Abacus Auctions

One of Australia’s most famous photographers and an internationally respected master of his craft, Wolfgang Georg Sievers (1913-2007) compositions were often magic personified and changed the face of industrial and architectural photography in this country forever.

So important is he to Australia’s photographic history that 65,000 of his images reside in the National Library of Australia in the national capital, Canberra – the largest single collection on record.

It’s an horrendous instrument – a Papua New Guinea head hunter’s “man catcher”, comprising a sharpened wooden shaft with bamboo noose.

Innocuous looking but deadly, it was used to capture and enslave enemy tribe members by encircling the head, the razor-like point protruding into the back of the neck inflicting fatal injury if they continued to struggle.

One of Australia’s all-time favourite cricketers Doug Walters will come under the spotlight on Friday March 3 in Melbourne when his 1968 baggy green Test cap (lot 3537) is auctioned by Abacus Auctions at 29 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley.

The four-day auction of stamps, postal history, postcards, coins, banknotes, sporting memorabilia and collectables is the company’s first for 2023, beginning at 11am Tuesday February 28 and continuing at the same time each day.

Buried in the catalogue for Melbourne-based Abacus Auctions forthcoming three-day sale of stamps, postal history, postcards, coins and banknotes, militaria and sporting memorabilia is a photo of a V-2 rocket (lot 3050) – used by the Nazis during World War II to attack Allied cities in retaliation for the damage they were suffering at the hands of Allied bombing.

Sri Lanka might have recently flogged the Australian Test team in their home country Second Test – but that should not deter cricket lovers from checking out former Australian wicketkeeper Barry Jarman’s impressive collection of three baggy green caps and the same number of blazers at Abacus Auctions forthcoming sporting memorabilia sale from 11am Friday August 5 at 29 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley.

A South Australian, Jarman (1936-2020) debuted in December 1959 for Australia against India when first choice wicketkeeper Wally Grout (1927-1968) became injured.

Possibly the largest private collection of illustrated letter sheets and newspapers from the 1840s to the 1860s – the property of prominent Oregon collector and dealer Dale Forster – will be auctioned in Melbourne from 11am on Wednesday April 27 as part of a four-day massive sale.

Abacus Auctions is holding the auction of Australian and worldwide stamps, postal history, postcards, coins, banknotes, sporting memorabilia and collectables at 29 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley.

A four-day auction covering stamps, postal history and notes, and sporting memorabilia by Melbourne-based Abacus Auctions will begin at 11am on December 1 and end on December 4 at 29 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley.

Australian stamps, of which the ‘Artemis’ Kangaroo and Map Rarities contained in a special deluxe hard bound catalogue is the highlight, leads auction items that number almost 2470 lots.

This catalogue contains an impressive array of spectacular Kangaroo stamps ever offered at one auction – many never before available for purchase in Australia.

As a leg spin bowler and lower order batsman, the late Terry Jenner played nine Tests for Australia and one One Day International match between 1970 and 1975.

Despite reasonable performances with both bat and ball (his best figures were 5/90 and 74 runs in different Tests), he was never a regular member of the Australian team.

However, in latter years Jenner was a leg-spin coach to many international players and a great influence on Australian leg-spin legend and record holder Shane Warne.

As the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic continues to throw employment prospects and business practices in Australia into chaos, the country’s traditional Australian Football League season has become a sputtering stop-start competition with all 18 teams now forced to play in what has been termed coronavirus “hubs” (where the virus is virtually non-existent) to complete the home-and-away draw in time for finals.

Nothing like the onset of Australia’s spring racing season to remember a true champion of the Australian turf – none other than the iconic Phar Lap who not only won the 1930 Melbourne Cup but every other major race of his day.

Tragically, Phar Lap died shortly after winning the 1932 Agua Caliente Handicap – one of America’s greatest races – in record time.