The wirelesses will be offered at the firm’s Australiana and collectables sale on Friday, April 23.
The highlights include Lot 4030, an Astor Mickey Mouse, which is regarded as very collectable on today’s market. The firm sold another Mickey for $5000 at the Abbey sale last year.
At the Joel’s sale in March a Mickey in an unusual colourway made a surprise $9800.
The Lawsons sale also offers a whole gang of HMV Little Nippers, a brace of AWA Radiolas, an Airzone Radiostar and a Kriesler Beehive 11-4.
As well as a large number of Bakelite models there is also a host of 1950s and 60s plastic radios with the colourful retro look which is popular with young buyers.
With the Anzac Day commemorations looming, there is a mountain of military memorabilia on offer around Sydney. A host of wartime material including photos, diaries, postcards, letters, medals and ephemera goes under the hammer on April 23 at Lawsons, alongside collections of radios and Australiana.
World War I photo postcards include several of troops at Anzac Cove and Lone Pine and warships off Gallipoli, with a particularly grim example (Lot 125) showing Australian dead near Shrapnel Green. There’s also pre-World War I and Boer War material. A highlight is Lot 150, the Boer War diaries and medals of a private in the NSW Medical Corp (Lot 150). No estimates are given but at the auctioneer’s last militaria sale a Boer War diary sold for $10,000.
Among the large photographs are several wartime studies by Frank Hurley, and a possibly unique item (Lot 283) showing John Simpson Kirkpatrick - known for the legend of Simpson and the donkey - and his entire ambulance subdivision. The picture, taken on the eve of the Anzacs‘ departure overseas, has been recognised by the Australian War Memorial, according to Lawsons.
Among perhaps the most poignant items is Lot 229, a dried poppy from the fields of France, mounted on a card and dated October 1918.