SALVAGE Hunters' Drew Pritchard is selling hundreds of items from his private collection.

The antiques expert and modern-day treasure hunter, who closed his store in Conwy back in May 2022, is selling items amassed over the past 30 years which he has chosen for sale for a "specific reason".

Lots include a large painted wood and iron bound engineer’s chest for the famous Bluebird car series owned by Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948) and a silver cigarette case given as a gift in 1938 by Sir Campbell to Montague B Brinton, producer of Campbell’s famous Bluebird Mark II. 

The items are being sold through Dreweatts auction house. The sale is estimated to fetch more than £700,000 and comprises of about 500 lots, ranging in estimate from £200 up to £30,000.

North Wales Chronicle: The large painted wood and iron bound engineer’s chest for the famous Bluebird car series, owned by motoring ace Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948). Estimate £20,000-£30,000 (lot 111) The large painted wood and iron bound engineer’s chest for the famous Bluebird car series, owned by motoring ace Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948). Estimate £20,000-£30,000 (lot 111) (Image: Dreweatts)Drew said: "2023 marked my 30th year in the antiques trade and this collection is a vignette of that work. Anyone who deals in antiques knows it’s all consuming.

"This collection is part of that 30 years of obsessively collecting and dealing.

"I look forward to and am excited by the possibilities of the next 30 years"

The TV star, who has a cottage in Conwy, is well-known by residents living in the walled town.


Drew trained initially as a stained glass restorer, who already had a passion for antiques. Drew’s collection reflects his skills in valuing the pieces he finds, but also shows an understanding of the history and backstory of the works.

North Wales Chronicle: A silver cigarette case given as a gift in 1938 by Sir Malcolm Campbell to Mr Montague B. Brinton Producer of Campbell’s famous Bluebird Mark II. Estimate £5,000-£8,000 (lot 110)A silver cigarette case given as a gift in 1938 by Sir Malcolm Campbell to Mr Montague B. Brinton Producer of Campbell’s famous Bluebird Mark II. Estimate £5,000-£8,000 (lot 110) (Image: Dreweatts)He has rummaged through aeroplane hangers, to old schools to find hidden gems and his collection is testament to remarkable finds, as well as his knowledge.

Over his many years of hunting, his purchases have been to either sell on, or to furnish his own properties.

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Ben Brown, Head of Dreweatts Furniture, Rugs and Carpets department, said: “Dreweatts is delighted to be able to offer Drew’s unique collection with all of its highly interesting, original and eclectic qualities."

The auction will place on Tuesday, March 5 and Wednesday, March 6.

More about some of the items for sale:

Two pieces of unique transport history linked to the motoring pioneer Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948), who famously first broke the land speed record in 1924 reaching an average speed of 146.16mph. This broke the world land speed record with an actual increase of 0.27mph. and a percentage increase of 0.19 per cent.

He continued to set further world speed records throughout the 1920s and 1930s. This resulted in him being knighted at Buckingham Palace by George V in 1931, after another successful land record of 245.736 mph was broken at Daytona Beach, Florida.

The first object is the large painted wood and iron bound engineer’s chest for the famous Bluebird car series owned by Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948). 

The multi-layered blue paint on the chest reflects the changing of the colour of Campbell’s Bluebird vehicles over time. There is also evidence that the chest was used before Campbell was knighted, as the title ‘Sir’ appears to have been added, dating the chest back to Campbell’s earlier speed records.

The underside of the lid bears chalk inscribed numbers, a remnant of calculations for one of Campbell’s speed record attempts.

The chest belonged to Sir Malcolm Campbell’s long-serving mechanic, Leopoldo Alfonso Villa OBE (1899-1979), who played a key role in nine land and four water world speed record attempts. Following Sir Malcolm Campbell’s passing Villa found himself continuing to be chief mechanic to the many record attempts of Sir Malcolm’s son Donald Campbell (1921 - 1967). 

Drew purchased the chest for his own collection in 2015. It has an estimate of £20,000-£30,000 (lot 111).

A silver cigarette case given as a gift in 1938 by Sir Malcolm Campbell to Montague B Brinton Producer of Campbell’s famous Bluebird Mark II. Estimate £5,000 to £8,000 (lot 110)

A silver cigarette case given as a gift in 1938, by Sir Campbell to Mr Montague B Brinton, who represented Vosper’s of Portsmouth, the construction company behind the Campbell’s famous Bluebird Mark II is also included in the sale. Brinton attended all of Campbell’s preliminary water speed tests at Coniston Water in the Lake District. In 1937 Campbell smashed the world's water-speed record at 129.5 miles per hour (208.4 kilometres per hour). As the inscription to the current cigarette case refers to directly, in 1938 on Lake Hallwil in Switzerland, Campbell raised the record to 130.93 miles per hour (210.7 kilometres per hour). The inscription reads: ‘Monty Brinton from Malcolm Campbell Lake Halwill 17 September 1938, Speed 130.90mph.’ Produced by revered silversmith Frederick field,  Birmingham in 1936, it carries an estimate of £5,000-£8,000 (lot 110).