The Auction
Auction Date | 10th & 11th January 2025
Auction Time | 10am - 4pm (both days)
Auction Location | Hansons Derbyshire Saleroom
Catalogue online | 2nd December 2024 | 10am
Auction FAQ’s
Pre-order the hard copy catalogue now
700+ lots from the life of a comedy genuis
The Eric Morecambe Collection
Eric Morecambe: John Eric Bartholomew OBE (1926-1984), known by stage name Eric Morecambe, took his name from his home town, the seaside resort of Morecambe in Lancashire. He was the co-star of BBC television series The Morecambe and Wise Show, which for the 1977 Christmas episode gained UK viewing figures of over 28 million people. One of the most prominent comedians in British popular culture, in 2002 he was named among the top 40 Greatest Britons in a BBC poll - placed above David Beckham and Henry VIII.
Some 40 years after the nation lost him, everything from the iconic genius’s glasses to the piano he practised on to deliver a famous Morecambe and Wise Christmas special TV sketch with conductor André Previn - the one where Eric ‘plays all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order’ - will be featured in this auction.
His antiques, collectibles and art, including a painting of the star by royal portrait artist Richard Stone, will show the ‘other side’ of the man who made millions laugh.
Away from the TV studios, he liked fishing, birdwatching and collecting everything from clocks and fob watches to beer mats.
The sale of 700 lots, the entire contents Brachefield, Eric’s former home in Harpenden, Herts, also demonstrates his dedication to his comedy craft. Secrets of his success are revealed by a mountain of never-before-seen items including heaps of gag and sketch ideas.
Featured Auction Lots
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Lot 645
Eric Morecambe's spectacles (glasses) together with two b&w press photographs of Eric with the spectacles, 1970s, and his Barling briar pipe
Est. £2000 - £4000 -
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Lot 470
The Morecambe Challen baby grand piano and matching stool.
British Patent number 419777/419778
Est. £1000 - £2000 -
![Morecambe & Wise: a Christmas Show leg prop]()
Lot 493
Morecambe & Wise: Leg prop
From the 1976 Christmas Show.
With photographs
Est. £200 - £300 -
![Richard Stone portrait of Eric Morecambe]()
Lot 476
Richard Stone portrait of Eric Morecambe OBE smoking a cigar. Painted in 1978 for the Anglia Television documentary Morecambe & Stone
Est. £5000 - £8000 -
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Lot 457
Eric Morecambe's Writing Desk: a 19th Century inlaid mahogany slope front desk with inlaid paterae, fitted interior with pigeon holes.
Est. £1000 - £1500 -
![Eric morecambe Grand Order of Water Rats Award]()
Lot 449
The Grand Order of Water Rats Award: Show business personality of 1970 awarded to Eric Morecambe
Est. £600 - £800 -
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Lot 566
Autograph Letter Signed from Ernie Wise to Eric Morecambe, composed during the early years of the partnership, explaining how and why he wants to break up the duo.
Est. £300 - £500 -
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Lot 420
A vintage Luton Town, Admiral, tracksuit c. 1974-77. 'ERIC' stitched to the reverse.
Given to Eric by Luton Town Football Club.
Est. £300 - £500 -
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Lot 226
Eric Morecambe Teddy Bear: a Dean's Rag Book Company limited edition bear 13/50 with certificate in original box.
Est. £30 - £50 -
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Lot 299
A large framed colour photograph of Joan and Eric Morecambe, c.1982. Together with Joan's book Morecambe and Wife and a signed birthday card from Eric.
Est. £30 - £50 -
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Lot 561
Autograph Letter Signed to Eric Morecambe from HM King Charles III (as Prince of Wales) on Buckingham Palace letterhead, 1979, plus a reply from Eric to Charles & telegram to Eric Morecambe
Est. £500 - £1000
Fascinating Finds
Fascinating finds include loving letters from Eric’s parents and a poignant message from Ernie Wise revealing how close the pair came to splitting up. Ernie explained that, with a very heavy heart, he wanted to break up the duo before they continued and became massive. He signed it ‘your best pal’. Thankfully that never happened. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Eric’s death from a heart attack in 1984.
Everyone loved Morecambe and Wise. Consequently, there are telegrams from Prince Philip and letters from King Charles, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and comedy legends Ronnie Barker and Tommy Cooper.
Nostalgia abounds thanks to playbills and posters, right from the beginning, as well as photographs and scrapbooks of cuttings, documenting his very first performances and reviews when he was only a child.
There are thousands of photographs of Eric with celebrities of the day, some signed and inscribed, including actor Cary Grant. We’ve found costumes from memorable sketches and numerous props including Eric’s famous ventriloquist dummy, Charlie. Eric and Ernie took Charlie to America to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. The dummy was even in an episode of TV crime series The Sweeney. Every find, every little piece of paper is important. It’s truly remarkable.
It’s thanks to Eric and Joan’s three children, Gail, Gary and Steven, that Eric Morecambe fans have this opportunity. The auction will celebrate their parents’ lives and a comedy career like no other. They hope, like Morecambe and Wise’s trademark song, Bring Me Sunshine, this sale will light up lives for legions of fans. The auction is also timely as the comedy duo's centenary anniversaries are fast approaching. Yorkshireman Ernie Wise was born in 1925 and Lancashire’s Eric Morecambe in 1926
Meet the Auction Team
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Charles Hanson
Owner | Hansons Auctioneers
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Victoria Sheppard
Fine Art Valuer | Hansons Auctioneers
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Jim Spencer
Director | Rare Book Auctions
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![Jill Gallone - Hansons Auctioneers - Press]()
Jill Gallone
Press & PR | Hansons Auctioneers
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Kendal Cooper
Head of Marketing | Hansons Auctioneers
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Viewing is available by appointment ONLY. If there is an item you would like to view, please contact hansons@ericmorecambe.com
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The Auction will be held at our Hansons Derbyshire Saleroom and is by catalogue entry only.
Hansons Auctioneers are pleased to provide a series of bidding options outlined below. -
Hansons Auctioneers is pleased to offer a live online bidding service on our bidding platform Hansons Live. To access this service, please visit www.hansonslive.co.uk and ‘Create Account’ to register to bid. You can browse our catalogues and bid in advance or during a live auction by using the Hansons Live bidding platform. There is an internet surcharge of 2% to bid on www.hansonslive.co.uk.
Create an account here -
Customers are welcome to bid in the room. Attendance to the Auction at Hansons Derbyshire Saleroom will be by entry by catalogue only.
Catalogues are available to purchase here for £20.00 plus P&P. -
As well as online bidding, you are welcome to leave a commission bid with us and the auctioneer will bid on your behalf against other bidders.
Buyers can also bid by telephone. On the day of the auction, a member of our team will contact you shortly before the lot appears for sale, they will then act on your behalf in the saleroom, bidding on your instruction.
We advise that telephone bids should be placed as far in advance as possible, as this is a first-come, first-served service.Commission and telephone bids can be arranged by contacting the auction centre where the sale is being held. Contact us
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We highly recommend that potential bidders gather as much information as possible regarding a lot before placing a bid. We offer an image and condition report service by telephone and email.
Please note condition reports are provided as a complimentary service and only reflect the opinion of Hansons Auctioneers and are NOT a statement of fact. Additionally, a condition report only details flaws or restorations and does not take into account any issue(s) consistent and commensurate with age.
Furthermore, images provided as part of the condition report and item description form part of this opinion and they should be studied with care. When you have decided which lot(s) you would like to receive condition reports on, please contact us. -
Purchases are subject to a buyer’s premium of 26.50% plus VAT (subject to a minimum lot charge of £6 + VAT).
When you successfully bid on any lot, the price you pay will be the hammer price (your final bid) plus the buyer’s premium/VAT.