I've been to a few auctions recently to check out the Pelham Puppets for sale. The prices are high and puppets are commanding good values again. This is good news for collectors with large collections of rare puppets who were beginning to worry about the value of their collection in the last few years. Any Collectors sometimes come to a point where they decide to sell up and use the money for another cause dearer to their heart. Recently I met a collector who was selling his puppets in order to buy a motorbike, his love for the puppets was over.... I wonder if he will start up again a few years on. I've heard of this time and time again, often the regrets are outweighed by the delights of collecting again, the frenetic search begins some time later, fueled by the desire to retrieve those same beloved puppets from the past. Only this week, I heard of two collectors who were selling their entire collection. The auction this week in Reading UK was a whole collection from one seller, 72 lots of several puppets in each lot in some cases. This is good news for the new collectors of which there are certainly many. The toy auctions seem to be thriving, SL Lettice Leefe, from 'The Girl' comic in the 1950's, sold at auction for £600 with auction fees added. An ebay listing for this puppet in better condition sold for quite a bit less. I've come away thinking that auctions are not necessarily the best place to find wonderful puppets for the shop but with a good mix of toy fairs, private sales and small auctions, I should manage ok.
I hope you'll enjoy looking at this weeks findings of rare and not so rare puppets.
I hope you'll enjoy looking at this weeks findings of rare and not so rare puppets.
