Gentleman’s sale at Bonhams

A two-day auction at Bonhams in London on Tuesday and Wednesday is titled the "Gentleman's Library Sale" and "features all kinds of objects that may have been found in a Victorian or Edwardian Gentleman's Library from fossils to cigarette boxes, leather armchairs to globes, chess sets to family portraits".

Among the highlights of the auction are a miniature gold bust of Sir Winston Churchill once owned by the British actor and Hollywood star, Stewart Granger (£2,000-£3,000 or €2,600-€3,900); and, a selection of vintage Dunhill cigarette lighters including an 'Aquarium' model (£1,500-£2,000 or €2,000-€2,600).

A section of the first transatlantic submarine telegraph cable, estimated at £500-£700 (€652-€914), is from the cable linking Ireland to Newfoundland that enabled messages between North America and Europe to be sent and received in a matter of hours, rather than days. First transatlantic message After the successful development of the electrical telegraph in the late 1830s, a cable linking Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland to Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island became operational on August 16th, 1858 and the first message, which took 17 hours to transmit , read: "Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace and good will toward men". See bonhams.com