THOUSANDS of portraits of top 1980s glamour models by the acclaimed photographer Philip Raymond-Barker sold for £1,000 when they went under the hammer in the Cotswolds last week.

Unpublished photographs of Samantha Fox, Kathy Lloyd, and Sir Paul McCartney’s ex-wife Heather Mills, which were sold as a separate lot, achieved £380 against an auctioneer’s estimate of £100 to £150, while the bulk of the collection – transparencies of models various including Karen Mackay, Traci Hughes, Mandy Savory, Karen Brennan, Gaynor Goodman, Carol Ann Stephenson, Tracey Elvik, Debee Ashby, Adele Smith, Caroline Delahunty, Maria Whittaker, Tracey Mason, Jackie Bowden, Amanda Parsons, Julie Evans, Andrea Clark, Laura Berkeley, Heather Knowles – made £620 against an estimate of £300 to £500.

The images were sold without surrender of the copyright – which remains with the photographer’s estate – meaning the new owners will not be able to reproduce the images for commercial purposes.

The photographs – which range from sexy semi-nude and lingerie shots to playful portraits – were taken at Raymond-Barker’s London studio in the mid 1980s.

Auctioneers at Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester recognised the value to collectors, but valuation was tricky because collections of this kind have rarely – if ever – come to public auction.

And the collection was given a last-minute publicity boost when Samantha Fox went into the Celebrity Big Brother House just a week before the lots went under the hammer.

The lots were bought by separate, international buyers.

While the combined total would have made the collection the top lot price of the day, the division over two lots made space for images of far more modest figures to take the top spot.

Japanese colour woodblock prints including Veranda Scene with Figures in Four Parts after Otagawa Toyokuni III, Figure in Straw Hat in Snow after Shotei, Two Figures in Straw Hats after Komei, and Theatrical Figures after Chobunsai Eishi achieved £880 – way in excess of the auctioneer’s £100 to £150 estimate, sold to an antiques trader.

A 19th century oak cupboard took second place with £680, against an estimate of £300 to £300, and after the larger of the two lots from the Philip Raymond-Barker collection the Top 10 prices were dominated by furniture, with An early 19th century North Country Manchester style mahogany cased long case clock selling for £550 against a £400 to £600 estimate, a late 18th or early 19th century oak dresser making £500 against a £500 to £800 estimate, a late 18th or early 19th century French walnut armoire achieving £460 (estimate £300 to £500), and a pair of OKA red lacquered Chinese style cabinets, decorated with birds amongst blossoming branches, which sold for £400 against a £100 to £200 estimate.

The run of furniture hammer prices was interrupted only by a collection of thirteen Royal Worcester porcelain cabinet pieces, which sold for £500 against an estimate of £100 to £150, despite hairline cracks, chips, wear and signs of repair to many of the pieces.

The next auction at Moore Allen & Innocent is the Sporting Sale on Friday, September 2, while the next General and Antique Sale on Friday, September 23 will include the residual contents of the Bibury Court Hotel – which has been bought as a private residence – where a night’s stay cost in excess of £800.

Furniture from the 18 bedrooms and communal areas will be included in the auction, along with garden ornaments and furniture.

Auction catalogues are available online at mooreallen.co.uk