilege of getting this. |