Auctions

CAN ANY original book illustration be bought cheaply these days? Christie's South Kensington expects pounds 10,000- pounds 15,000 on Wednesday (2pm) for an Edmund Dulac watercolour. Even pulp-fiction jacket illustrations are fetching pounds 500- pounds 2,000 each. But the sale's pulp section has 30 of the 20th-century 'English school' jackets, est pounds 300- pounds 500 the lot.

In the marine pictures market, highly finished modern paintings, especially of racing yachts, look likely to set the pace this year. Those who can no longer afford a seascape by Montague Dawson (d1973) at pounds 50,000- pounds 80,000 are looking for paintings in the same British tradition by younger artists such as Steven Dews (b1949) at pounds 15,000- pounds 30,000.

Bonhams Knightsbridge, Thursday (11am), has a stylistically identical seascape by Stephen Renard (b1947), of the yachts Britannia and Westward racing at Cowes in 1930. In 1991-92 Renards were fetching pounds 1,000- pounds 5,000. Bonhams est for this is pounds 5,000- pounds 7,000.

Bonhams Chelsea: English and Continental watercolours, drawings, Thursday (2pm).