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Lost & Found

Theodore Roosevelt’s Long-Lost Pocket Watch Surfaces at a Florida Auction House


When a client brought in a late-1800s pocket watch, Edwin Bailey, owner of Blackwell Auctions in Florida, thought it might be worth about $100. But then he saw the inscription inside: “THEODORE ROOSEVELT FROM D.R. & C.R.R.”

145c1c14-3bbe-41f6-82a6-ad029aa6666aoriginal.jpg


After extensive research, he became convinced that it belonged to the 26th president. The watch went up on the auction house’s website with a starting bid of $50,000.

Not long after, federal agents showed up at Blackwell Auctions. They told Bailey that the watch was authentic—and it had been missing for more than 30 years.

In the summer of 1987, thieves stole the artifact from an unlocked glass display case at the Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo, New York.

At the time of the robbery, detectives thought the watch was worth “less than $1,000.” Now, almost four decades later, auction house officials say it might have fetched up to half a million dollars.

How the watch ended up in Florida is unclear, though the consignor was never a suspect.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...urfaces-at-a-florida-auction-house-180984649/

maximus otter
 

Rare Aphra Behn novel found on home bookshelf​


Two hands holding the top and bottom of a visibly worn book. The book is open. The pages are yellow.

Roughly 1000 copies of Oroonoko were printed in 1688




An extremely rare first edition copy of the 1688 novel Oroonoko by Aphra Behn has been found in Kent.

The life and works of Behn - credited as the world’s first professional woman writer - are currently being celebrated at an exhibition at her home town Canterbury's Beaney House of Art & Knowledge.

Also from Canterbury, Anna Astin picked out a copy of Oroonoko from her father’s antique shop in the 1950s, which she brought to the exhibition and showed the staff there.

Elaine Hobby, professor of 17th-century studies at Loughborough University, said: “This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me in my life - and I’ve not had a dull life.”

A woman with brown glasses and short grey hair. She is smiling and sitting down whilst holding a book open.

Anna Astin said she was thrilled and humbled by the reaction from staff at the exhibition to her book.

Oroonoko explores the sufferings of an enslaved African prince in the colonial-era Guianas.

The novel is taught in universities around the world and is thought to have inspired the abolitionist movement.

There were only 13 known first editions of Oroonoko, stored in the top libraries around the UK and US. Ms Astin’s, which has been kept on a bookshelf at her home, is now the 14th.

“I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that a book that was in my book case for all this time has now brought about so much interest,” she said.

Antiques Roadshow specialist presenter Justin Croft discussing the book with Ms Astin

Antiques Roadshow specialist presenter Justin Croft discussing the book with Ms Astin.

Justin Croft, a historic book seller and specialist on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, called the discovery "tremendously exciting" and said it was "amazing" the book had survived.

Bibliographers will study each word and page to check for differences between the other 13 copies. Ms Astin's copy is missing its title page.
“I’m going to decide what to do with it. It doesn’t need to go into a cupboard anymore," she said. "It’s too important."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd17y5228dro
 

Rare Aphra Behn novel found on home bookshelf​


Two hands holding the top and bottom of a visibly worn book. The book is open. The pages are yellow.

Roughly 1000 copies of Oroonoko were printed in 1688




An extremely rare first edition copy of the 1688 novel Oroonoko by Aphra Behn has been found in Kent.

The life and works of Behn - credited as the world’s first professional woman writer - are currently being celebrated at an exhibition at her home town Canterbury's Beaney House of Art & Knowledge.

Also from Canterbury, Anna Astin picked out a copy of Oroonoko from her father’s antique shop in the 1950s, which she brought to the exhibition and showed the staff there.

Elaine Hobby, professor of 17th-century studies at Loughborough University, said: “This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me in my life - and I’ve not had a dull life.”


Anna Astin said she was thrilled and humbled by the reaction from staff at the exhibition to her book.

Oroonoko explores the sufferings of an enslaved African prince in the colonial-era Guianas.

The novel is taught in universities around the world and is thought to have inspired the abolitionist movement.

There were only 13 known first editions of Oroonoko, stored in the top libraries around the UK and US. Ms Astin’s, which has been kept on a bookshelf at her home, is now the 14th.

“I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that a book that was in my book case for all this time has now brought about so much interest,” she said.


Antiques Roadshow specialist presenter Justin Croft discussing the book with Ms Astin.

Justin Croft, a historic book seller and specialist on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, called the discovery "tremendously exciting" and said it was "amazing" the book had survived.

Bibliographers will study each word and page to check for differences between the other 13 copies. Ms Astin's copy is missing its title page.
“I’m going to decide what to do with it. It doesn’t need to go into a cupboard anymore," she said. "It’s too important."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd17y5228dro
I wonder why there might be differences between Ms Astin's copy and the other 13?

I did google printing methods of the 17th century but couldn't find an answer.
 

Letter written by Jewish boy named David Spielman, addressed to 'child in the Land of Israel' recently discovered in basement in Poland and has made its way to Israel​



A poignant letter written by David Spielman, a young Jewish boy from the Łódź Ghetto, to a "child in the Land of Israel," along with a drawing of a map of Israel dated December 23, 1940, is up for auction for museums and collectors at the Jerusalem auction house Dynasty.

The letter consists of two notebook pages. The first page, titled "Letter to the Child in the Land of Israel" in Hebrew, is dated December 23, 1940. The second page features a hand-drawn map of Israel, with major towns and cities marked in Polish by David.

This rare artifact from the Łódź Ghetto is a significant historical item.

It remains unclear what happened to David Spielman and whether he survived the Holocaust. His name has not been found, raising fears that he may have been murdered by the Nazis. Based on the content and handwriting, it is evident that David was a young child, likely a first-grader just beginning to learn how to write.

He prepared the letter as part of an assignment to write to children in the Land of Israel.

David Spielman likely did not know who he was writing to, other than addressing the letter to a child in the Land of Israel. He describes the ghetto as a crowded place, which aligns with the time when approximately 200,000 Jews were crammed into the ghetto. According to the ghetto map, Stefana Jaracza Street, mentioned in the letter, was one of the main streets in the Łódź Ghetto.

The letter, which never made it to the Land of Israel, was recently discovered in a basement in the Łódź area, within a notebook containing numerous documents related to Jews. It eventually reached the Jerusalem auction house, part of a collection of notebooks with documents originating from the Łódź Ghetto.

"This child's emotional letter stood out among the pile. Writing from the crowded Łódź, the child expresses his longing to come to the Land of Israel. What could be more touching? He asks the Israeli child to write back, saying it would make him happy. You can really sense the sadness of the ghetto between the lines. It’s chilling," said Itamar Hai, manager of the Dynasty auction house. According to him, there is already interest from museums looking to purchase the letter.

מפת ארץ ישראל, כפי שצייר הילד בגטו

The map of Israel

Here is the text of the letter:

"Letter to the Child in the Land of Israel. Hello, child! My name is David Spielman from 6 Stefana Jaracza Street in crowded Litzmannstadt. We are learning to speak and write Hebrew.

We also learn to sing in Hebrew. Tomorrow is Hanukkah, and we are singing Hanukkah songs. I made you a beautiful map of the Land of Israel. How are things in the Land of Israel? How are you? I am waiting for you to write to me, and receiving a letter from you will make me happy.

Also, tell me which city or settlement you are from and what the weather is like in the Land of Israel, and your name. Here, the weather is very cold and the street is crowded. Soon we will come to the Land of Israel, and there will be enough room for everyone. Please write to me about the Land of Israel and Hanukkah. See you in the Land of Israel, David Spielman."



Below the letter, the child drew a picture of a ship sailing on waves with the caption "To the Land of Israel." On the next page, David illustrated a map of Israel with the captions "Land of Israel" and "Palestine."

According to German orders, when the Łódź Ghetto was established, all Hebrew schools in the city moved into the ghetto, where 90% of Jewish students attended. In the first school year, about 11,000 students attended schools in the ghetto, but their numbers significantly decreased over time. By mid-1940, only about 7,300 students were left.

The education system included an orphanage, a vocational school, two high schools, a religious school, day camps, and elementary schools. Initially, there was an attempt to maintain the education system as it was before the war, but feeding the children quickly became one of its primary goals. By early 1941, some schools closed due to a lack of buildings in the ghetto, and after the summer break, all schools were shut down.

Additional educational programs were held in the ghetto, including those that tried to combine work with lessons. The youth of the ghetto established several educational and cultural frameworks, such as "Desert Generation Front," which focused on educating young people and even celebrated holidays in the ghetto.

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1fxl8zvc
First graders would be 6 or 7 years old? I think this child is older than that, maybe 10?

Poor David. I hope he made it out.
 
I wonder why there might be differences between Ms Astin's copy and the other 13?

Sometimes different printers in different areas, especially different countries. You sent out the manuscript to be typeset ratheer than lugging heavy bukly bound books around. And printing was often heavily regulated and taxed so a country/area/tax district would want the work done locally rather than lose the tax revenue. "Foreign" books were often not permitted because of censorship laws and fears over politics and rabbble rousing.

My father's MA was in lieteratire of this and later periods :)
 
Sometimes different printers in different areas, especially different countries. You sent out the manuscript to be typeset ratheer than lugging heavy bukly bound books around. And printing was often heavily regulated and taxed so a country/area/tax district would want the work done locally rather than lose the tax revenue. "Foreign" books were often not permitted because of censorship laws and fears over politics and rabbble rousing.

My father's MA was in lieteratire of this and later periods :)
Interesting. Thanks for the answer.
 
I didn't know I knew that, if that makes sense. It was very nice to realise I did! Thank you :)
I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I've only remembered a snippet of information when the subject comes up.

I hope the cheque is in the post for me helping you to remember that. :chuckle:
 

Rare Aphra Behn novel found on home bookshelf​


Two hands holding the top and bottom of a visibly worn book. The book is open. The pages are yellow.

Roughly 1000 copies of Oroonoko were printed in 1688




An extremely rare first edition copy of the 1688 novel Oroonoko by Aphra Behn has been found in Kent.

The life and works of Behn - credited as the world’s first professional woman writer - are currently being celebrated at an exhibition at her home town Canterbury's Beaney House of Art & Knowledge.

Also from Canterbury, Anna Astin picked out a copy of Oroonoko from her father’s antique shop in the 1950s, which she brought to the exhibition and showed the staff there.

Elaine Hobby, professor of 17th-century studies at Loughborough University, said: “This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me in my life - and I’ve not had a dull life.”

A woman with brown glasses and short grey hair. She is smiling and sitting down whilst holding a book open.

Anna Astin said she was thrilled and humbled by the reaction from staff at the exhibition to her book.

Oroonoko explores the sufferings of an enslaved African prince in the colonial-era Guianas.

The novel is taught in universities around the world and is thought to have inspired the abolitionist movement.

There were only 13 known first editions of Oroonoko, stored in the top libraries around the UK and US. Ms Astin’s, which has been kept on a bookshelf at her home, is now the 14th.

“I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that a book that was in my book case for all this time has now brought about so much interest,” she said.

Antiques Roadshow specialist presenter Justin Croft discussing the book with Ms Astin

Antiques Roadshow specialist presenter Justin Croft discussing the book with Ms Astin.

Justin Croft, a historic book seller and specialist on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, called the discovery "tremendously exciting" and said it was "amazing" the book had survived.

Bibliographers will study each word and page to check for differences between the other 13 copies. Ms Astin's copy is missing its title page.
“I’m going to decide what to do with it. It doesn’t need to go into a cupboard anymore," she said. "It’s too important."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd17y5228dro
I'd love to watch the Antiques Roadshow clip of that reveal.
 
The bodies of a British couple who hoped to sail across the Atlantic have been found washed up on Sable Island, the notorious 'Graveyard of the Atlantic'.

This island's reputation had passed me by until today. It seems that 350 ships have been wrecked there.

Couple found dead after trying to cross Atlantic

The bodies of a couple who set off on a sailing trip across the Atlantic Ocean have been found on a washed-up life raft almost six weeks after they were last seen.

Briton Sarah Packwood and her Canadian husband Brett Clibbery are thought to have abandoned their yacht and perished before washing up on Sable Island near Nova Scotia in Canada on 12 July.

The couple were reported missing on 18 June after leaving Nova Scotia in their 13m (42ft) eco-friendly yacht, Theros, a week earlier.

They were on the way to the Azores – about 3,228 km away – with the trip planned to take 21 days.
 
'In a remarkable twist of fate, Hungarian art historian Gergely Barki made a surprising discovery while watching the film *Stuart Little* (1999) in 2009. In the background of a scene, he spotted a painting that had been missing for 90 years: "Sleeping Lady with Black Vase" by Róbert Berény. The painting had been lost since World War II, and its reappearance as a prop in the film was an astonishing revelation.
The painting's recovery began with Barki's observation. Recognizing the work, he launched an investigation that led to the discovery that the artwork used in the movie was indeed the original. This serendipitous find not only reunited the painting with its rightful place in art history but also highlighted the unexpected ways in which lost masterpieces can reemerge. The incident underscores the sometimes improbable connections between popular culture and the art world.'

May be art of 3 people
 

Theodore Roosevelt’s Long-Lost Pocket Watch Surfaces at a Florida Auction House


When a client brought in a late-1800s pocket watch, Edwin Bailey, owner of Blackwell Auctions in Florida, thought it might be worth about $100. But then he saw the inscription inside: “THEODORE ROOSEVELT FROM D.R. & C.R.R.”

145c1c14-3bbe-41f6-82a6-ad029aa6666aoriginal.jpg


After extensive research, he became convinced that it belonged to the 26th president. The watch went up on the auction house’s website with a starting bid of $50,000.

Not long after, federal agents showed up at Blackwell Auctions. They told Bailey that the watch was authentic—and it had been missing for more than 30 years.

In the summer of 1987, thieves stole the artifact from an unlocked glass display case at the Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo, New York.

At the time of the robbery, detectives thought the watch was worth “less than $1,000.” Now, almost four decades later, auction house officials say it might have fetched up to half a million dollars.

How the watch ended up in Florida is unclear, though the consignor was never a suspect.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...urfaces-at-a-florida-auction-house-180984649/

maximus otter
So the "extensive research" by Blackwell's didn't show up that the watch was stolen. There's a surprise eh?
 

Twine around baby found after 100 years under floor​


Forensic officers enter the building where the baby's body was found in Bishop Auckland

Durham Police believe the baby's body may have been undisturbed for more than a century


Twine was found around the neck of a baby whose body may have been under floorboards for more than 100 years, police said.

The skeleton of the full-term child was discovered at a house in Fore Bondgate, Bishop Auckland, last month and Durham Police said its death was likely suspicious.

The remains were wrapped in a newspaper and investigators were able to identify a fragment dated from 1910.
The baby's gender could not be determined from examinations, police said.

Det Ch Insp Mel Sutherland said: "The evidence suggests this has happened a very long time ago, which makes investigating the circumstances extremely difficult, but we still have a duty to that baby."

Officers are trying to trace records for the property between 1900 and 1920, to find out who lived there at that time.
The force said the property dates to the Victorian period and at one stage housed a church-run mother and baby unit, although it is believed the baby was concealed before that time.

Tests planned​

Forensic tests established the baby was full term at 40 weeks, but more tests are planned, including carbon dating to confirm the initial findings, police said.

Det Ch Insp Sutherland added: "My focus is on finding out who the baby is, what happened and how it came to be under the floorboards of that house.

"As soon as we are able to, I am determined that this little baby is given an appropriate and dignified funeral."
Anyone with information on the property is asked to contact police.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cewllz7wv00o
 

Rock Used as Doorstop For Decades Turns Out to Be Worth Over $1 Million


They say one's trash is another's treasure, but a chunk of 'rock' used to keep a door open for decades is a treasure by pretty much any metric you might care to use.

The 3.5 kilogram (7.7 pound) stone was found in a stream bed in southeast Romania by an elderly woman, who brought it home and put it to use.

FossilAmberRockDoorstop.jpg


The 3.5-kilogram amber nugget is the biggest piece of rumanite ever found. (Buzău County Museum)

Her discovery turned out to be one of the biggest intact chunks of amber in the world. Its value? Somewhere in the region of €1 million – around $US1.1 million.

Amber is tree resin from millions of years in the past. Over time, the highly viscous substance fossilizes into a hard, warm-hued material widely recognized as a gemstone.

In Romania, pieces of amber can be found around the village of Colti in sandstone from the banks of the River Buzau, where it has been mined since the 1920s. Known as rumanite, this amber is famed and prized for its wide array of deep, reddish hues.

https://www.sciencealert.com/rock-used-as-doorstop-for-decades-turns-out-to-be-worth-over-1-million

maximus otter
 

Previously unknown Mozart music discovered in German library

A previously unknown piece of music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was probably in his early teens has been uncovered at a library in Germany.

QT0


The piece dates to the mid to late 1760s and consists of seven miniature movements for a string trio lasting about 12 minutes, the Leipzig municipal libraries said in a statement on Thursday.

Born in 1756, Mozart was a child prodigy and began composing at a very early age under his father’s guidance.

Researchers discovered the work at the city’s music library while compiling the latest edition of the Köchel catalogue, the definitive archive of Mozart’s musical works.

The newly discovered manuscript was not written by Mozart himself but is believed to be a copy made in about 1780.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...own-mozart-music-discovered-in-german-library

maximus otter
 
Lost and found- sort of, not quite;

The great artist recluse and his 78 missing paintings​


  1. A surrealist painting involving what looks to be head of a rooster, with lots of tiny, fine squiggles on the surface

    Henry Orlik's surrealist paintings have been a massive success after being hidden away for decades





  2. A wall with three surrealist paintings underneath a beam

    There is now a second exhibition at The Little Gallery in Marlborough with the original paintings being sold via online auction





  3. Part of a surrealist painting with a head that slightly resembles the shape of the duck with sunglasses and it's beak rounded off. The head comes up from what looks like parcels tied with red string.

    This is part of a work called The Landlord


  4. Surrealist painting with what looks like green, undulating hills with a red wall down the middle and naked human figures on either side with long hair holding large blades in the air.

    This is called Celtic Symbol: Win or Lose


  5. Henry Orlik sits in front of a painting with lots of squiggles - black & white photo

    Henry Orlik
    Henry Orlik has a signature squiggly style which he calls "excitations"


  6. A room with low light showing shelving with rolls of canvases, boards with sketching and folders of paper

    Orlik became disillusioned with the art world early on and instead just painted, storing much of his work at his late mother's home in Swindon



In his younger years, Henry Orlik once had work hung alongside masters such as Salvador Dalí. After more than 40 years away, he has recently come back into the spotlight as a mystery surrounds 78 missing artworks.


For decades the reclusive artist worked away in a housing association flat, stacking and rolling up canvases and drawings.

But the body of work of 77-year-old Henry Orlik, who now lives in Swindon, is far smaller than it should be.

A large chunk went missing while he was in hospital in 2022 following a stroke, and have never been found.

Without his full portfolio of paintings, it is tricky for Orlik to know the full value of the ones he does have left.

But his dream-like paintings have brought tears to the eyes of art dealers, with one describing him as "one of Britain's greats".
"I've had a 38-year career in the art world and I feel these are just exceptional," said Grant Ford from his gallery in Marlborough, Wiltshire.

Mr Ford, who has been showing Orlik's work for the first time since the 1980s, was a specialist at the world famous Sotheby’s auction house for 30 years.


Grant Ford in glasses, blue jacket and white shirt in front of one of the paintings.

Grant Ford was asked to take a look at Orlik's paintings and was stunned


Mr Ford was contacted by a solicitor trying to help Orlik, who can no longer pick up a brush after the stroke, find his 78 missing paintings.
He also wanted Mr Ford to value those that were left.

"This artist, who I really didn't know about a few months ago, should be considered one of our greats," Mr Ford said.
"I just haven't seen anything like this before. I think they're just mind-bogglingly good."

Orlik did have some work exhibited alongside the likes of Dali in the 1970s, but became reclusive in the 1980s after becoming disillusioned with the commercial art world.

For expert Mr Ford though, he could not value Orlik’s work without selling a few first.


Orlik now lives in his late mother's house in the town where he is cared for, but struggles to speak.
Over the years, he had fortunately also stored many pieces there.

Black & white photo with Henry Orlik in his 70s in a living room with framed paintings behind him as she sits down, with a sofa to the right


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gdnwzn3qyo
 

Not exactly lost but..

Painting hanging in living room for decades turns out to be a Picasso

An old painting, described by its owner’s wife as ‘horrible’ for decades has turned out to be a Picasso valued at £5,000,000.

Luigi Lo Rosso found the artwork while clearing out a cellar in a home. The painting features the Spanish artist’s distinctive signature in the top left-hand corner, but Luigi failed to recognise it.
He made the discovery at his house in Capri, Italy, in 1962, but rolled up the painting and placed it in a cheap frame that he hung on his living room wall at his new home in Pompeii for decades, much to the annoyance of his wife.
The portrait is believed to be a distorted image of the French photographer and painter, Dora Maar, who was Picasso’s mistress until their breakup in 1945.
Many years later, his son, Andrea, who was studying an encyclopedia of art history gifted to him by an aunt, suspected it held the famous artist’s signature.

Following months of investigations, graphologist, Cinzia Altieri, a member of the scientific committee of the Arcadia Foundation, confirmed the signature was indeed Pablo Picasso’s.

Now, Andrea, 60, said: ‘My father was from Capri and would collect junk to sell for next to nothing. He found the painting before I was even born and he didn’t have a clue who Picasso was.

The painting is currently being kept in a vault in Milan as the family reaches out to the Picasso Foundation in Malaga, Spain, who will have the final word on its authenticity.
1727876964555.png
 
Lost and found- sort of, not quite;

The great artist recluse and his 78 missing paintings​


  1. A surrealist painting involving what looks to be head of a rooster, with lots of tiny, fine squiggles on the surface

    Henry Orlik's surrealist paintings have been a massive success after being hidden away for decades





  2. A wall with three surrealist paintings underneath a beam

    There is now a second exhibition at The Little Gallery in Marlborough with the original paintings being sold via online auction





  3. Part of a surrealist painting with a head that slightly resembles the shape of the duck with sunglasses and it's beak rounded off. The head comes up from what looks like parcels tied with red string.'s beak rounded off. The head comes up from what looks like parcels tied with red string.

    This is part of a work called The Landlord


  4. Surrealist painting with what looks like green, undulating hills with a red wall down the middle and naked human figures on either side with long hair holding large blades in the air.

    This is called Celtic Symbol: Win or Lose


  5. Henry Orlik sits in front of a painting with lots of squiggles - black & white photo

    Henry Orlik
    Henry Orlik has a signature squiggly style which he calls "excitations"


  6. A room with low light showing shelving with rolls of canvases, boards with sketching and folders of paper

    Orlik became disillusioned with the art world early on and instead just painted, storing much of his work at his late mother's home in Swindon



In his younger years, Henry Orlik once had work hung alongside masters such as Salvador Dalí. After more than 40 years away, he has recently come back into the spotlight as a mystery surrounds 78 missing artworks.


For decades the reclusive artist worked away in a housing association flat, stacking and rolling up canvases and drawings.

But the body of work of 77-year-old Henry Orlik, who now lives in Swindon, is far smaller than it should be.

A large chunk went missing while he was in hospital in 2022 following a stroke, and have never been found.

Without his full portfolio of paintings, it is tricky for Orlik to know the full value of the ones he does have left.

But his dream-like paintings have brought tears to the eyes of art dealers, with one describing him as "one of Britain's greats".
"I've had a 38-year career in the art world and I feel these are just exceptional," said Grant Ford from his gallery in Marlborough, Wiltshire.

Mr Ford, who has been showing Orlik's work for the first time since the 1980s, was a specialist at the world famous Sotheby’s auction house for 30 years.


Grant Ford in glasses, blue jacket and white shirt in front of one of the paintings.

Grant Ford was asked to take a look at Orlik's paintings and was stunned


Mr Ford was contacted by a solicitor trying to help Orlik, who can no longer pick up a brush after the stroke, find his 78 missing paintings.
He also wanted Mr Ford to value those that were left.

"This artist, who I really didn't know about a few months ago, should be considered one of our greats," Mr Ford said.
"I just haven't seen anything like this before. I think they're just mind-bogglingly good."

Orlik did have some work exhibited alongside the likes of Dali in the 1970s, but became reclusive in the 1980s after becoming disillusioned with the commercial art world.

For expert Mr Ford though, he could not value Orlik’s work without selling a few first.


Orlik now lives in his late mother's house in the town where he is cared for, but struggles to speak.
Over the years, he had fortunately also stored many pieces there.

Black & white photo with Henry Orlik in his 70s in a living room with framed paintings behind him as she sits down, with a sofa to the right


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gdnwzn3qyo
What a talent. His pictures are amazing (and some of them look like album covers!)
 
The piece dates to the mid to late 1760s and consists of seven miniature movements for a string trio lasting about 12 minutes

While I'm always delighted by rediscovered works - in this case a discovery, as it was not known before - the world is not exactly short of Mozart's juvenilia. It was Hans Keller, back in the sixties, who ruffled some feathers by declaring that we could dispense with all of the works below Köchel 200, when Wolfgang Amadeus was about eighteen. Much is made of Mozart the prodigy but he had the advantage of living at a time when music could be composed by formulae. The prodigies who came later - Mendelssohn, Korngold and Benjie Britten - had to make their mark in periods when the language of music was in flux.

Keller was, of course, a gadfly but I won't be rushing to hear this new-old trio! :)
 
Likely minted in Dublin after Henry's death.

A sixteenth century coin with the imprint of Henry VIII found lying in the mud on Inisfallen Island, Killarney may have been thrown into the lake for luck over 400 years ago.

Colm Doyle found the coin in the mud beside the famous Lough Léin, Killarney’s lower lake.

The silver groat is believed to be one of only two such coins found in Kerry so far.

The National Museum has identified it as almost certainly Irish, posthumous Henry VIII, with HENRIC 8 on the obverse and CIVITAS DUBLINIE (city of Dublin), on the reverse. This issue, which was actually minted during the early reign of Edward VI, would date to around 1547-50. At that time the silver content in these Irish coins was diluted, the national museum believes.

ZILUTEJNV5AB5MC3QVCUTKQPQI.jpg

Colm Doyle discovered the coin while exploring the island with his children

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/...n-into-lake-for-good-luck-over-400-years-ago/
 

Dad's WW2 fork found 84 years after last meal​


David Balfour was stunned after a fork belonging to his soldier father Robert, who was reported missing in action in 1940, was found hidden in a house in northern France.

"I can imagine my father eating his rations," says David Balfour, holding a fork that has become a treasured family heirloom.

Close to tears, the 84-year-old, who is standing in front of Hull's memorial to the war dead, adds: "It's the only thing of my father's that I have – apart from his Army Bible."

Stamped on the fork, which belonged to Pte Robert Balfour, are the letters BW and 4095.

"BW is for the Black Watch, which was my father's Army unit," he explains, running a finger along the tarnished metal. "And here is his Army service number."

His body was never found.
A silver-coloured fork in a brown wooden presentation box with gold-coloured hinges. It rests on David Balfour's knees.

The fork is engraved with Pte Balfour's regiment and Army number

Earlier this year, a fork was discovered in the village of Houdetot during a house renovation.

"It's a traditional, Norman house," says Mr Balfour, who was born days after his father was lost.

"During the work, three forks were found within the foundations. Two of the forks had 'BW' and numbers stamped on them.
"The homeowner didn't know who they belonged to, so contacted a local writer and historian called Herve Savary."

Recognising the forks to be British Army-issue, Mr Savary made inquiries that took him to Kent, where Pte Balfour and his family lived before the war. He was then able to trace the family.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqxrv2r1wz7o
 

Marble bust used as door stop in shed is actually worth £2,500,000

The sculpture of Sir John Gordon was made by French artist Edme Bouchardon in 1728 and was bought by Invergordon Town Council for £5 in 1930.

It was then thought to have been mislaid and lost during local government reorganisation before it was rediscovered being used as a door stop for a shed in an industrial estate in Balintore, near Invergordon, in 1998.

Now auction house Sotherby’s has already received a bid of more than £2.5 million for the bust.
Councillor Maxine Smith said then that interest on the money made from the sale could be as much as £125,000 a year and this would be invested in the community.

Under the plans, a museum-quality replica would be commissioned for display in the Highlands.

Sir John was an MP whose family owned land in Easter Ross and also gave their name to the town of Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth.

Bouchardon created sculptures for the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, the former home of French royalty, and also made the Fontaine des Quatre-Saisons in rue de Grenelle, Paris.
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Dad's WW2 fork found 84 years after last meal​


David Balfour was stunned after a fork belonging to his soldier father Robert, who was reported missing in action in 1940, was found hidden in a house in northern France.

"I can imagine my father eating his rations," says David Balfour, holding a fork that has become a treasured family heirloom.

Close to tears, the 84-year-old, who is standing in front of Hull's memorial to the war dead, adds: "It's the only thing of my father's that I have – apart from his Army Bible."

Stamped on the fork, which belonged to Pte Robert Balfour, are the letters BW and 4095.

"BW is for the Black Watch, which was my father's Army unit," he explains, running a finger along the tarnished metal. "And here is his Army service number."

His body was never found.
A silver-coloured fork in a brown wooden presentation box with gold-coloured hinges. It rests on David Balfour's knees.'s knees.

The fork is engraved with Pte Balfour's regiment and Army number

Earlier this year, a fork was discovered in the village of Houdetot during a house renovation.

"It's a traditional, Norman house," says Mr Balfour, who was born days after his father was lost.

"During the work, three forks were found within the foundations. Two of the forks had 'BW' and numbers stamped on them.
"The homeowner didn't know who they belonged to, so contacted a local writer and historian called Herve Savary."

Recognising the forks to be British Army-issue, Mr Savary made inquiries that took him to Kent, where Pte Balfour and his family lived before the war. He was then able to trace the family.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqxrv2r1wz7o
So there is hope for my missing fork yet!
 
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