Mechanical Memories Magazine

Issue: 2007-September - Issue 17

Auction News
By Brian King
Junktion Auction, The Old Railway Station, New Bolingbroke, Nr Boston.
Saturday 29 th September 2007.
The annual auction at the Junktion - dealers in nostalgia, took place last Saturday.
Included were all manner of items from motoring signs, enamel advertising signs, a
dairy handcart, fairground organ and a smattering of amusement machines.
Of particular interest to slotties were eleven machines, quite a few of which did not
sell due to the high reserves placed on them. Two Aristocrat Nevada bandits on lp play
and requiring work were unsold at £100 bid. A nice Mills Brook.lands bandit reached
£300, but again was unsold. A distressed Bryans Clock sold for £240 and a Bryans
Elevenses allwin on 2p play also sold for £340. A Bryans Bullion on 2p reached £330
but again was unsold. Of particular interest were two floor standing 1930s Racing Car
horizontal reel machines made by Brecknell, Munro & Rogers - 'Brook.lands Racers' I
believe. Both machines required work, with parts missing, and were both sold to the
same bidder for £240 each. Possibly the best buy of the day was a Little Stockbroker,
which was very original, having been found in a house clearance. It was on old penny
play, minus keys and required a complete repaint but sold for just £280.
Lots 908 and 909 were a 'Harman Secrets' drop card viewer cl940 and an arcade
crane with art deco design . The guide price for the viewer was £500 - 700 and the crane
at £2000 - 2500. Having been at the auction from 10 am, I had had enough by 4 pm and
so cannot give you the results on these. Perhaps other readers may be able to oblige!
Editor's comment
Thanks for your report Brian - 900 plus lots sounds like a bloody long day! I had heard
rumours of the Junktion auction back in August, but as I was preoccupied with trying to
earn some money during the school holidays, was unable to gather any details to print
in the magazine. Anyway, just a reminder - if any subscriber has information on any
event that may be of interest to the readership, please let me know so that I can give it a
mention in the magazine.
And while on the subject of auctions, if I could have tenner for every time I've
been asked about the Blackpool Pleasure Beach auction, I'd be a rich man! As things
stand at the moment, it is entirely unlikely that Christies will be handling it (or that they
ever had any intention of doing so), and there doesn't seem to be any likelihood of it
being held at the Pleasure Beach, as originally proposed. But as and when I receive any
credible information, I'll ensure it's included in these pages.
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WHAT A NICE SURPRISE
By The Old Devon Codger
The weekend of 11/12 August 2007 saw the South Devon Railway (SDR) hold an "Old
Fairground" weekend at their wonderful station at Buckfastleigh in South Devon. The
South Devon Railway maintains a beautiful stretch of line running through gorgeous
Devon scenery following the river Dart valley. The restored steam engines puff up and
down between Buckfastleigh and Totnes Riverside via Staverton and provide not just a
fun day out but also a scheduled service used by locals and visitors alike.
In keeping with their Heritage railway status the SDR hold different themed
weekends during the summer and I went along early to take some photographs of the
event for the organisers. I saw a very attractive round stall being set up and was
immediately drawn to it. At that, stage the stall was just a shell and I went off to take
more pictures, including pies of the excellent restored rides, stalls and shooting gallery
belonging to Mike Stabb.
Brian Ward 's ex Carters' round stall along side his 'Wonderland' mirror show.
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