Collectors’ enduring love affair with Suffolk artist Carl Giles was on display at an auction of his work today.

East Anglian Daily Times: Carl GilesCarl Giles

Cartoons, postcards, annuals, letters, and original artwork belonging to family and friends of the iconic cartoonist were among 68 lots which fetched a total of £11,400 after going under the hammer at Lockdales in Martlesham.

Auction manager James Sadler said: “It was a remarkable total figure for 68 lots of Giles items.

“The result was above all expectations and we are exceptionally pleased.

“There were telephone and internet bids from all over the world which show the desire for Giles’ memorabilia.

“We are now carving out a reputation for marketing work by the great man and there will be another Giles’ auction before long.”

The highest selling lot was a cartoon of soldiers on parade which had a guide price of £500 but went for £1,000.

Included in the auction were original cartoons from Giles’ days working for Reynold’s News in the 1930s and 40s, as well as letters and postcards to his wife Joan.

Giles died in 1995, aged 78.

He lived in Tuddenham, near Ipswich, and a statue in his honour stands in the town centre near his former office at Giles Circus at the junction of Princes Street and Queen Street.

Giles was famous for his work for the Daily and Sunday Express, and was voted Britain’s favourite cartoonist of the last century.