Explorers' items sold for £64,500

Stanley's items fetched more than £52,075 in total

Valuables which once belonged to two of Britain's most famous explorers have sold for £64,512 at auction.

Pieces owned by Lawrence of Arabia and Henry Morton Stanley went under the hammer at Christie's in London.

A gold watch and chain worn by Denbigh-born Stanley was the most valuable item, fetching more than three times its guide price at £25,700.

An essay written by Thomas Edward (TE) Lawrence, born in Tremadog, Gwynedd, sold for £4,375.

The collections were sold as part of Christie's "exploration and travel" auction.

The 15 items, eight of which belonged to Stanley and seven to Lawrence, were among hundreds offered.

HM Stanley famously found missing explorer David Livingstone in east Africa in 1871, greeting him with the words: "Dr Livingstone, I presume?"

He was said to have bought the 18-carat gold watch in 1887 for £49 and is believed to have used it to pay an African chief.

It had been expected to fetch up to £8,000.

A pedometer used by Stanley to count his footsteps in Africa sold for £3,740 while a silver medal awarded by the Belgian Geographical Society in 1878 fetched £6,250.

Lawrence wrote many letters and essays during his time in the desert

Lawrence is better known as Lawrence of Arabia, the romantic hero of the desert conflict in World War I.

Born in 1888, he left Wales at a young age, but it was reported he once said he was "born a Welshman and would die a Welshman".

He became an intelligence officer in Cairo, and helped Arab forces fight against the Turks, who were German allies.

His exploits, as described in his book, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, inspired the 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O'Toole.

He described how he posed as an Arab to lead a rebellion in the Hejaz, now part of Saudi Arabia, against the ruling Turks in 1916.

He wrote of his capture by Turkish forces, of their failure to recognise him, and his stunning escape.

He died in a road accident in 1935 in Dorset while riding his beloved Brough motorcycle.

Together, the seven items belonging to Lawrence fetched £12,437.

The sale included a pair of fountain pens which sold for £2,500.

An essay by Lawrence on the poet James Elroy Flecker was the most expensive item, raising £4,375.