This ventriloquist’s dapper dummy, below, was one of the surprise star turns at Halls’ (23% buyer’s premium) Shrewsbury auction.
The 3ft (95cm) tall wood and papier-mâché figure was made in Austria, c.1935, and its owner, a keen amateur ventriloquist, brought it to Britain when fleeing Nazi persecution in 1939. He served with the Intelligence Corps until 1956 and gave performances at regimental functions with ‘Maxie’ and magic tricks, recording them in his diaries.
Maxie had the problems of age: a broken nose and various cracks and his evening dress and spats had some moth damage.