The desk was purchased in 1946 from Maples Ltd. London by Addressograph Multigraph Ltd (which made the printing presses that produced banknotes for the Bank of England) for its then managing director – and in February 1974 gifted to Patrick McCorkell to mark his appointment as chairman and managing director of AM Ltd UK.
The desk is of good useable size, with a deeply moulded top, drawers to the back and front of each panelled pedestal, in a rich mahogany colour and would date around 1880. The Victorian drawer knobs have been removed and replaced with brass drop handles. Estimated at $8,000-$12,000 the desk has appeal both as a functional item of furniture, and to those who are attracted to owning something once used by the Duke of Cambridge.
After the Black Saturday fires on February 7 last year, that swept through regional Victoria killing 173 people, the only buildings left standing in Marysville were the bakery and the museum, the latter a 1000-square-metre structure that for many years had housed classic cars and other memorabilia.
Several months before the fires struck, Dean Laidlaw and his business partner had purchased the museum from the original owners (who had decided to retire) and were busy redeveloping it.
“Once the fires went through Marysville, we decided to make the building available to the Victorian Government to help with the rebuilding process,” Dean said.
Classic car auctioneers Shannons sold the cars and Sydney collectors purchased some of the other more significant items (such as an old Vargo gypsy wagon and an 1830s horse-drawn steam fire engine) and the building is now being used to house a supermarket, bank and real estate agency.
Another significant piece to come from the museum is a 19th century pianola organ (complete with castanet and drum attachments) (Lot 569 ).
Continuing the music theme is a burr walnut Carl Bechstein grand piano (Lot 820 ) and a collection of rare 19th century polypons and music boxes (Lots 309) Lot 310) owned by Malmsbury Antiques owner, the late Graeme Grayson. Highlight of the collection is a 1920s Tangbar music box-piano accordion (Lot 307 ), a type that auctioneer John Ainger has never seen before.
Much of the furniture in the sale, including an 1850s burr walnut bookcase (Lot 771 ), was bought originally from Acorn Antiques, recognised in its day as the Southern Hemisphere’s leading antique shop. With the vendors moving to new apartments at the old Mercy Hospital site in East Melbourne the furniture does not suit the modern décor and is being auctioned as a result.
The auction also contains an early 1900s Japanese ivory and mother of pearl shimiano enro (Lot 640 ) and collection of ivory netsuke (Lot 641-662) that belonged to a former Xavier student’s grandfather who lived in Japan before World War II.
Paintings in the sale include Sali Hermann’s Paddington Overlooking Sydney Harbour (Lot 417), a J. H. Scheltema bush scene (Lot 464) and Robert Johnson’s Hawkesbury River (Lot 462).