End of an era as Shrewsbury antiques business Mansers holds moving out auction - pictures

It marked the end of an era – and it was an elegant girl who stole the show. The 1915 marble statue by Florentine sculptor Raffaello Romanelli claimed the headlines on the first day of a 1,000-lot auction of Mansers' contents.

It sold for £8,000 at the auction, which was being held at Mansers' award winning town-centre premises by fine-art auctioneers Halls.

The statue was one of nearly 1,000 lots put up for sale as the antiques centre was turned into an auction house for two days, ahead of Mansers' move to become an internet-based business.

The building, on Abbey Foregate, has been sold to a veterinary practice, ending a physical presence in the town for a company set up by the Manser family in 1944.

Mark Manser, who runs the business with his wife Sonya, said he was thrilled at the turnout for what was to be the first and last auction held at the building.

He said: "It has been a really good turnout, we are really pleased."

Mr Manser said that the "eclectic collection" featured everything needed to furnish a house.

Some of the more unusual items up for sale included a giant turret clock and two stunning half-boat models.

Jeremy Lamond fine art director from Halls,which was conducting the auction, said the showroom had provided a spectacular setting for the sale. He said: "We thought it showed itself off very well in this beautiful building. It is great and the Mansers have dressed it very well. We thought it would be a winning formula and it is proving to be.

"It just seemed appropriate to keep it like it is. It is also a tribute to the Mansers to have it in this building which represents Mark and his father and all the years they built the business since it started in 1944."

Mr Lamond said he had been pleased with the prices at the auction.

He said: "Obviously we thought the statue would go well and the turret clock, we think there is interest in that.

"All the things so far that we thought would do well have done well."

Two cased half boat models were among the lots that sold well. A model of the British freighter SS Melmore Head, which was torpedoed during the Second World War Battle of the Atlantic on December 28, 1942, made a splash at £4,500 and a model of cargo steamer SS Vendee made £3,000.

The Vendee, owned by H. E. Moss & Co of Liverpool, was built in Middlesbrough in 1911 by Sir Raylton Dixon and Co. Ltd and was sunk off the French coast on July 9,1917 by a German submarine.

Other notable prices included £1,250 for an 18th century walnut chest and £1,100 for a green leather button-backed Pegassus sofa and £1,000 for a deep red, knole-style sofa, and £950 for a Chesterfield style sofa by Duresta.

Mansers was established by Frederick Charles Manser, who came to Shropshire when posted to RAF Shawbury. His son, Gordon, continued the business and his son, Mark, is the third generation of the family to run the business.

It moved from Castle Gates to Wyle Cop in 1982 and commissioned its current home, an award-winning new build at Coleham Head, in 2001.

Mansers has supplied prominent customers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Macy's in New York.