Welcome to the May 2016 TimeLine Auctions London sale

We are proud to announce the acquisition of the firm Gregory, Bottley and Lloyd (Gregory's). James R. Gregory founded the company in Firth Street, London in 1858, quickly moving to King William's Street in 1959, and again to extensive premises in Golden Square in 1862. Gregory won awards for excellence at major exhibitions in Paris in 1867, Sydney in 1879, and London in 1862, 1883 and 1884. The acquisition of this historic company will further underpin our strategy to provide a solid traditional service while offering innovative auctions at a competitive price. A full history of Gregory's is to be found at the end of this text.

Our February sale broke all previous TimeLine records, while adding another World Record to our name. Lot 1220, the Joan of Arc Devotional Ring with Casket and Documents, achieved the highest price for any medieval ring ever sold, the final result being £297,600.00.

An additional 86+ videos have been added to lots in this sale, identified by a symbol on each small view. We are the market leader in this ground-breaking field, and we will continue to increase the range of lots with videos in forthcoming sales.

Prospective vendors should be aware that we are presently accepting material for our September sale, which will be closing on 28 June 2016.

Best regards,

Brett Hammond
TimeLine Auctions CEO

Acquisition of the firm Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd
(Gregory's) Est. 1858

London-born James Reynolds Gregory (1832-1899) founded the company today known as Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd, which is the second longest-running gem and fossil dealership in the world.

James was educated at Archbishop Tennison's School, and afterward found employment in a jewellery company on Regent Street. In 1858 he established his own business in King William Street. A few years later he moved to ‘very extensive premises’ in Golden Square, Covent Garden. He was one of the best known dealers in London, exhibiting at major commercial shows throughout the world and winning awards for excellence in Paris in 1867, Sydney in 1879 and London in 1862, 1883 and 1884. James primarily bought his stock at auction, from collectors and other dealers, and supplied many major collectors and scientists of his day. He built superb personal collections, a selection going to the British Museum. He wrote many papers and was a member of several learned societies including the Society of Arts.

The business became known as J.R. Gregory & Company in 1896, still under James' management with the assistance of his son Albert Gregory (b.1864). When James died three years later, the business passed to Albert. At the end of the 19th century most London dealers had folded or retired, many selling out to J.R. Gregory & Co. Albert continued by acquiring Russell and Shaw (Est. 1848) in 1925 and Francis H. Butler (Est. 1884) in 1927.

Percy Bottley (1904-1980) took over the company in 1931, renaming it Gregory, Bottley & Company with respect to his predecessors. Percy’s company survived the 2nd World War by buying out all of its competitors, including the supplier to Pitt-Rivers, Samuel Henson (Est. 1840) and G.H. Richards (Est. 1897) in 1936. Percy also added many important collections to his stock including those of Rev. F. Holmes in 1940, and the Graves collection in 1943.

Following Percy's death in 1981, the business was sold to Brian Lloyd, whereupon it became Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd. Brian had been Sotheby’s main expert in the 1960s and 1970s, and subsequently traded from Pall Mall. The business continued to thrive, and Brian purchased the Joseph Neeld (1789-1856) collection in 1974 and the historic gold collection of H.S. Gordon, first exhibited at the Empire Exhibition, South Africa in 1936. Brian moved the business to 12-13 Rickett Street in 1982, and to 13 Seagrave Road in 1993. He carried on the company's specialization in historic collections, most recently acquiring that of Robert Ferguson (1767-1840) in 2000. The business moved to Walmer in Kent in 2008, and was acquired by TimeLine Auctions in April 2016.

Trading History

  Est.   1858    59 Frith Street, Soho
1859 - 1861    3 King William Street, Strand
1862 - 1866    25 Golden Square, Covent Garden
1866 - 1874    15 Russell Street, Covent Garden
1874 - 1895    88 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square
1896 - 1906    1 Kelso Place, Kensington
1907 - 1926    139 Fulham Road, Chelsea
1926 - 1981    30 (Old) Church Street, Chelsea
1982 - 1993    12-13 Rickett Street, Fulham
1993 - 2007    13 Seagrave Road, Fulham
2008 - 2015    59 Liverpool Road, Walmer, Kent
2016 -             363 Main Road, Harwich, Essex