Over 24 hours later and I’m full of remorse. Not over an auction purchase. Rather over an item I stopped bidding on.
The item for sale with Mellors and Kirk, Nottingham, was described as:
Batley, Yorkshire. An album of photographs, 1906, of studio portraits of the children of the Fancy Dress Ball held at the Town Hall in January 1906, approximately 222 sepia toned, rectangular, oval and round silver prints mounted recto and verso on substantial linen hinged leaves (44 x 38cm) with occasional pencil captions and guards, gilt tooled black calf armorial binding with leather label on marbled end paper inscribed A SOUVENIR OF THE JUVENILE FANCY DRESS BALL GIVEN BY THE MAYOR AND MAYORESS (ALDERMAN & MRS GEORGE HIRST) AT THE TOWN HALL BATLEY JANUARY 1906, a.e.g., by Ingle & Son Binders Leeds, in baize lined folding mahogany boxGood condition with slight wear to the gilt arms and slight wear to cover corners, the baize lining of the mahogany box moth eaten, exterior of mahogany scratched and chipped
Description of Lot 1209, Mellors and Kirk Fine Books and Manuscripts Auction, 19 January 2023 – Auction website https://www.mellorsandkirk.com/
The photographs accompanying it were lush. Unfortunately I cannot show them here because they will be subject to the auctioneer’s copyright.
Through pre-auction research I’d found out all about the fancy dress ball. Crucially I had the names of all the children attending, along with individual descriptions of their costumes so I could start putting names to photos
In my mind I had already planned to do a series of blog posts about the fancy dress ball in the town hall using the album. I would try to match the children to their photos, alongside mini-biographies about each of them.
19 January 2023, and auction day dawned. I sensibly set myself a limit, and logged on. And, as I thought at the time, I equally sensibly bowed out when the bidding exceeded my cap. But even then I had a niggling anxiety that I had been far too cautious. That’s my usual downfall, playing things safe.
The lot finally went for over the initial auction estimate. The hammer price was £450, plus those pesky buyer’s premiums/online bidding fees.
And now I’m now bitterly regretting it. It would have been a perfect fit for my passion for the history of Batley, especially in late 19th and early 20th centuries, and my blog.
If I had my time again I would have set my cap far higher to own, and more importantly to be able to share, this unique piece of Batley history.
I am so hoping the album has gone to someone who will really cherish and preserve it – perhaps a descendant of one of the children.
PastToPresentGenealogy 