Not every Lyon & Turnbull sale in the early 20th century featured pearls, paintings or rare books. During the 1930s, the firm’s catalogues reflected the realities of the times: household goods, carpets, and bankrupt stock often filled the salerooms.
Yet even these “everyday auctions” tell us something important about Edinburgh life and Lyon & Turnbull’s role at the heart of it.
Twenty Sales a Week
By the interwar years, Lyon & Turnbull had become one of Scotland’s busiest auction houses. Adverts in The Scotsman regularly listed as many as twenty auctions in a single week.
The items were grouped into three broad categories:
- Useful: sturdy, practical items for everyday life.
- Excellent: mid-range goods with quality appeal.
- Superior: finer furniture and household pieces, often from New Town homes.
This simple hierarchy gave buyers an easy way to gauge what to expect and reflected the social distinctions of the time.
Illustrated: 18th February 1930, Books sale, featuring the selling of Robert Burns' Kilmarnock Edition which reached £510
