Bagpuss creator's artwork sells for £400k at auction

Artwork by the creator of Bagpuss has sold at auction for more than £400,000, attracting bidders from around the world.The sale included more than 500 paintings, books and collectibles that were found at Peter Firmin's Kent home when it went up for sale.The artist and puppet maker co-created characters including Bagpuss, The Clangers, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine and Basil Brush, with fellow creator Oliver Postgate.All 534 lots sold during a two-day auction, Canterbury Auction Galleries said.Among the highest-priced lots were paintings featuring The Clangers and Noggin the Nog, while a signed Basil Brush artwork, showing the cheerful fox chatting to a mole, sold for £6,000.An animated Gabriel the Toad character and an illustration of Nogbad firing a cannon at the Ice Dragon both fetched £4,200.