Busby babes football programme sold for £650 at Whitchurch auction
A rare football programme signed by the Busby Babes was snapped up by a local collector at an auction on Whitchurch.
The programme, from Wrexham's fourth round FA Cup tie with Manchester United in 1957, created massive pre-sale interested.
It was consigned to Whitchurch-based Trevanion and Dean auctioneers and sold for £650 at the October auction.
A local private collector fought off international competition to secure the programme which was signed by Manchester United manager Matt Busby and seven of his players known famously as the Busby Babes, including Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, Bill Foulkes, Dennis Violet, Billy Whelan and Jim Murphy.
Auctioneer Aaron Dean said: "There was an added poignancy to this programme because little over a year later some of players who had signed it died as a result of the Munich Air Disaster on February 6 1958. Sadly, this includes Duncan Edwards, regarded by many as one of the greatest players of his generation, perhaps of all time."
A collection of wristwatches also sold for more than £20,000 at the antiques and fine art auction.
They were consigned by a south Shropshire vendor who had decided it was time to part with his exclusive collection.
Among the ten watches were popular names including Rolex and Longines which were hotly contested by national and international buyers.
Auctioneer Christina Trevanion said: "Big name wristwatches are proving to be a very timely investment with our buyers at the moment. Watches as a commodity have grown 5 per cent in the last twelve months, 35 per cent in the last five years and 67 per cent in the last ten years, so it’s no surprise that they are being snapped up in the saleroom by our bidders keen to make a savvy investment."
The auctioneers also reported strong results in the traditional furniture market where a hunt table from a country house, near Shrewsbury sold, for £1,200 and a collection of Tunbridge Ware boxes and objects of virtue from an Oswestry-based collector sold for £6,000.
Trevanion and Dean’s next auction of fine art and antiques will be held on November 17 and entries close on November 2.
