A Victorian coffee table stormed past its £1,000 estimate when it sold for a total of £17,360 in the Charterhouse June auction. “The owner of the table, who lives in a Farmhouse south of Bristol, is about to move home and called us for help and advice on items which were going to be surplus to her and her family needs. ” Commented Richard Bromell. “The table is rather unassuming but it had a sparkle of design. The owner had no idea of its importance or value. Our research quickly led us to an attribution to Edward William Godwin, a late Victorian designer. By today’s standards it is not too avant-garde, but back in 1873 there had been nothing quite like it ever produced before. “It was designed at a time when coffee was generally only afforded by the wealthy rather than the rash of coffee shops we see in the high streets today.The V & A Museum hold the original drawings by Edward Godwin for the table from 1873. Made in the Anglo-Japanese taste for Grey Towers, a country house which was demolished to make way for housing in 1931, these particular tables rarely come onto the open market.Going under the Charterhouse hammer it was not in tip top condition having suffered a very bad break to one of the legs. With a small part of the leg missing Charterhouse kept the estimate at £1,000 as lot of collectors and dealers it is condition, condition, condition which can drive the price of a lot up.On the auction day, telephone bids were booked from London to Paris. With bidders also in the saleroom and participating live online bidding rose quickly, there was even a dealer who bid whilst enjoying the music at Glastonbury! The winning bidder, who paid £17,340 for which some viewed as coffee table with a broken leg, was a specialist dealer.Charterhouse is now accepting further entries for their summer programme of specialist auctions including silver, jewellery & watches with a selection of wine, port & spirits on 24th & 25th August, closely followed by classic & vintage motorcycles on 1st September and then classic & vintage cars on 13th September.For further information regarding these auctions, or to arrange a home visit, please contact Richard Bromell or Justine Jackson at Charterhouse, The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne 01935 812277 or email items for valuation at info@charterhouse-auction.com