Sold on thesaleroom.com: Sooty, Sweep and Soo change hands for £5000
20 November 2019 A vintage set of Sooty, Sweep and Soo hand puppets, given as a gift by magician and presenter Harry Corbett to a Yorkshire family, sold on thesaleroom.com for a hammer price of £5000 yesterday.
A vintage set of Sooty, Sweep and Soo hand puppets, estimated at £5000-7000, sold on the saleroom.com for a hammer price of £5000 on November 19.
The lot was offered for sale by Hansons Auctioneers with the firm's Charles Hanson taking to the rostrum to sell it. The owner of the puppets was in the room to watch the sale as an online bidder battled it out with a contender in the room.
The bidding began at £2000 and Hanson chimed in with “Izzy, Whizzy let’s get Bizzy” which was a familiar refrain from the Sooty TV show.
After two minutes the online bidder was victorious.
Corbett had entertained a local family with the puppets and eventually gave them as a gift after learning that the family's mother was ill.
Sooty has appeared on television every year since 1955 in various series. The current show ‘Sooty’ is on the CITV channel featuring Richard Cadell who bought the licensing rights to Sooty in 2008.
Last year Hansons sold another Sooty puppet at auction. That one had appeared on TV in 1950s and was bought for £14,500 including fees.
