Dodo bone and letter fetch £23,000 at auction

A bone from one of the extinct birds and a letter have sold for £23,000

A dodo bone discovered in the 1860s and a letter have fetched £23,000 at an auction in West Sussex.

Much of late East Sussex naturalist Ralfe Whistler's dodo memorabilia collection went under the hammer on Tuesday, reaching a total of £45,530.

A second closed bid auction of the Hastings-based collector's items will continue on Wednesday at Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst.

Mr Whistler lived at his home, known as Dodo House, near Hastings, until his death aged 93 in 2023.

The lot reaching the highest sale price in the auction was the first dodo bone found by adventurer George Clarke, and a letter from his daughter Edith detailing its discovery.

Other lots from Mr Whistler's dodo assortment included books on the extinct species and sculptures.

Items from other sources were also sold in Tuesday's auction.

A section of the Berlin Wall went for £13,000, while two sculptures by wildlife artist Hamish Mackie were sold for £24,000 and £25,000 each

Dodo memorabilia in Wednesday's auction include 50 paintings, prints and drawings, 20 sculptures, teapots, mugs, vases, plates, tea towels, soft toys and a clock.