'Mouseman' Elephant Bookends March Away in Auction...
5th July 2019
An extremely rare pair of 'Mouseman' bookends attracted a huge amount of interest at Lawrences Auctioneers.
They were made by the famous furniture maker Robert Thompson of Kilburn in Yorkshire, whose pieces of furniture and small wooden items are well known for their carved mouse signatures. Consigned for sale by a Somerset vendor, the highly unusual bookends were carved in the form of elephants.
The bookends were probably commissioned by John Weston Adamson in the 1930’s whilst he was living at Oldstead Hall in Yorkshire as he had a keen interest in African wildlife. The lot had passed down through the family to the present descendants who offered them for sale at Lawrences.
Auctioneer Simon Jones said, "They attracted a huge amount of pre-sale interest and nine telephone lines were booked on the day. After a long auction battle they eventually made £12,500. We have sold some wonderful pieces of Mouseman furniture over the years, but these were almost certainly the rarest items we have ever handled. This maker continues to attract a huge amount of interest in auction, with a large number of specialist dealers and collectors battling to secure the pieces."
