Let's not try to unravel all the family ties of the Bilbies, clockmakers and bellfounders of the Chew Valley. We'll simply concentrate on the job in hand and tell you that William Bilbie, the third son of Thomas, was making named clocks from 1759 to 1789. His repertoire ranged from simple 30-hour pieces up to beauties such as this, complete with eight-day movement, moon phase, Bristol High Water, seconds dial and date aperture. It goes into Clevedon Salerooms' quarterly sale on November 26 with an estimate of £3,000-£4,000, in from a Chew Valley house. It would be nice to think it might stay in that area and that the fact that its mahogany case stands 7ft 7ins tall will not deter too many bidders.

Chorley's sale at Prinknash Park on Thursday includes this enamel miniature of George IV as Prince Regent, resplendent in field marshal's uniform, by the Cornish-born Royal Academician Henry Bone. One of a good selection of miniatures on offer, it is expected to fetch £2,000-£3,000, while a portrait of the Duke of Wellington by another RA, William Salter, is estimated at £3,000-£4,000. Still with the Napoleonic Wars, a third RA, George Jones, was in the occupying army in Paris after Waterloo; his painting of that battle now hangs at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, while at this sale, three studies for that work are offered at £800-£1,200 each. Jones prided himself on looking like the Duke of Wellington, and let it be known that he was once mistaken for him. "That's funny," snorted the Iron Duke. "I've never been mistaken for Mr Jones."

Furniture from a Somerset country house makes its mark at the 1,000-lot Charterhouse sale at Sherborne on Friday, when this set of 10 chairs in the Chinese Chippendale style is expected to make between £1,500-£2,000. For auctioneer Richard Bromell, however, the most exciting part of his visit to the house was reuniting three George III mirrors. "For the past couple of decades, one of them has been in the principal bedroom and its matching pair in the drawing room," he says. "Together again, they could sell for up to £5,000."

As we report elsewhere, scale models are prominent at Dreweatts 1759's transport sale at Apsley Road, Clifton, Bristol, on Tuesday, but those looking for the real thing will like this real-life 1967 Jaguar E-type 4.2 2+2 coupé, as long as they've got maybe £5,000-£8,000 to spare, plus much more to restore it to its original glory. And glory is definitely the word. Some 40 years ago, these pages used to take supper breaks in a city centre pub also frequented by George Best, who would sweep up with his latest Miss World in an E-type of identical model and colour. The pair would then sit quietly in the corner drinking not very much, and we never could figure out where the roaring boy image came from. Presumably it all kicked off after we'd trooped back to work.

In mint condition and boxed, each of these three Bassett Lowke limited edition locos is estimated at £300-£500 at Tamlyn and Son's sale in Bridgwater on November 17, but it could be that the vendor will be in for a pleasant surprise. All in British Railways livery, they are, from top to bottom, the Flying Scotsman (originally LNER), Princess Helena Victoria (LMS Princess class Pacific) and Southport (LMS Patriot). They are part of a larger collection in similar pristine condition, beautifully made and finished to a very high standard.

Vintage recipe books can make big money in our food-obsessed age – maybe £2,000-£3,000 in the case of this 1710 first edition of Patrick Lamb's Royal Cookery, which is offered at Dominic Winter's sale in South Cerney on November 4. Let's turn to the book's lengthy subtitle for the full story: "The Complete Court-Cook. Containing the Choicest Receipts in all the particular Branches of Cookery, Now in Use in the Queen's Palaces of St James's, Kensington, Hampton-Court, and Windsor. With near Forty Figures (curiously engraven on Copper) of the Magnificent Entertainments at Coronations, Instalment, Balls, Weddings, &c at Court; Also Receipts for making the Soupes, Jellies, Bisques, Ragoo's, Pattys, Tanzies, Forc'd-Meats, Cakes, Puddings, &c... To which are added, Bills of Fare for every Season in the Year." Nice to note that the greengrocer's apostrophe – as seen in "Ragoo's" – has an honourable history of at least 300 years.

Among offerings at Wessex Auction Rooms' sale near Chippenham this morning is this 19th-century magic lantern, estimated at £80-£120. It's hardly rare, but it comes with the slide set for Uncle Tom's Cabin, which was published in 1852 and polarised attitudes toward African Americans in some parts of the United States. "The lantern has come in with other slides and kits I have seen before, but the Uncle Tom set is special," says auctioneer Jocelyn Creed. "We often think of these projectors being used to preach the temperance cause, but here we see it as a tool against slavery."