Mouseman: Robert Thompson pieces including rare £2,000 cat carving, ash trays and stool up for auction in Yorkshire

The auction on June 23 also features the works of the Staithes Group of artists.

Expected to be popular are a number of Yorkshire oak furniture lots and carvings by Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson, made in his workshop in Kilburn in the early 20th century.

The lots include a rectangular stool predicted to fetch up to £1,500, a rare carving of a cat that could go for £2,000, a bowl bearing the distinctive mouse trademark and a set of decorative ash trays.

English oak has experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years, and many items of furniture have come up for auction as couples who married in the 1950s and 60s, when the pieces were first purchased for their homes, have passed away.

Mouseman was the leading member of the 'critters' group of wood carvers, many of whom trained in the Thompson workshop, which remains in the same family today, and developed animal motifs of their own.