The Under the Hammer column with Hartleys auctioneers

Final entries are requested by Saturday, March 9 but already there are heading for 300 lots “in the can”.

The sale start with the dolls, teddies and soft toys, most of which need some age to be of interest.

For instance, all from the beginning of the 20th Century, are a 26” Jumeau Bebe, a 30” Tete Jumeau, another French Bebe and a French SFBJ, all with bisque heads and estimated between £600 and £1200.

Cheaper dolls, dolls’ houses and accessories are also on offer.

Amongst the teddies are an early English example 24” high priced at £400-£600, and a very jolly Steiff teddy on wheels at £200-£400.

There follows a longish section of un-classifiable items, “the miscellanea” with a wealth of lots such as a Clubmaster one armed bandit, American and English comics, a “Thunderbirds Are Go” film poster, new boxed-up kits and models, pedal cars and so on.

The Meccano and Mamod steam models section is always popular and includes other steam powered toys.

The most un-pc lot is contained in the figures section. A rare “Arabs of the Desert” set is by Britains and the title on the box lid states it is in their “Types of the Enemy” series.

The autograph section is fast becoming a race against time as autograph albums full of stage and screen are constantly bringing the comment from the younger end of the valuers “Who?”. One album however with such names as Wilfred Pickles, Ted Ray and Jimmy Edwards, saves the day with Laurel and Hardy which will bump it up to around £200 to £250.

Tin plate and diecast sections have the small groups and the larger job lots depending on value and condition, albeit all faithfully photographed on the website with every other lot.

The most attractive single item is a large scale clockwork Shackletons lorry and trailer £250 to £350.

Finally we have the model railways and other scale items, railways grouped into “OO” and “O” gauges.

This again is almost a generational thing with O gauge coming from pre and post war production (including their owners). In particular there are an interesting selection across the board of boxed “O” gauge train sets.

To round up the sale there is a fine and immaculate 14” Stuart-James Coombes vertical steam engine in its glass case, normally retailing at over £1,800, which should reach around £600 - £900.