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A Lonsdale Championship trophy awarded to Scottish Boxing icon Benny Lynch in 1937 has sold for £15,312 (including fees) at Fellows Auctioneers in Birmingham. Benny Lynch was awarded the trophy after he defeated Filipino boxer Small Montana, at the Empire Pool, Wembley, on 19th January 1937. This fight established Benny Lynch as the “undisputed” Flyweight champion of the world. Lynch, rated as the no.5 flyweight boxer of all time by the founder of The Ring Magazine, was one of Scotland’s most acclaimed boxers of the 20th century with a phenomenal 88 wins from 119 fights. The trophy sold for a hammer price of £12,000, well above its £5,000 – £8,000 estimate.
Several minutes of tense bidding commenced as the auctioneer began the bidding at approximately 12:40pm on Monday 16th September. With many bids stacked together, it was eventually two telephone bidders who went head to head as the asking price went above £6,000. Eyes across the saleroom were fixed on the two telephone bidders as eventually one dropped out at £12,000 – making this the highlight lot of the auction.
Born and raised in Glasgow, Benny Lynch learnt his trade boxing in carnival booths during the great depression. He became a world champion in his twenties, with an incredibly boxing record. Lynch was awarded this trophy in 1937, a few years before he retired. The trophy was later presented to Alfred L Ellsworth, steward of the area council in the British Boxing Board of Control. It was presented by many of his friends on the occasion of his services to Hairmyres Hospital. Ellsworth attained his target of over £5,000 collected within 18 months for various charities, dated 16th January 1944.
Kevin Jackson, Auctioneer & Senior Specialist in Antique & Fine Art at Fellows, said: “I am proud we have sold such an important piece of boxing history. Benny Lynch was an icon in Glasgow, and he is arguably Scotland’s greatest ever boxer. To have one of his most famous trophies from one of his most significant fights go under the hammer and sell for such a good price is a privilege. It’s rare an item of this significance comes up for auction so It was no surprise the trophy sold way above estimate.”
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Tagged Antique, auction, bennylynch, Birmingham, champion, Fellows, flyweight, glasgow, jewelleryquarter, lonsdale, scotland, Trophy
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On Wednesday 14th August Press Officer Liam Bolland and Marketing Manager Jorden Guest took a trip to Glasgow to visit the People’s Palace museum. They visited Kevin Kerrigan, Curator of the Benny Lynch display at the museum, to show the Benny Lynch trophy that is coming up for auction in September.
Benny Lynch was born and raised in Glasgow. He learnt how to box in carnival booths in the west of Scotland during the great depression. He made his professional debut in 1931, and at only 23-years-old, Lynch won the fight against Small Montana on points, being awarded the Lord Lonsdale trophy (pictured below). The trophy was later presented to Alfred L Ellsworth, steward of the area council in the British Boxing Board of Control. It was presented by many of his friends on the occasion of his services to Hairmyres Hospital. Ellsworth attained his target of over £5,000 collected within 18 months for various charities, dated 16th January 1944.
Lonsdale trophy awarded to Benny Lynch in 1937.
The trophy will be going under the hammer during Fellows’ Antiques, Silver, & Collectables sale, on Monday 16th September. Created by Mappin & Webb, and hallmarked 1936, the 9ct gold trophy is an extraordinary piece of boxing history. With an estimate of £5,000 – £8,000, the trophy is one of the highlight antiques to go under the hammer at Fellows this year.
Kevin Kerrigan has been researching Benny Lynch to acquire items to be placed at the People’s Palace in Glasgow.
Kevin said: “Benny Lynch was our first official Scottish boxing world champion. He was from a very deprived area of the city (the Gorbals) and came from nothing to be champion of the world so it’s a rags to riches story, the underdog battles his way to the top. The display at the People’s Palace has taken around three years to bring together. The trophy up for auction at Fellows is the one that gave the title “undisputed” world champion to Benny Lynch. He was already the World Champion from his win in 1935 against Peter Kane, however Lynch lost his next fight to Jimmy Warnock in 1936 (a non-title fight) so it was hugely important that he won against Small Montana as the Americans had claimed Montana was the true world champion.
Press Officer Liam Bolland with Curator Kevin Kerrigan
“The display at the People’s Palace is very much a community display, which means the people of Glasgow have donated objects (treasured family heirlooms) to the exhibition as the museum does not actually hold that much relating to Benny. After he retired, his trophies, medals, and personal items were scattered to the four winds. Some of it was sold by him to survive, other pieces were lost and some of it was even stolen (his wife had a lock up that was broken into) so it took a big effort to bring some of this material back together.”
The People’s Palace are still working to collect and display items relating to Benny Lynch and their exhibition at the Peoples Palace in Glasgow will be on until 2020.
The Antiques, Silver & Collectables sale will take place on Monday 16th September, viewing dates can be seen below:
13 September 2019 10am – 4pm
14 September 2019 11am – 4pm
16 September 2019 8.30am – 10am
Fellows’ upcoming Watch Sale on Tuesday 2nd April features an extremely rare and innovative timepiece containing what is reputed to be the world’s oldest whisky. The Louis Moinet stainless steel watch is one of 40 ever made and is entered to auction with an estimate of £12,000 – £18,000 – a price which could see the watch sell for over £20,000 including buyer’s premium.
Swiss watchmaking brand Louis Moinet and Wealth Solutions collaborated to create watches containing single malt whisky reputed to be the oldest in the world. They made just forty pieces in steel and only ten in gold. The historic whisky, dating back to 1862 and the age of steam, was distilled in Glenlivet, amongst the beautiful Scottish hills. The whisky capsule is placed on the 3 o’clock mark, and it perfectly complements the beautifully designed watch offering a taste of 19th century Scottish life. Fellows has previously sold watches containing the world’s oldest rum for over £30,000 and are privileged to have a timepiece containing what is the world’s oldest whisky go under the hammer.
LOUIS MOINET – a limited edition gentleman’s stainless steel Metropolis ‘Glenlivet 1862 Whisky’ wrist watch
Michael Jagiela, Watch Specialist at Fellows Auctioneers, said: “This is one of several extremely rare watches we have up for auction on April 2nd. When Louis Moinet created The Whisky Watch, they combined their Swiss accuracy with the traditions of the Scottish art of distillation. There are many unique features which, when combined together, create a truly exquisite watch. I am sure the item will be very popular with watch and whisky enthusiasts alike. It is a brilliant opportunity for a collector to own some of this rare whisky.”
The watch is Lot 312 in the sale.
The Watch Sale is now available to view online and in person at the following times:
26 March 2019 12noon -7pm (London)
30 March 2019 11am – 4pm (Birmingham)
1 April 2019 10am – 4pm (Birmingham)
2 April 2019 8.30am – 11am (Birmingham)
Photo ID is required
Posted in All, Watches
Tagged ageofsteam, auction, Birmingham, distilation, glenlivet, louismoinet, malt, rare, scotland, whisky
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Fellows’ upcoming Antique & Modern Jewellery sale features a stunning brooch, made to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII. The early 20th century gold brooch features beautiful diamond and enamel, with a sublime admirable surround. The alluring piece features ruby and demantoid garnet, which is used in a lot of jewellery of that time.
The enamel is in great condition, and the three central stones depict England, Scotland and Ireland. The shamrock and thistle wreath surround the crown with English roses inter spaced.
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Lot 397 in Fellows’ upcoming Watch Sale which takes place on Tuesday 30th January has special significance. It has an inscription saying: “In memory of George Jay Gould from his wife, May 1923.” The item itself is beautiful, and it can be seen below:
It is a stunning open face pocket watch by Cartier. The item has a yellow metal case with engraving to the front and back. It comes with an unsigned keyless wind nineteen jewel movement, a silvered guilloche dial with Roman and Arabic numerals. The watch is estimated at £2,800 – £3,800, and the inscription mentioning George Jay Gould is particularly intriguing. Continue reading →
Posted in All, Watches
Tagged amazing, amazinghistory, american, auction, auctioneers, auctions, curse, doctor, egypt, envy, Fellows, fellowsauctioneers, fellowsauctions, finance, history, inscription, pocketwatch, scotland, tomb, tut, tutcurse, watch, watchauction, watchenvy, watchinscription, wow
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Flyweight Championship of the World trophy awarded to Benny Lynch sells for over £15,000 at Fellows