After looking at a couple of lithographs hanging on our walls for six years, and wondering how much they were worth, Tree and I decided to go to the Antiques Roadshow and find out once and for all. We originally bought the pieces at an auction, on a rainy day, which wasn't well attended. I hadn't even looked at them before the auction and it was only when the auction started that I noticed them across the room. Even from far away I could see the detail in them was very fine and knew that they must be good quality. When they came up I took a punt and managed to get them at one bid over the maiden for £26 the pair. As we left, a car pulled up and a man offered us £100 on the spot for them. We declined, obviously, and I started to get a little more interested in them. Back home, and a lot of research later, I found that one was by Axel Haig, one of the most highly regarded lithographers in England, and the other by William Renison, a Scottish born Artist and etcher. As they were known artists we raised our hopes a little. Previous works by Haig had sold at Christies for £900 plus! When we got there the queue was seemingly endless but we enjoyed seeing and meeting different people and celebrities along the way.
We met Mark Poltimore for the valuation and found him very charming and entertaining. As it was, we knew as much as he could tell us, apart from their value. Unfortunately, price is dictated by the subject matter so he advised us not to plan our retirement yet. However, £200 quid is not to be sniffed at and represents 769% increase on our original £26 investment. If you put £26 in the bank for 6 years it would be worth £29.38 at best. They will now be put in safe storage to accumulate further. Result!!!!!!
