Two leather compendium fishing cases and Wilk hunting cartoons were among the top selling lots in a three-day Country Sporting Sale.
The sale, at Cockermouth’s Mitchells’ saleroom, was held last week.
The most valuable lot in the sale was a leather fishing carry all compendium case with fitted interior from the Army & Navy Co-operative Society, Westminster including nine fishing reels which sold for £850.
Another leather fishing carry all compendium case by Hardy Bros of Alnwick also exceeded its £300 to £500 estimate, selling for £780.
Cartoons by the Keswick illustrator John Wilk Wilkinson (1906-1994), renowned for his caricatures of Lakeland characters, included The Blencathra Foxhounds, Sporty Old Lady Vexed At The Slow Progress Of The Hounds which sold for £820 and another cartoon depicting Anthony Barker of The Windermere Harriers dated 1988 made £300.
The most valuable lots in the gun section were a pair of William Evans 12 bore side by side shotguns from Purdey’s 63 Pall Mall St James’s, London and an early Georgian Gamekeepers flintlock swing gun, circa 1820, which both made £800.
Other interesting shooting lots included a Victorian Bussey Gyro Pigeon launcher, an early form of clay pigeon device invented by Yorkshireman George Bussey in 1872, which sold for £440.
Highest selling lots among the taxidermy were a plaster cast of a 54lbs Atlantic Salmon caught in the River Tay in 1969 and cast by Dr DL Burkell late of Glasgow Museums which sold for £450.
A brown trout caught in Bassenthwaite Lake and mounted by Peter Scott, a taxidermist from Barepot, near Workington, who recently died, made £350 and another taxidermy by Scott featuring a fibreglass grayling mounted on an ash board made £320.
Among the sporting art was a pair of bronze boxing hares, each raised on a shaped marble base and measuring 30cm in height, which made £450.
Mitchells’ next three day Country Sporting Sale will be held from October 11 to 13, with a closing date for entries of August 25.
Mitchells Antiques & Fine Art Sale takes place from June 14 to 16 and entries are invited now for the next Vintage and Antique Toy & Model Railway Sale, which will be held on August 3 with a closing date of June 26.
