Bonhams Gentleman’s Library Sale on 21 January

Bonhams 101 New Bond Street
Time: 11am Monday 19th January 2009
Polar bears, bulldogs, narwhal tusks, whale ribs, an albino hare and a giant tortoise in Bonhams Gentleman’s Library sale.

Now in its fourth year, Bonhams Gentleman’s Library sale on 21 January, features an array of traditional library furniture, scientific instruments, curiosities, paintings and taxidermy.

Each January Bonhams New Bond Street salerooms are transformed into a typical Victorian Gentleman’s Library, creating an atmosphere of worn leather, eccentricity and fun, rekindling the age of curiosity, comfort and nostalgia.

Highlights from this year’s sale include:

* A panel of stained glass window removed from Number 1, Cornhill London, estimate £4,000-6,000
* A giant and much loved preserved tortoise, estimate £600-1,000
* A marble torso of Aphrodite, possibly Roman, estimate £15,000-20,000
* A polar bear, estimate £8,000-12,000
* A large narwhal tusk, estimate £8,000-10,000
* A George III mahogany and banded breakfront library bookcase, estimate £8,000-12,000
* A Philips 18 inch Merchant Shippers’ globe, estimate £4,000-6,000
* A walrus skull and tusks with lower jaw, estimate £2,500-3,500
* An Edward VII Royal presentation silver cigarette box, estimate £1,000-1,200
* A fine Roman Grand Tour mosaic, estimate £800-1,200
* A remote control model of a BE2E Biplane, estimate £500-700
* An albino hare, £400-600
* The ermine trimmed red velvet robes, cape and coronet of The Marquess of Cambridge, Last Prince of Teck, estimate £500-700
* A massive pair of part fossilised whale ribs, estimate £400-600