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Tennants’ Mouseman and Yorkshire Critters sale on 3 October achieved a total hammer price of £142,700 (≈ $188,900) from 144 lots, with a 97 % sell‑through rate. The standout lot was a bespoke oak bowl carved by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson’s workshop, measuring 57 cm in diameter and featuring six mice – two larger and four smaller – around its base. It fetched £9,500 (≈ $12,580), becoming the largest six‑mouse bowl ever offered by Tennants and surpassing the £8,000 (≈ $10,590) hammer price achieved in June for a smaller example released to mark the 150th anniversary of Thompson’s birth. Both prices are hammer amounts, excluding buyer’s premium.
The June anniversary sale, which comprised 300 lots, generated £329,330 (≈ $436,010) and recorded a 95 % sell‑through rate. Across the two events, the Mouseman bowls were among the top‑priced items. Thompson, who died in 1955, founded the Kilburn workshop whose carved mouse became its trademark; the family‑run business continues to produce furniture there. Tennants’ specialist sales assemble pieces made during Thompson’s lifetime, later workshop outputs, and works by other Yorkshire makers whose animal motifs gave the “Critters” sales their name.
Other notable results from the October auction included an oak monk’s chair dating to the circa‑1930s, which sold for £7,000 (≈ $9,270) against a £3,000‑£5,000 estimate. Tennants noted that the chair was part of a set commissioned for the Horlicks offices in Slough, each bearing the company’s coat of arms; workshop ledgers show the chairs were originally invoiced at £6 each. The Horlicks commission extended beyond seating: a dresser made for James Horlick’s boardroom at the Slough factory in the same decade indicates the scale of Thompson’s work for the firm.
Later‑period pieces also attracted interest. A limited‑edition Hovingham octagonal coffee table produced in 2010 sold for £4,500 (≈ $5,960), a house record for that model. Crafted from oak sourced from the Hovingham Estate, the table revisits a design Thompson first devised in 1924; a similar example had realized £4,000 (≈ $5,300) at the June anniversary sale. Additionally, an oak shire horse carved in the 1970s by workshop carver Stan Dodds realized £5,500 (≈ $7,280).
Tennants observed growing participation in its Mouseman sales from bidders outside Yorkshire and from overseas, although it did not disclose specific bidder figures for the October auction. The reported totals exclude buyer’s premium.
Separately, the text provides a brief biography of Mark Littler, editor‑in‑chief of Antique Collecting since 2026. Littler spent nearly a decade as an auctioneer, latterly at Tennants in North Yorkshire, where he served as a general valuer and specialist in silver and whisky. He subsequently founded Mark Littler Ltd, a ten‑year‑old consultancy advising clients on the valuation and sale of art, antiques and rare whisky. A regular Forbes contributor, Littler also owns and edits The Whiskey Wash, which he helped turn around after its acquisition in 2023. His writing and media commentary draw on hands‑on experience valuing objects, researching collections, and navigating the auction market.
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