A COLLECTION of rare antique toys worth up to £90,000 will go under the hammer next month.

The house contents of Portobello Road Antique Market stallholder Joan Dunk is being auctioned off by Special Auction Services on June 9 and 10.

Mrs Dunk's London home was packed from floor to ceiling with old teddy bears which she began collecting in 1965.

This included a Steiff cinnamon centre-seam teddy from 1908 that is now estimated to be worth up to £4,000.

Her extensive toy collection includes a Bing clockwork teddy bear with tinplate ball that carries an estimate of £700 to £1,000, and an 1860s Grodnerthal wooden doll expected to fetch up to £1,000.

The living room shelves were filled with clockwork toys, shallow wall mounted display cabinets showed off with lead toy figures including Felix the Cat amongst other comic characters.

Some of the of the highlights going under the hammer include a 1930s Tipp & Co ‘Silver Queen’ clockwork tinplate charabanc worth £200 to 300, a rare 1930s Chad Valley Ooloo the cat and girlfriend of Bonzo the dog worth up between £300 and £500, as well as a 1930s Kuramochi celluloid clockwork Circus Elephant estimated at £150 to £200.

Expert Daniel Agnew said: “The excitement about this auction is reaching a crescendo. It is rare to see a collection of such desirable and eclectic items that are fresh to the market and accumulated by such an expert eye.

"Collectors have been stuck at home for the last few months and they are desperate to buy themselves new treasures, so I anticipate frenzied bidding over the two days.”

In addition to teddy bears and toys, the first day of the auction will include dolls, dolls' houses, cake decorations and more.

The second day will offer kitchenalia, including smoothing implements, grinders, moulds, spectacles, paper clips, die shakers, kaleidoscopes, imp-like characters known as Brownies, curios and pottery.

Estimates for this eclectic range will vary from £30 to £300.

Examples include a rare 1880s George Tinworth for Doulton Lambeth Play Goers mice at a Punch and Judy booth (£800-1200), an early C G Bush & Co kaleidoscope (c.1870) estimated at £300-400, a 19th century straw work table top bureau with an estimate of £300-500; a cast-iron shop counter-top coffee grinder, circa 1898 expected to fetch £200-£300, and a set of six teddy bear chocolate moulds which carry an estimate of £100-150.

Anyone interested in buying these rare toys can bid online via https://auctions.specialauctionservices.com or at www.the-saleroom.com

SAS is offering appointments for viewing in accordance with social distancing rules which can be booked by calling 01635 580595 or emailing mail@specialauctionservices.com.

Viewing will take place at Special Auction Services, Plenty Close, Off Hambridge Road, Newbury, RG14 5RL (If using a sat-nav, enter postcode RG14 5TR and then locate Plenty Close).