Antique Collecting magazine August issue

C H R I S T I N A T R E VA N I O N D I S C O V E R S A G E M S A L E R E S U LT S A R T S & C R A F T S F O C U S

ANTIQUE

COLLECTING Inside: INSIDER GUIDE

DRAWING A LINE UNDER ARCHITECT’S TABLES TOP OF THE CLASS POST-WAR SCHOOL PRINTS. YOUR BEST NEXT INVESTMENT

AUGUST 2021

PUTTING on the GLITZ COSTUME JEWELLERY IS BACK IN FASHION

ANTIQUE COLLECTING

GOING GREEN FOCUS ON AUGUST’S GEMSTONE: PERIDOT

VOL 56 N0. 3 AUGUST 2021

Drew Pritchard

Discover the antique furniture really making him sit up

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The Magic of

MAJOLICA Whimsical, quirky, or downright bonkers, it’s the ceramics style everyone is talking about

ALSO INSIDE Latest auction listings

95

Years of the Reverso watch

The art deco classic on every serious collector’s ‘must-have’ list

• Lots under the hammer • Book offers

FIRST WORD

Welcome

Strolling down my post-pandemic high street for the first time in months I spy some seismic changes. Amid the shuttered shops have sprung up a new breed of retailers, unseen for many years.

The once lesser-spotted antiques shop is back. The town centre has gone from none to five in as many months.

So what’s changed? We all know Covid sparked a global yearning for nostalgia – witnessed by the boom in baking, knitting and, most shockingly, macrame.

More than this, stuck at home and videoconferencing, it seems young people with eco-conscious values have become the new market for antiques, as they seek to liven up their homes. Gen Z it appears wants furniture that comes with patina and an intriguing history, rather than an Allen key and set of instructions. That, or the new shops are simply full of all the tat we got rid of in lockdown. Either way it’s a great new lease of life for the business we love, and we welcome it.

I’m not sure how you measure nostalgia, but we have a sizeable dollop of it in this month’s magazine. On page 24, some 150 years since the first patent, we look at the appeal of the antique typewriter, of which Tom Hanks is a dedicated collector; on page 14, majolica – the Marmite of ceramics – is put in the spotlight and, on page 20, Drew Pritchard reveals why furniture by Howard & Sons will always make him sit up.

Lennox Cato considers the appeal of the antique clock on page 58 and, on page 19, Christina Trevanion describes the discovery, and sale, of an internationally-important 17th-century portrait. Enjoy the issue.

Georgina

IN THIS ISSUE

CLARE DURHAM

puts majolica ceramics in the spotlight, page 14

CHRISTINA TREVANION

unveils a stunning Cromwellian portrait, page 19

DREW PRITCHARD

Georgina Wroe, Editor

PS We recently said goodbye to Sue Slee who stood down as the magazine’s subscriptions manager to start a well-earned retirement. After 25 years with the Antique Collector’s Club and then ACC Art Books I know a number of you had contact with her and will join me in wishing her well.

flies the flag for Howard & Sons furniture, page 20

We love

KEEP IN TOUCH

Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, or email magazine@accartbooks. com. Visit the website at www.antique-collecting.co.uk and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @AntiqueMag

Antique Collecting subscription

This central Asian suzani, c. 1900, which has an estimate of £400£600 at Tennants’ textiles sale on August 21.

LENNOX CATO

on why he will always have time for clocks, page 58

The Team

Editor: Georgina Wroe, georgina. wroe@accartbooks.com Online Editor: Richard Ginger, richard.ginger@accartbooks.com Design: Philp Design, james@philpdesign.co.uk Advertising: Charlotte Kettell 01394 389969, charlotte.kettell @accartbooks.com Subscriptions: Jo Lord 01394 389950, jo.lord@accartbooks.com

£38 for 10 issues annually, no refund is available.

ISSN: 0003-584X

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 3

Entertainment & Memorabilia: 12 August Stamps, Postcards & Photography: 25 August Fine Wines & Spirits. Timed Auction: 29 August Vintage Posters. Timed Auction: 29 August Trading Cards - Pokemon & more: 1 September Cars, Motorbikes & Automobilia: 5 September

THIS MONTH

Contents VOL 56 NO 3 AUGUST 2021

6

REGULARS 3 Editor’s Hello: Georgina Wroe introduces this month’s issue, which has a distinctly nostalgic feel 6 Antique News: With more of the country opening up, there is a wealth of events for antique and fine art lovers to make the most of 10 Around the Houses: This month’s round up includes a record-winning medal and an impressive diamond necklace

C H R I S T I N A T R E VA N I O N D I S C O V E R S A G E M S A L E R E S U LT S A R T S & C R A F T S F O C U S

ANTIQUE

COLLECTING Inside:

COSTUME JEWELLERY IS BACK IN FASHION

TOP OF THE CLASS POST-WAR SCHOOL PRINTS. YOUR BEST NEXT INVESTMENT ANTIQUE COLLECTING

GOING GREEN FOCUS ON AUGUST’S GEMSTONE: PERIDOT

VOL 56 N0. 3 AUGUST 2021

Drew Pritchard

Discover the antique furniture really making him sit up

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The Magic of

95

MAJOLICA

The art deco classic on every serious collector’s ‘must-have’ list

Strawberry Hill House, the backdrop to this autumn’s Flower Festival. Photo Julian Coe, see page 6

FOLLOW US

49

@AntiqueMag

14 Flights of Fancy: Love it or hate it, majolica is back on collectors’ wish lists on the eve of a major new exhibition coming to the UK

36 Book Offers: Looking for the perfect summer read? Dive into the latest titles from our sister publisher ACC Art Books and save a third on the RRP 38 Puzzle Pages: Pit your antiques knowledge against that of our resident quiz master Peter Wade-Wright 41 In the Loupe: Our nine-page special devoted to watches and jewellery

32

49 Gemstone of the month: In praise of peridot – August’s birthstone 54 Saleroom Spotlight: Two collections of arts and crafts gems go under the hammer in Wiltshire

14

66 Marc My Words: Antiques Roadshow’s Marc Allum praises the latest class of fine art graduates, succeeding in difficult times

19 Lots of Love: Christina Trevanion uncovers a major 16th-century portrait from Cromwellian England

• Lots under the hammer • Book offers

COVER

64 Fairs Calendar: They are back and better than ever! Check out the events in your area

FEATURES

30 Waxing Lyrical: Furniture expert David Harvey wonders if 18th-century architect’s tables were commissioned by more wealthy owners

Years of the Reverso watch

Whimsical, quirky, or downright bonkers, it’s the ceramics style everyone is talking about

ALSO INSIDE Latest auction listings

58

60 Auction Calendar: Keep abreast of all the best sales with our up-to -date listings

13 Your Letters: Read the latest offerings from this month’s bulging Antique Collecting postbag

29 Subscription Offer: Save more than a third on the cover price and receive a free book worth £65

AUGUST 2021

PUTTING on the GLITZ

INSIDER GUIDE DRAWING A LINE UNDER ARCHITECT’S TABLES

58 Without Reserve: Lennox Cato remembers a time when every home had one, or several, antique clocks

56 Top of the Lots: A preview of upcoming lots in August, including a trio of Mouseman tables

20 Howard’s Way: Furniture from the maker Howard & Sons has never been more popular, with fans including the Salvage Hunter and dealer, Drew Pritchard 24 The Right Type: Beloved by many collectors, including Tom Hanks, antique typewriters are hitting all the right notes 32 Class Act: The School Prints series by leading post-war British and international artists has never been more popular 42 Putting on the Glitz: Ever wondered what the experts see in costume jewellery? Our specialists reveal just what to look for 46 Ahead of the Field: On the 90th-anniversary of Jaeger Le-Coultre’s ground-breaking Reverso watch, we consider how it’s stood the test of time 50 Lost in Translation: Emile de Bruijn on the influence of East Asian art on 18th-century British country house interiors

TO SUBSCRIBE PLEASE CALL OUR SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE ON 01394 389957 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 5

NEWS All the latest WHAT’S GOING ON IN AUGUST

ANTIQUE

news

Get into summer this month with a host of must-see exhibitions and events Right Strawberry

Hill House will be transformed, photo by Julian Coe

Left The important manuscript has been bought by the National Library of Scotland Below right José

Scots guard A 16th-century manuscript providing an insight into life in the Highlands in the later Middle Ages has been bought by the National Library of Scotland at auction for £25,000.

The Chronicle of Fortingall is an important source for the social, political, cultural, economic and religious history of northern Scotland.

Working scribes belonging to the MacGregor family created the manuscript between 1554 and 1579 at Fortingall in Perthshire, having previously compiled the Book of the Dean of Lismore – the earliest surviving collection of Gaelic poetry.

Pot on The potter Norah Braden (1901-2001), considered by the renowned ceramicist Bernard Leach (1887-1979) to be his most gifted pupil, is celebrated at a new exhibition in the Cotswolds this summer.

Pioneers: 101 years of the Leach Pottery, on until September 25 at Chipping Campden’s Court Barn, showcases the UK’s leading 20th-century potters, including Braden who was so critical of her work she destroyed many of her pots.

Leach and his Japanese colleague Shoji Hamada (18941978) established a pottery near St Ives in 1920 taking on pupils and apprentices including Michael Cardew, Katherine Pleydell Bouverie, Kenneth Quick and William and Scott Marshall, all of whose work is included in the exhibition.

For more information visit www.courtbarn.org.uk Above Norah Braden (1901-2001), c. 1930, stoneware, Kilmington Pottery

6 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Campeche y Jordán (1751-1809) Portrait of a Lady, c. 1800 1805, © The Henry Barber Trust

Below far right Self

portrait by José Campeche y Jordán (1751-1809)

FLOWER TOWER Plans for Horace Walpole’s gothic revival villa Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham to be the backdrop for a flower festival this autumn have been unveiled.

As part of the third Flower Festival, 30 florists and designers will each style one room of the west London ‘castle’ Walpole started in 1749 to which he added towers and battlements to better display his Grand Tour collection.

Walpole, the son Britain’s first prime minister Sir Robert Walpole, was a pivotal figure in 18th-century society, literature, art and architecture.

Strawberry Hill House patron, Alan Titchmarsh , said: “Part interior design exhibition, part art installation, the festival will be a unique opportunity to learn how to transform your home and garden.” The festival runs from October 8-10, for more information visit www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk

American beauty A painting once believed to be by the Spanish master Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) of his mother has gone on show in Birmingham under the name of its actual creator.

The portrait of stern-looking woman has been reattributed to the Puerto Rican artist José Campeche y Jordán (1751-1809). It is thought to be his only work outside the Americas.

Portrait of a Lady (c.1800-1805) has been in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts’ collection since 1940, when it was acquired with two letters allegedly from Goya both later revealed as fake. Campeche (right) was the son of a freed black slave from Puerto Rico. Another of his works can be seen in the Brooklyn Museum, New York.

Far left Lucian Freud

(1921-2011) Girl with Roses, 1947. British Council, London, UK, © The Lucian Freud Archive, Bridgeman Images

Left Adrian Ryan (19201988), Self Portrait, 1944, private collection Below left John Minton

(1917-1957) Two Fishermen, 1949, oil on canvas, © The Royal College of Art, Bridgeman Images

Above right Paula

Rego (b. 1935) The Artist in Her Studio, 1993. Leeds Museums and Galleries UK / Bridgeman Images, © Paula Rego

3

to see in

2Iberian girl

The largest retrospective of the work of the Portuguese-born artist Paula Rego (b. 1935) continues at Tate Britain until October 25.

Featuring more then 100 works, including collage, paintings, large-scale pastels and etchings, the exhibition showcases the career of an artist who, in the 1950s, played a key role in redefining figurative art in the UK and internationally.

Her work explores magical realism, using contemporary mythologies to highlight underlying psychology and sexuality from an exclusively feminine viewpoint.

AUGUST Above far right Paula Rego (b. 1935) The Cadet and His Sister, 1988. Private collection, © Paula Rego

1

Right Paula Rego (b.

Triple threat

The first exhibition to explore the close friendship of the figurative painters Lucian Freud (1922-2011), John Minton (1917-1957) and Adrian Ryan (19201998) continues at a Bath gallery this month.

An Unholy Trinity, at the Victoria Art Gallery until September 19, charts the relationship of the artists whose initial closeness gave way to bitterness and betrayal following Minton’s suicide.

3

1935) The Little Murderess, 1987. Private Collection, England, © Paula Rego

Below left Lawrence AlmaTadema (1836–1912) Pauline in Pompeii, Cadbury Research Library

Old times

Drawn to Antiquity, an exhibition highlighting the considerable body of work by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912) continues at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham until September 26.

Following his move to London from Belgium at the outbreak of the FrancoPrussian War in 1870, Dutch-born Alma-Tadema became one of the most renowned and successful artists of late 19th-century Britain.

His paintings concentrated

on classical subjects and settings, with depictions of languorous ancient Greek and Roman figures – both male and female, and generally young and beautiful – in lavish marble interiors.

Above Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912), Study of a sandal, Mainz Museum, Cadbury Research Library

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 7

NEWS All the latest Ken spruce

Where’s Wally?

Two valuable pieces of Ealing Council’s Martinware collection stolen in 2005 and 2007 have been returned to the council’s library, following a complex recovery operation.

A distinctive “Wally Bird” and a rare jug worth a combined five-figure sum, are back on display after a member of the public spotted the former on sale on eBay for £30,000.

Southall Library has an impressive collection of Martinware pottery, dating from 1877 and 1923. The Martin brothers’ studio was located in the London borough.

Above One of the rare Martinware artefacts returned to the local community

Marking his 60th birthday, a trio of limited-edition Ken dolls and a sporty buggy sold for £6,800, with the proceeds going to charity.

Since 1961 when he first became Barbie’s boyfriend – two years after the launch of his famous squeeze – Ken’s bold fashion choices have made him a collectors' favourite.

The first Ken made for collectors was as Rhett Butler in 1994, with ‘60s ‘Dress Box’ Ken today among the most valuable and hard to find. Current Kens still uses the 1968 body mould so collectors can date him by the stamp on the back of his head.

English rose Keen gardener, the Duchess of Cornwall opened an exhibition at the Garden Museum in Lambeth celebrating British flowers.

The museum, in the deconsecrated church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, is the burial place of John Tradescant (c. 1570-1638), the first great gardener and plant hunter. In order to preserve his tomb, Rosemary Nicholson founded the museum in 1977. It also holds a permanent art collection of 18th-century botanical illustrations.

Above The Duchess of Cornwall at the Garden Museum

30 seconds with...

Alex Alfieri founder of Manchester-based antique jewellery business, Butter Lane, who recently launched the podcast Dealing What areas are currently selling well?

Colourful gem-set and diamond rings are our strong performers. In terms of antique pieces, high-quality, early Georgian jewellery is becoming increasingly harder to find. It has seemingly left the trade, so when I discover a good example I make the purchase immediately.

Are you a collector?

I love Russian antique jewellery. The

8 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Did you know?

Above The Ken dolls were each wearing different costumes

The doll ‘Business Appointment’ Ken, produced from 1966-1967, carrying a copy of the Mattel Daily News, is another of today’s most sought-after Kens.

Roman knows Actor Tony Robinson has taken to YouTube to highlight the Roman inventions that underpin modern-day trades, after it was revealed one in five Brits think underfloor heating is a modern invention.

In the mini-documentary Robinson takes plumber Danny on a journey through time, visiting Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex to show him how the skills he uses in his daily life were also used by Roman builders thousands of years ago.

The short film shows how, from underfloor heating to roof tiles and plastering, Romans were responsible for a host of innovations.

Above Actor Tony Robinson holds an ancient Roman piece of pipe at Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex, credit Checkatrade

quality of Romanov-era pieces is magical. I am drawn to the level of detail and colour, as well as the sentimental value of, say, the magnificent eggs by Fabergé.

How is the industry changing?

an antique. This is where telling the story of antiques comes into play.

For details of the business, or to listen to the podcast, go to www.butterlaneantiques.com

With the rise of technology the world is at our fingertips. Many dealers such as myself have made the shift towards online in a very traditional industry. For instance, the majority of our sales are now online where the buyer hasn’t seen the item, this would have been unheard of a decade ago. It’s also opened up brand new territories. The US is now our main market.

How can the business attract younger buyers?

We are seeing numbers are growing due to the use of Instagram. Buyers who have the budget for, say, an engagement ring, but may not have typically thought to purchase

Above Instagram has changed the way antique jewellery is sold

PRINCE’S MUST

ON TRACK

A 3,000-image photo archive from the National Railway Museum has gone to the Wensleydale railway in North Yorkshire to be used as a research resource for historians and railway enthusiasts.

Wensleydale Railway chairman, Guy Loveridge, said: “Many of these images, some dating back into the early 1900s, have never been shown publicly.

“There is a wealth of material, and we already have plans for an exhibition in 2022 called Royalty on the Rails which will utilise a selection of the newly-arrived collection.”

Above The Newcastle Express hauled by the 4-6-2 Dominion of Canada

Displays to commemorate the life and work of the Duke of Edinburgh take place this summer at Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

Using 150 objects, from state gifts to his coronation robes, Philip: A Celebration will include the prince’s early life and naval career, his role as consort and his support for the sovereign at home and abroad.

It will also explore the prince’s links to Windsor Castle where his mother Princess Alice of Battenberg – the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria – was born in 1885.

The exhibition continues at Windsor Castle until September 20 and in Scotland until October 31.

POP GOES THE EASEL An outstanding collection of Pop Art and British figurative painting from the collection of architects MJ Long and Sir Colin St John Wilson have been acquired by the nation for a Chichester gallery.

Below Hancocks London is renting out wedding

tiaras

Above First Nations feather headdress presented to the prince during a Commonwealth visit to Canada in 1973

The collection will be the Pallant House Gallery’s most important acquisition of the past 15 years, including works by some of the most important figures in Modern British art, including Patrick Caulfield, Prunella Clough and David Hockney.

Made up of 175 modern and contemporary British paintings, prints and sculptures, the Wilson Collection was formed by renowned American architect MJ Long, Lady Wilson, OBE (1939-2018) and her husband the British architect Professor Sir Colin St John Wilson RA (1922-2007) remembered as the architect of the British Library.

Left Patrick Caulfield, Coloured Still Life,1967, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, © The Estate of Patrick Caulfield

Hair purchase With UK weddings given the green light, a London jeweller has launched a ‘tiaras for hire’ service.

Mayfair-based Hancocks London is renting out prestigious headgear at one percent of its retail value for up to 24 hours.

Director Guy Burton, said: “The popularity of period dramas such as Downton Abbey and Bridgerton has seen a boom in demand for traditional heirloom style Victorian and Edwardian pieces .”

The fact many designs can convert into necklaces or smaller hair ornaments adds to the appeal, he added.

He went on: “The tiara itself then becomes such an exciting piece of jewellery for a bride’s special day and one that they know will become a talking point.”

Capital vetters Two London fairs return to the capital next month, with the long-awaited autumn Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair returning to Battersea and the 70th- edition of the Chelsea Antiques Fair back at the borough’s town hall.

From September 28 to October 3 antique lovers, interior designers and fashionistas will head to a marquee in the grounds of Battersea Park for a bumper edition of the fair, boasting 150 exhibitors, which has long been put on hold due to Covid.

A week prior, and under new owners, Chelsea Old Town Hall on the Kings Road, will be the venue for the Chelsea Antiques Fair, now run by the antique selling platform 2Covet.

Above right The prestigious Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair returns next month

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 9

AUCTION Round up

AROUND the HOUSES Recent sales include a new world auction record for a British military Victoria Cross, selling for £420,000

CHORLEY’S GLOUCESTERSHIRE An early 20th-century photo album of everyday life in the Chinese city of Wuhan sold for more than five times its presale estimate of £200-£300 to fetch £1,700 at the Prinknash Abbey Park auctioneers.

The historical document captured the people, buildings and landscape of Hankow, one of the three towns that The portrait of Henry VIII sold merged in the 1920s to form for 10 times its high the modern-day city. estmate in Auctioneer Thomas Jenner-Fust Gloucestershire said: “We see colonial buildings, views of the Chinese city, racegoers crowding the racecourse and the flooded streets, perhaps from the floods of 1931.”

At the same sale a portrait of Tudor monarch Henry VIII sold for £8,500, far exceeding its estimate of £500-£800.

The oil on oak panel portrait is attributed to a follower of Hans Holbein the Younger, the German painter and printmaker who is considered to be one of the finest portrait artists of the northern Renaissance.

The images showed life in early 20th-century Hankow, including a day at the races

The traditional architecture of Hankow became part of modern-day Wuhan

10

ANTIQUE COLLECTING

DIX NOONAN WEBB, LONDON

The VC medal was awarded for the capture and defence of Thobal, in India

The Mayfair auctioneers set a new world auction record for the sale of a British military Victoria Cross when it fetched £420,000 at a recent sale.

The 1891 ‘Capture and Defence of Thobal’ group of five medals, which had a pre-sale estimate of £300,000£400,000, was awarded to 30-year-old Scotsman Lieutenant, Charles James William Grant, dubbed the ‘Hero of Manipur’.

Medals expert, Mark Quayle, said: “Grant’s storming of the defences at Thobal was remarkable in itself, but the subsequent defence of that place for eight days with just 80 men, made up of 40 Ghurkas and 40 Punjabi troops, against an estimated 2,000 of the enemy is a feat that probably ranks alongside Rorke’s Drift in the history of famous defences against overwhelming odds.”

Grant joined the Madras Staff Corps in 1884 and had a long military career before retiring to Devon where he died aged 71.

BELLMANS, SUSSEX Women artists performed well at the Wisborough Green auctioneer’s recent sale, with Mary Fedden’s (19152012) Picnic on the Beach Cecil Beaton selling for close to double (1904-1980) its high estimate to created the striking hammer at £4,800, designs between while a 1995 work 1927 and 1967 Ermione fetched £3,500 against an estimate of £1,500 to £2,500.

Elsewhere, a 1944 painting of a pub called The Jolly Farmer, Farnham by Barbara Jones (1912-1978) smashed its £200 low estimate to sell for £5,500.

Five designs for red dresses by British fashion designer, portraitist and painter, Cecil Beaton (19041980) sold for £4,000 against a £1,000 estimate. His designs for Violet Mary in the 1948 play Sedden’s painting The Return of the Picnic on the Prodigal, made Beach sold for £1,100, against an £4,800 estimate of £300.

DAWSONS, BERKSHIRE

Did you know?

The star lot in the Berkshire auctioneer’s recent sale was a sought-after oil on canvas by the late Welsh landscape painter, Sir Kyffin Sir Kyffin Williams Williams (1918-2006).

Entitled Welsh Mountainous Landscape, won a Winston Churchill Fellowship the painting eventually sold for a hammer to study and paint price of £16,000. in Y Wladfa, the Elsewhere in the sale, another oil on Patagonian Welsh canvas, Rider And Peasant, by the Polishsettlement in 1968.

Britsh artist Joseph Herman (1911-2000) attracted worldwide attention before hammering at £5,500. Herman was among The a generation of eastern European Jewish oil on canvas artists who emigrated to escape persecution captured Williams’ and worked abroad. For 11 years he lived beloved Welsh in Ystradgynlais, a mining community in countryside South Wales.

MALLAMS, OXFORDSHIRE Dating from the early 1970s, a ‘single red’ Submariner bracelet watch by Rolex was the top-selling lot in the auctioneer’s recent sale. The iconic diver’s timepiece was secured by a UK online bidder when it hammered at £12,500.

The Setting it apart from Rolex Sublater models with a mariner ‘single black and white dial, the red’ was the watch featured the word auction’s top-selling lot ‘Submariner’ in red on the dial – hence the name ‘single red’. The reference 1680, is also highly sought after by collectors. First produced in 1967, it was the first Submariner to have a ‘cyclops’ date window aperture at the 3 o’clock position, providing better magnification.

Silver also The goblet proved popular at dated to 1655 between Charles I the sale, with a and II when no rare 17th-century monarch was on Commonwealth the throne silver wine goblet hammering at £9,500.

KINGHAMS, MORETON-IN-MARSH WILKINSONS, SOUTH YORKSHIRE A rare 17th-century miniature, joined-oak coffer hammered at £5,200 at the Doncaster auctioneer’s recent period oak sale.

Featuring a plank lid on iron strap hinges, the coffer was consigned by a continental collector, although was reminiscent of previous Welsh pieces sold at Wilkinsons.

With a panel front and sides, the piece was decorated with ring-turned roundels. It went to an American buyer.

An American buyer snapped up the coffer for £5,200

A rare 112 year-old vase set a world record when it sold for £92,000, more than four times its low, estimate at the Gloucestershire auctioneer’s recent sale.

The 53cm vase is only one of two known examples made by the Lancashire firm of Pilkington Royal Lancastrian.

Created in 1908 by the firm’s revered ceramicist Gordon Forsyth, the relief moulded vase shows St George on horseback lancing a dragon with a The maiden at its exceptionally rare vase was deemed side. the ‘holy grail’ of Finished in Pilkington bronzed and Lancastrian red iridescent glazes, the piece is inscribed ‘St George for England’ and bears the maker’s and Gordon Forsyth marks.

From the collection of Anthony J. Cross, an authority on Victorian art pottery, the vase now holds the world record for a piece of Royal Lancastrian sold at auction.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 11

AUCTION Round up CATHERINE SOUTHON, SURREY

BISHOP & MILLER, SUFFOLK A 71-piece, single-owner collection of paintings by the Londonborn artist Sigmund Pollitzer (1913-1982) Many of went under the paintings the hammer at the featured Roman Stowmarket auctioneer’s recent sale. statues and Works included oils, watercolours, busts pen and wash, with subjects ranging from classical architecture and Roman statuary, to still-lifes, nudes and landscapes.

The leading lots included a 1972 oil on canvas of a Roman, estimated at £150 to £250, which sold for £420, and a 1970 oil of a Roman bust, estimated at £200 to £300, whch hammered at £360.

London born, Pollitzer went to Germany aged 17 to study art and architecture and was much influenced by contemporary art, especially the Bauhaus. After returning to the UK he worked as an architectural draughtsman before becoming chief designer at Pilkington Glass where he was responsible for engraved and etched architectural glass for numerous public buildings and ocean liners, including the Queen Mary.

RICHARD WINTERTON, STAFFORDSHIRE Soldiers’ letters sent during the American Civil War sold for £550 at the Lichfield auctioneers.

One letter, dated October 17, 1862, was headed with an eagle taking off holding the ‘Stars and Stripes’ while shredding a Confederate ‘Stars and Bars’ version of the flag.

The letter’s author wrote: ‘The captain is at home he has lost his right arm and (the) lieutenant Letters sent is at Washington sick and they by soldiers during think he won’t never be back the American to take command so we are left without a Civil War were commissioned officer.’ historically interThe auction house’s stamps specialist, Phil Ives, esting said: “The covers used by the Confederate soldiers were not produced by the US postal authorities. They were relatively crude and, of course, only used for a short period.”

Elsewhere from the same single-owner collection, an assortment of stamps from Great Britain, including five Penny Blacks of which three had four good margins, fetched £1,050; while a collection of Commonwealth stamps across four volumes made £1,400.

12

ANTIQUE COLLECTING

A diamond necklace of 46 brilliant-cut diamond collets weighing an estimated 25 carats, sold for Footballer £22,000 at the Paul Gascoigne wore the unwashed auction house’s recent sale against a low kit during Euro ‘96 estimate of £15,000. Consigned by a local family, the necklace was bought by a member of the UK trade.

Another of the sale’s high-scorers was a pair of unwashed shorts and socks worn by the footballer Paul Gascoigne during the England team’s 4-1 victory over the Netherlands at Euro ’96. The kit, with Adidas Predator boots, with ‘Gazza’ embroidered on the tongues, The diamond sold for £4,000 necklace was (against an consigned by a estimate of local family £800) to a Far Eastern buyer.

ELSTOB & ELSTOB, NORTH YORKSHIRE A collection of wartime love letters and photographs revealing the highs and lows of life in a WWI German POW sold for £550 at the Ripon auctioneers.

The letters were sent by Second Lieutenant Clarence Banyon Pickyard to his Hartlepool sweetheart Gwen Johnson during his incarceration in Schweidnitz camp in Eastern Germany from June to October 1918.

The photographs in the collection captured the colourful antics of the soldiers’ amateur dramatic group and highlighted the efforts they put into staging productions.

The The lot also came with a WWI British letters and war medal and the Victory medal photographs gave engraved 2 Lieut. C.B Pickard, both with an insight into life in ribbons and contained in original box. a WWI German POW camp

LETTERS Have your say

Your Letters

This month’s postbag reveals the search for a chess clock with a tragic history and memories of a celebration tin I am the author of 20 books mainly about Hartlepool and currently trying to locate one of 100 chess clocks commissioned

by Kent County Chess Association in 1920. It was presented to Hartlepool-born Agnes Lawson-Stevenson who was the British Ladies Chess Champion four times between 1920 and 1930.

On the way to the 1935 championship in Poland, she was tragically killed by the propeller of the aircraft she was travelling in.

My intention would be to present the clock to Hartlepool Chess Club or the Museum of Hartlepool. Maybe one of your readers may be able to help me find it?

John Riddle, by email

Our star letter

receives a copy of Bulgari Treasures of Rome by Vincent Meylan worth £55.

Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD or email magazine@ accartbooks.com

Left Can anyone help find the clock?

Above right The 1935

George V Silver Jubilee box that featured in last month’s magazine

Right Godfrey’s tin celebrated George V’s and Queen Mary’s Silver Wedding in 1935 Below left The football

medal bears the crest of Ipswich Town Football Club

Below What do to

initials on the reverse stand for?

Like many of your correspondents I am after some help from readers. I recently came across this football medal, dated 1928-1929, in my home town in Suffolk. The crest is definitely that of Ipswich Town Football Club (a lion rampant and three demi ships, which is the same crest as the town itself). But I have had less luck finding out what the ‘W. & D. L.’ stands for on the back (although I’m pretty sure ‘D.L.’ stands for district league). Can anyone help?

Wayne Bennett, by email

Be part of the conversation on Twitter and Instagram @antiquemag

Star letter

While looking through the news pages of the latest edition of Antique Collecting, one illustration seemed very familiar. It reminded me of the box I received while a pupil at Osidge primary school in Southgate.

Each of us was given a tin and a medal on George V’s and Queen Mary’s Silver Wedding in 1935. It may be of interest to readers to see a photograph of the one I received all those years ago.

The one I received was different in that it had a dual portrait of the king and queen, rather than the two separate portraits on the one in the magazine. It originally contained sweets. I keep cigarette cards in mine.

Godfey Bowden, by email

I knew it was too good to last. After more than a year when no dubious ‘antiques’ (which my wife insists on calling ‘treasures’) have been introduced to the house, antiques fairs and auctions are back. Within a month there is barely room left for me and the dog.

H. Baker, by email

Answers to the quiz on page 38

Q1 (c) Canada. Q2 (b) A canoe. Q3 (d) Imitation marble. Q4 (d) Book binding. Q5 (a) Crossbow. Q6 (b) Coloured enamel. Q7 (b) Board games. Q8 (a) – (i), (b) – (iii), (c) – (ii) Q9 (c) Drums Q10. (b) Charger.

Allow pert twin = Willow pattern (b) Actor’s treat = Terracottas (d) Gran clique = Lacquering (a) Intern’s pee = Serpentine (c)

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 13

COLLECTING GUIDES Majolica

FLIGHTS of FANCY An exhibition of oncemaligned majolica is making its way to the UK next year, showcasing a style so whimsical and over the top it is proving a hit with today’s collectors

F

or years majolica has been viewed as the ultimate in Victorian poor taste. So much so that the museums and galleries of the mid-20th century de-accessioned it citing reasons of sheer ‘bad’ design. How times have changed. With minimalism fast giving way to maximalism, combined with a postpandemic thirst for the quirky and fun – majolica is back on the agenda. One of the biggest exhibitions of the style opens in Baltimore next month with a 350-piece extravaganza making its way this side of the pond next year. Extraordinary in its scope, the style reflected the diverse interests of the day: zoology, botany, ornithology, the Far East and even gastronomy.

14 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Far left Paul Comoléra

for Minton & Co. Peacock, shape no.

2045, designed c.

1875. Earthenware with majolica glazes. The English Collection. All photographs, unless stated otherwise, by Bruce White

Left Worcester Royal Porcelain Co. Nautilus shell with lizard, c.

1870. Earthenware with majolica glazes.

Royal Worcester mark.

Collection of Marilyn and Edward Flower Below right Minton &

Co. Game Pie dish, shape no. 1990, 1876.

Earthenware with majolica glazes. Joan Stacke Graham

COLOURFUL START The 19th century was the golden age of majolica. Since its debut at the Great Exhibition in London’s Crystal Palace in 1851, its flamboyant extravagance and bold colours struck a chord with its clutter-loving Victorian audience. The design’s initial success was down to one man – Léon Arnoux who Herbert Minton, founder of the renowned manufacturer Minton & Co., had hired two years earlier, charging him to come up with some show-stopping designs for the exhibition.

Arnoux, a French modeller, designer, decorator, and ceramic chemist had worked at Sèvres, and drew on his knowledge of Renaissance ceramics to develop what came to be known as majolica, a new style of earthenware distinguished by the rich, saturated colour of the lead-based glazes he created to decorate the boldly-modelled pottery. The innovations developed

by Arnoux for Minton & Co. and later adopted by other manufacturers, enabled them to efficiently mass produce the decorative moulded earthenware at lower costs than porcelain, which was much more labourintensive.

At the Dublin exhibition of 1853 it was noted Minton “has perfectly succeeded in imitating the various enamel colours used by the old Italian potters”, and majolica soon became the most characteristic earthenware of the 19th century. The earlier examples were clearly influenced by 16th-century maiolica wares, but the range was soon expanded to include “Palissy” and other continental styles.

Maiolica v majolica

To understand the origins of majolica, we must start in the 1400s when Italians first used the name maiolica to describe late-medieval and renaissance ceramics.

The term derived from the early places of production in Malaga and the export route to Italy via the island of Mallorca.

When Italian potters began producing their own tin-glazed earthenwares they also called these ceramics maiolica.

Its tin-glazed, lustred ceramics were highly prized across Europe, primarily for their clean, white ground, which provided a ‘canvas’ for the brightly-coloured painted and gilded decoration.

In Victorian England it became known as majolica, and its subject matter and features evolved to better complement British interiors.

Bottom right Minton & Co. Game Pie dish, shape no. 1990, 1876.

Earthenware with majolica glazes. Joan Stacke Graham

TALENTED IMMIGRANTS Minton recruited French and other European artists, including Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, Pierre-Émile Jeannest, Hugues Protât, Émile-Aubert Lessore, and Paul Comoléra to create designs for majolica.

The talent and skill of these artists contributed greatly to the firm’s success, as did its relationship with the British royal family. Minton majolica was used in the Royal Dairy at Windsor and throughout the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A).

Several key Minton pieces include a 7ft jardinière in the shape of a life-sized peacock, designed by Paul Comoléra and made in 1875 which was exhibited at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

‘With minimalism fast giving way to maximalism, combined with a post-pandemic thirst for the quirky and fun – majolica is back on the agenda’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 15

COLLECTING GUIDES Majolica Eastern influence

Inevitably, with the Victorian tendency towards eclecticism, majolica's range of brightly-coloured glazes was used to decorate some of the increasingly popular Oriental-inspired wares.

Exhibitions of Oriental works are recorded during the 1850s, and an Anglo American trading treaty with Japan in 1858 helped make contemporary Japanese wares available to collectors and designers.

Among enthusiastic collectors of Oriental ceramics was Richard William Binns who, in 1862, was in charge of artistic production at the newly-formed Royal Worcester factory.

The collection he built up numbered some 10,000 pieces and provided much that could be studied by modellers and designers at the factory.

By far the most talented of these was James Handley who, during the 1870s and 1880s, absorbed many Oriental shapes and motif into his works.

While Minton & Co. remained a significant force in the industry, other leading English makers who started selling majolica in the 1860s included: Josiah Wedgwood & Sons; George Jones; Worcester Royal Porcelain Co.; T. C. Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co.; William Brownfield; and W. T. Copeland & Sons.

VOYAGES OF EXPLORATION 19th-century scientists such as Thomas Henry Huxley and Charles Darwin sparked a great interest in botany and the animal world among designers, including Christopher Dresser who designed an Aquarium flower pot for Wedgwood in 1872.

The obsession coincided with an increasing affordability of materials such as glass and steel, allowing a boom in conservatories which provided a new site for home decoration.

Majolica makers responded with a diverse array of jardinières, planters, vases, garden seats, and fountains.

Worcester style

By the early 1870s Worcester was producing many wares in “Japanesque” style. The Vienna Exhibition in 1873 gave the opportunity to show its skills both in design and execution.

Worcester's display was greatly admired exciting much comment from reviewers and the public, with prizes being awarded jointly to Royal Worcester and also Minton.

Most pieces were not direct copies but showcased Japanese motifs, including cranes and chrysanthemums, depcted with a characteristic asymmetry.

Majolica designers found inspiration in a variety of European ceramic precedents like Palissy and Della Robbia, and in revival styles, especially Renaissance revival. Arnoux, supported by Herbert Minton, encouraged factory artists such as Hamlet Bourne to use actual Renaissance objects as sources of inspiration and for copying.

GROWING AUDIENCE Majolica was quickly and widely embraced by the greater public. As the number of majolica producers proliferated in England, the decorative ware made its way into the homes of the nascent middle classes across the country.

Top left T. C. Brown-

Westhead, Moore & Co. Dragon vase, c.

1876. Earthenware with majolica glazes.

Collection of Marilyn and Edward Flower

Top right Griffen, Smith & Co. Shell ware, c.

1879–90. Earthenware with majolica glazes.

Various marks. Private collection Right George Jones.

Cheese stand, shape no. 3279, c. 1872.

Earthenware with majolica glazes. Joan Stacke Graham

‘Inevitably, with the Victorian tendency towards eclecticism, the range of brightlycoloured glazes pioneered by Minton was used to decorate some of the increasingly popular Oriental-inspired wares’ 16 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Culinary explosion

Banquet tables came alive in the late 18th century providing the ceramics industry with a wealth of opportunity to supply dishes moulded to purpose.

Innovations in transportation, as well as the advent of refrigeration and canning technology, all helped introduce new foods, culinary practices, and fashions to the 19th-century table.

These developments spurred production of an array of specialised majolica tableware, including asparagus cradles, berry servers, celery vases and sardine boxes.

Game pies arrived in covered tureens ornamented with moulded hares and pheasants, while lizards, snakes, and eels slithered across massive trompe l’oeil ornamental platters.

DECLINE OF MAJOLICA Majolica madness enjoyed a nearly 50-year run. But overproduction paled its appeal, and the lead-based glazes that created its astonishing colours proved poisonous to those who painted with them.

In 1896, English doctors were required to report cases of lead poisoning for the first time.

Workplace reforms to reduce exposure to lead soon followed in the early 20th century. These regulations coincided with changes in taste, and ultimately, production of majolica came to an end.

Majolica Mania: Transatlantic Pottery in England and the United States, 1850–1915 runs at the Bard Graduate Center, New York City, from September 24 to January 2, and the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore from February to July 2022.

In the UK it can be seen at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stokeon-Trent, from October 15, 2022, to February 26, 2023.

US PRODUCERS

Poor working conditions and pay caused a number of potters to leave the UK in the mid-19th century in search of a better life.

James Carr was one of the first emigrants to produce majolica in the US at his New York City Pottery.

Joseph S. Mayer was another British emigrant potter.

His Arsenal Pottery was active throughout the 1880s and early 1890s in Trenton, New Jersey, one of the most important centres of American ceramics manufacture.

Mayer was a low-cost, high-volume producer of jugs and other majolica ware.

Baltimore was also home to leading American majolica makers such as the Griffen, Smith & Hill Company of Pennsylvania; the Arsenal Pottery of Trenton: D.F. Haynes & Company’s Chesapeake Pottery and Edwin Bennett Pottery.

Left James Wardle.

Hand and pineapple vase, c. 1868.

Earthenware with majolica glazes. Sheldon M. Rice Right A majolica tazza

sold for five times its low estimate in 2019, image courtesy of Woolley and Wallis

Below right A majolica

tureen, image courtesy of Lacy Scott and Knight

Below left D. F. Haynes & Co., Chesapeake Pottery.

Japonica teaware and jugs, c. 1882–1886.

Earthenware with majolica glazes. Private collection. Photograph Bruce White

Collecting majolica

It was in the 1980s, another era characterised by flamboyance, that the potential for collecting majolica was established.

The market was boosted by the huge range and quantity of wares available, most of which was from leading factories and clearly marked or traceable in factory pattern books.

The turning point came in 1982 with the first exhibition of majolica in that century, sparking interest both sides of the Atlantic.

The life-size peacock designed in 1876 by sculptor Paul Comoléra for Minton, on show in next month’s exhibition in Baltimore, of which only nine examples are known, sold at Glendinnings in London shortly after the end of WWII for £50, in 1984 it sold for £17,000.

According to Wanda Matthes, co-president of the Majolica International Society, the last time the same peacock came to market in the US, it sold for $100,000 (£71,000).

In 2019, a George Jones majolica tazza decorated with a palm tree and lion, c.1872, with a low estimate of £200 sold for £1,000 at the Salisbury auctioneers Woolley and Wallis.

In June this year, at the Suffolk auction house Lacy Scott and Knight, a George Jones majolica game pie tureen and cover sold for £1,900, despite extensive restoration.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 17

COLLECTING GUIDES Majolica

Q&A We asked Clare Durham, ceramics expert at Salisbury-based auctioneers Woolley and Wallis for her majolica insights

Q A

In an age of maximalism is majolica back in vogue?

As with many areas of the ceramics market, there does seem to be an increased appetite for the best quality, rarer pieces in good condition. Fish, especially oyster dishes, continue to perform well.

Centrepieces featuring living animals (especially exotic animals) are proving popular, and dramatic statement pieces are also sought after for their decorative appeal.

Q A

What areas are most attractive to buyers?

There has definitely been an uptick in the market for statement pieces that create a talking point in a home, or lend dramatic decoration to a room, so in that regard I would say that bonkers is good.

The more traditional and mundane areas of the majolica market (game tureens and bread plates, for example) have not seen the same resurgence, but there is definitely a kitsch appeal in many of the pieces that are attracting the strongest bidding.

Below Christopher Dresser, for Josiah

Wedgwood & Sons. Aquarium flower pot, 1872. Earthenware with majolica glazes and gilding. Private collection

18 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Q A

What styles/ which designers are most collectable?

A lot comes down to quality and buyers feel safer with the trusted names of Minton and George Jones, who were also generally the designers producing the greatest variety and some of the most ambitious and outlandish objects. Broadly speaking, buyers on both sides of the Atlantic tend towards the best of the English manufacturers over those of the Continent, with one or two notable exceptions.

QA

Do you like it?

Majolica is like Marmite – people either love it for its

Below Victor Étienne Simyan (1826–1886)

for Minton & Co. Prometheus vase, shape no. 1328, c. 1867, earthenware with majolica glazes. The English Collection

bold colour and kitsch appeal, or they hate it and deride it as being a bit naff.

Personally, I have found pieces to evoke both feelings in me but I tend towards loving it more than hating it. I suspect for most people the days of living with a whole collection dominating your décor are probably over, but there are definitely a few statement pieces that I would love to give house room to.

In particular, George Jones produced a punch bowl supported by a reclining Mr Punch, which would look amazing on any table at a party and really sums up the boldness, the creativity and the borrowing from modern (Victorian) culture which makes the best of majolica what it is.

Below Minton & Co. Garden pot and stand,

shape no. 1056, designed c. 1851, this example made 1866. Earthenware with majolica glazes.

Joan Stacke Graham

EXPERT OPINION Christina Trevanion C H R I S T I N A T R E VA N I O N

Lots of Love Christina discovers a 17thcentury painting with a remarkable history and important future Above right Christina stretches for a canvas at Gredington Park in Shropshire Left Christina with the painting that sparked an international bidding war Below right The style of

the sitters’ dress, hair and jewellery dates it to the Interregnum when off-the-shoulder bodices were in fashion and hair was worn in loose waves

T

here are moments in an auctioneer’s life that ‘stick’ and, recently, perched on top of a ladder in a tumbling-down out-building, I had one of these. For hanging above me, was one of the most exquisite and unusual paintings, I have ever seen.

Once we had managed to retrieve it from its vertiginous vantage point, it became clear just how important this painting was.

The double portrait dating to c.1650 was fascinating for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, it depicts a black woman from the Cromwellian period, dressed as a social equal to her counterpart and, secondly, they are wearing decorative patches on their faces, a curious feature that added a sense of real mystery to the work.

NIGHT WALKING Face patches have been used since ancient times to cover up scars and blemishes. However, in the mid 17th century some men were so outraged by women’s dress and make up that, in 1650, parliament debated an act against ‘The vice of painting and wearing black patches, and immodest dress of women’.

The Puritan obsession with sexual promiscuity was also reflected in a crackdown of all forms of ‘nightwalking’ aimed at removing prostitutes from the streets. The implication was that a ‘patched woman’ had something to hide, which may have been as innocent as a birthmark or small-pox scar, but she could also be hiding something much more sinister, perhaps a syphilis scar or other sexually transmitted diseases. The association of patches with sexual immorality, deceit and aristocratic affectation was everything Cromwell and his Puritan government sought to outlaw.

INTERNATIONAL APPEAL The painting saw ferocious interest in our recent sale, sparking international interest. Underbidder, Fake or Fortune? presenter and dealer, Philip Mould, said: “With present needs to broaden subject matter and diversity in public collections, museums on both sides of the Atlantic would desire such an image.” It finally sold to a UK bidder for more than £250,000 (with buyer’s premium). I was delighted to have played a part in its journey and contribution to the re-writing of art history.

Christina Trevanion is managing partner and founder of Shropshire’s Trevanion Auctioneers & Valuers as well as a regular face on a number of BBC antiques programmes.

PATCHED TOGETHER The oil on canvas had been in the collection of Lloyd Tyrell-Kenyon, 6th Baron Kenyon, who died in 2019, and had been kept at least for a century at Gredington, the family’s country seat in Whitchurch.

Not wanting to give away their secrets too easily, the painting, and its verse: I black with white bespott y white with blacke this evil proceeds from thy proud hart then take her: Devil’, were a conundrum.

In order to unravel the puzzle, my colleague Ashley Jones and I split our research, he taking on the history of black art, and me looking at costume design and face patches in the 17th century. It was a fascinating process and what we gleaned was a tangle of Cromwellian law and propaganda in 17th-century England.

‘The implication was a ‘patched woman’ had something to hide, it may have been a birthmark or, more sinisterly, a syphilis scar’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING

19

COLLECTING GUIDES Howard & Sons furniture

‘It is the instantly recognisable and highly sought after deep-seated loungers, armchairs, sofas and chaise longues, for which Howard & Sons is most well known’

20 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Howard’s WAY

Beloved by royalty and the rich for furnishing their great houses during the Victorian era, furniture by Howard & Sons remains in demand today

P

icture well-heeled men and women relaxing with effete exhaustion at a weekend party at the family seat, and they are invariably reclining, Bertie Wooster-like, on a sofa or chair by the celebrated furniture makers Howard & Sons Ltd. None of the nation’s self-respecting great houses and estates were considered complete without furnishings by the celebrated London maker, which became the must-have producer of furniture for the country’s best addresses from the mid-19th century.

Opposite page The drawing room at Wormington Grange with examples of Howard & Sons furniture, image courtesy of Duke’s Left A pair of Victorian upholstered armchairs

by Howard & Sons, later reupholstered in red, white and foliate cotton. Sold for £5,720 in May, image courtesy of Duke’s

TOP SEAT

Drew Pritchard, star of TV’s Salvage Hunters reveals why he is such a devotee of Howard & Sons From day one Howard & Sons was known as purveyors of the finest furniture in the country, At the time, you could buy bespoke and oneoff pieces from its legendary range.

Today, it has the same appeal: total quality and furniture built without compromise. But what it comes down to is Howard & Sons produces incredibly comfortable pieces of furniture.

Spot check While Howard & Sons’ furniture wasn’t really reproduced, some people did mimic them and occasionally dealers will try to pass them off as original pieces.

The basics to look out for are the stamp on the inside of the rear legs which should read: ‘Howard & Sons, Berners St.’. On earlier models the castors should read ‘Cope and Collinson’, and later models will have ‘Howard & Sons’.

Sofas should have a black timber stretcher visible underneath, even once finished. If possible, look out for remnants of the original H&S factory ticking.

Strong demand Today, demand for Howard & Sons’ furniture is stronger than ever, with even the most mundane models fetching thousands of pounds. The most sought after pieces are late 19th-century armchairs and sofas, in particular my absolute favourite model – the Grafton.

The British market generally makes up 95 per cent of buyers, with a split down the middle between private clients and interior designers.

Size matters MOVING UP The business had relatively humble beginnings, founded

by John Howard in 1820 who advertised his services as a ‘Cabinet Manufacturer’ located at 24, Leman Street, London. Howard remained at the premises for almost a decade before being joined by his son, George, and moving to other locations in the city while opening a showroom on Red Lion Street in Holborn.

In 1848, they moved to 22, Berners Street, off Oxford Street, which was to become their most notable address. By this time, John Howard & Sons was offering its services as ‘Cabinet Maker, Upholsterer and Decorator’, and benefiting from innovative designs and the employment of modern techniques in construction.

The business started to flourish, demanding additional workshop space in nearby Tottenham Street, Fitzroy Square and Charlotte Mews, alongside the occupancy of a further building on Berners Street.

The factors determining the value of individual pieces are, firstly, the model, then it’s the size of the model as each one was made available in different sizes.

As ever, provenance helps, but isn’t everything.

Similarly, original condition is always good, but we tend to restore from the frame up.

Over-sized pieces in any model are highly sought after, as is anything that was a specialist piece, specially commissioned, and in its original fabrics or leather. The furniture is incredibly comfortable and I can’t get hold of enough. I have four, including two Grafton armchairs.

Man With a Van by Drew Pritchard is out now (Ebury Press, £16.99, hardback, plus audiobook and ebook).

See his showroom at 9-13 High Street, Conwy, LL32 8DE or view online at www.drewpritchard.co.uk

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 21

COLLECTING GUIDES Howard & Sons furniture upholstery. Just as inventive was the ‘siege de duvet’, which involved a feather and down-filled pillow held in place with fixings to the frame, and supported underneath by horsehair and under-springing.

The robust construction techniques used in the furniture also sets it apart (evidenced by the survival of so many pieces today), and gave the company an advantage over their contemporaries.

The use of tenon machinery for the joints kept the cost of manufacturing competitive, and details like chamfered edges along the wooden railings reduced the amount of wear on fabrics over time.

Indeed, the furniture was so well designed pieces still appear with their original ‘H&S’ monogrammed ticking in cream and blue – the result of the original two-tone green fading over time.

PRIZE IS RIGHT The next half-century saw Howard & Sons continue to go from strength to strength, gaining recognition in the form of gold and silver prizes at a variety of events at home and across Europe, including the 1862 Crystal Palace Exhibition for its library furniture, the Exposition Universelle in Paris and the Exposition Internationale d’Anvers in Antwerp, culminating in the award of a Royal Warrant in 1901 (even today, the Queen is said to have a large number of pieces by Howard & Sons in various homes).

The warrant allowed them to supply royal residences with upholstered furniture, alongside other grand venues such as The Savoy Hotel. They also collaborated with Gillows, which was seen as the leading cabinetmakers in Victorian England.

By the mid-1850s it was George Howard that was increasingly steering the company’s fortunes. In 1865 he gained a patent for a process to use a wooden veneer on interior walls rather than wallpaper or paint.

He then adapted the method for flooring, taking out a patent in 1867 for parquet flooring.’

SPRING TIME But then, as now, it was for the deep-seated loungers armchairs, sofas and chaise longues, for which the company was most well known. In this George was instrumental in laying the foundations for their longterm renown, patenting a design for a ground-breaking ‘elastic seat’ in 1866.

He used coil springs in the seat which allowed greater movement in all directions: up and down, left and right, marking a step-change from more traditional

STAMP SITE

Above Victorian ‘Ramsden’ sofa by Howard & Sons, late 19th century, later reupholstered. Sold for £6,760 at Duke’s this year, image courtesy of Duke’s Below left Victorian upholstered centre stool

by Howard & Sons, covered in Howard ticking, on four turned mahogany legs. Sold for £2,860 at Duke’s this year, image courtesy of Duke’s

The design of the furniture’s legs also changed over time, with the predominant and earlier turned leg shape giving way to a more modern, tapered style.

The inside of the rear legs often features the maker’s name or number stamped on the wood or on the brass castors. Alternatively, a piece may have an ivorine label or paper label sewn into the hessian.

Alongside ‘Howard & Sons’ details may also include the business address, such as ‘Berners Street’, which can help to date the period.

By 1935, Howards & Sons was trading from 31 Old Burlington Street, but it eventually ceased to be a family business when it was taken over by the decorating firm, Lenygon & Morant in 1947, which continued to trade as ‘Lenygon & Morant makers of Howard furniture’.

Today, the company is once again run as a familyowned business, Howard Chairs Ltd, making individual, handmade furniture at its London workshop to many of the original designs.

Right An upholstered

sofa by Howard & Sons, c. 1900. Sold for £9,750 at Duke’s this year, image courtesy of Duke’s

‘So well designed are the items that pieces occasionally turn up covered with their original gothic-style ‘H&S’ monogrammed ticking in cream and blue’ 22 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Q&A Earlier this year Duke’s Auctioneers in Dorset sold the contents of Wormington Grange in Gloucestershire. Auctioneer Cristian Beadman tells us about its owner, John Evetts’ rare collection of original Howard & Sons furniture.

QA

Tell us about the house The seller, John Evetts, inherited the 18th-century, unfurnished house in the 1980s. As a furnishing consultant for the Landmark Trust, Evetts has impeccable taste and a connoisseur’s knowledge of Victorian, early Regency and William IV furniture. The property was extended in the 1840s and he wanted to furnish it as though it was an 1840s newbuild, almost as though the person who extended it had written to Mr Howard and Mr Gillow and said ‘I want 20 dressing tables, 24 beds, 24 bedside cabinets…’.

QA

Where did he find items? t auction, in fact, he was still buying pieces right up to the time of the sale. He mainly chose Howard & Sons and Gillows, both kings of English furniture making of that period. He filled the house with cracking examples of the best pieces available.

Q A

How would you compare Howard & Sons to competitors?

They were the best by a mile. If you class them as the Rolls-Royce of English furniture, there was no Mercedes or Jaguar; the nearest to them was an Austen Allegro! After Howard & Sons showed at the 1862 Crystal Palace exhibition and won a prize for their furniture, Queen Victoria bought some pieces, awarding the company royal patents. Once the Queen buys furniture from a maker everyone else has to, too.

QA

What sets them apart?

They had patented designs, were patronised by the royal family, and didn’t just make a couple of good chairs and rest of on their laurels, they continued with great design and build quality. To this day, you sit in a Howard chair and think ‘Wow, this is the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in’, and it’s some 130 years-old.

A bedroom at Wormington Grange featuring upholstered furniture by Howard & Sons, image courtesy of Duke’s

QA

What was their distinct appeal?

In the ‘20s and ‘30s you start to get a relaxing of social customs and lounge suits were worn, rather than morning dress, and people in general started to wear slacker clothes.

Alonside it came a fashion for very long, deep chairs, that were comfortable to lounge in. Previously, if you were having tea with Aunt Agatha, you’d have had to sit upright. Society was unlocking and the style of the chairs reflected that. Howard & Sons spotted this change, responding quickly to trends.

QA

Are examples hard to find?

No – Howard & Sons produced a heck of a lot of chairs – but they are becoming increasingly expensive.

The more people realise how good they are, the higher the prices they achieve. Even when the rest of the market was in the doldrums, they’ve bucked the last 20 years because they’ve always been good and quality always shines through.

QA

What was the reaction to the sale?

The sale was one of the most well-viewed auctions that I have ever known. There was everyone from the heads of national London museums, to all the cream of the decorating trade, and lots of titled individuals. I spoke to the editor of a very well-known decorating magazine, and he said you couldn’t pick up social media without Wormington Grange splashing across it.

QA

Which were the standout items?

What stood out for me was the sheer choice. Normally, you might have one or two Howard chairs in an auction and you’re glad to have them because they’re sure-fire sellers. Mr Evetts owned dozens of Howard & Sons’ pieces, such as the Portarlington sofa in the drawing room, which is widely regarded as the finest thing that Howard ever made.

A pair of upholstered ‘Ivor’ armchairs by Howard & Sons, c. 1900. Sold for £9,750 at Duke’s this year, image courtesy of Duke’s

QA

How can you spot fakes?

I wouldn’t use the word ‘fake’, but there are copies and reproductions, although they are fairly simple to spot because Howard stamped or marked virtually everything they did. If it isn’t stamped or marked an auctioneer shouldn’t really be calling it Howard, but instead ‘style of’. If he’s convinced that it’s Howard but doesn’t bear any marks, he can say ‘attributable to’.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 23

COLLECTING GUIDES Typewriters THE FIRST MACHINES While writing machines date back to the 14th century, the first patent was issued to Henry Mill, an English engineer, in 1714. But it was more than a century before the first primitive American machine was patented by William Burt of Detroit in 1829.

The 1860s saw the advent of the Hansen Writing Ball – the world’s first commercially available typewriter. The Danish Reverend Rasmus MallingHansen (1835-1890) was its inventor. He ran the Royal Institute for the Deaf and Dumb in Copenhagen and wanted his charges to be able to “speak with their fingers”. Just 35 have survived, and 30 of those are in museums. That rarity is why one of the machines sold for £53,000 at Auction Team Breker in Cologne in May 2019.

NO MARKET

THE RIGHT TYPE

As technology advances so does our nostalgia for the objects of yesteryear, none more so than the typewriter, as a new exhibition reveals

A

lmost 150 years since the first successful patent of a typewriter and, despite the advances in word processing, their currency among collectors has never been greater.

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland showcases the social and technological impact of the machine over more than 100 years, from early prototypes to stylish, mid-century models.

A spokesperson said: “The typewriter revolutionised the workplace, transformed communications and inspired artists and writers. From the clatter of its keys, to the enduring romance surrounding it, the typewriter has many devoted fans for whom it has a cult appeal.”

24 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above Hammond model no. 1 ‘B’, 1893-1894, with curved keyboard, image courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland

The early typewriter's greatest problem was in finding a market. Early makers thought their most likely customers would be clergymen and men of letters and hoped that interest might then expand to the general public. Americans in the 1870s and 1880s were deeply uncomfortable with the strange notion of "mechanical writing."

Convention prescribed that all letters be written out in neat longhand, and businessmen enjoyed no exception from this requirement.

But as offices expanded in the 1880s with the specialisation of work, with some people doing correspondence, others keeping accounts, the typewriter soon gained acceptance. The final decade of the 19th century saw a huge boom in demand for typewriters as organisations began to realise their value. By 1900 they had revolutionised the world of communications, transforming office work and opening up new employment opportunities, especially for women.

EXPORTED TO THE UK Typewriters were first shipped across the Atlantic by American firm E. Remington & Sons in the 1870s.

They were luxury devices which cost the equivalent of half the average annual salary. Sewing machine salesman John J. Deas was an early enthusiast.

Adverts for his business claimed the typewriter would “do for the ink-bottle and the pen, what the sewing machine has done for the needle”.

They inspired novelists and artists, with Mark Twain among the first to use what he called a “newfangled writing machine”. Henry James liked the loud clacking of his Remington and found his inspiration dried up when he upgraded to a quieter model. Jack Kerouac typed On The Road on a 36 metre-long manuscript because he wanted to write continuously with a stream of consciousness narrative.

Typewriter technology advanced to include electric models from the 1920s before the rise in computers saw them gradually phased out of offices. However, the unique experience of writing on a typewriter and the enduring beauty of their design mean there is still a demand for the machines today.

Typewriters that didn't make it

FIRST QWERTY MODEL In 1873, the Sholes & Glidden typewriter ushered in a new era of communication technology. Invented by newspaperman and printer Christopher Latham Sholes (1819–1890) with assistance from Carlos Glidden (1834–1877) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it was the first commercially-produced typewriter with hinged typebars and a four-row keyboard.

In 1873, it introduced the “QWERTY” keyboard.

Previous layouts saw the second half of the alphabet Above left Very few writing balls exist, image courtesy of Auction Team Breker Above right The tiny typewriter sold for £7,800, image courtesy of Auction Team Breker Left Sholes and Glidden typewriter c. 1875, made by E. Remington & Sons, image courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland

In 1908, the Italian designers Pietro Torrani and Giovanni Zanin devised the Taurus Type, which was marketed as "a typewriter in a vest pocket".

Just as the slogan suggests, at 2¾in in diameter, it was one of the smallest typewriters ever produced.

By today's standards the Taurus would be nothing more than a glorified label maker.

By all accounts the Taurus was a failure. Very few were produced and fewer have survived. Neither the firm nor either of the two inventors produced another typewriter. In April, Auction Team Breker sold a Taurus for £9,700.

In 1959, George Vincent Palmer and Harley E. Pritchett of Los Angeles, patented an "ambulatory typewriter". Palmer, himself an architect, wanted an extremely lightweight, self-propelling typewriter that could be used by architects, structural engineers, builders, designers and contractors to "walk" over plans and diagrams. Palmer continued to work on this idea for some years after.

in order on the top row, and the first half in order on the bottom row, which led to jamming if the keys were pressed in too rapid succession.

Sholes' solution was separating commonly used letter pairings, such as "ST," to avoid these jams, effectively allowing the typist to type faster.

It was also a decorative machine, boasting painted flowers and decals looking rather like a sewing machine, as it was manufactured by the sewing machine department of the Remington arms company. At the time, the Remington family wanted to diversify after the American Civil War (1861-1865), which is why it also started making sewing machines. The Sholes & Glidden had limited success, but its successor, the Remington, and especially the Remington 2, soon became a dominant presence in the industry.

TYPEWRITING’S 'MODEL T'

‘Typewriters were first shipped across the Atlantic by American firm E. Remington & Sons in the 1870s. They were luxury devices which cost the equivalent of half the average annual salary’

While the first Remington typewriter sold poorly (it could only type in upper-case letters, was expensive at $125 per unit, and often broke), the Remington 2 was the ‘Model T’ of typewriters: simple, reliable, practical and was the first typewriter to be produced in great quantities.

The Remington 2 appeared on the market in 1878 and was the first typewriter to have a shift key, giving two characters for each key. The Remington ANTIQUE COLLECTING 25

COLLECTING GUIDES Typewriters

Typewriters at auction The typewriter has become an obsolete writing instrument but collectors invest in rare pieces and are willing to pay astronomical prices

1

Cormac McCarthy (b. 1933) The most expensive typewriter ever sold is a light blue, Lettera 32 Olivetti bought at auction for $254,500.

It was once owned by the author Cormac McCarthy on which he penned bestsellers including No Country for Old Men. The author bought the machine, on which he is said to have written 50 million words, for $50 at a Knoxville pawn shop in 1963.

2

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) Proving fans of literary greats will pay great sums to own the machines on which their icons typed their greatest work, in 2018 the green Hermes model 3000 typewriter Sylvia Plath used to write The Bell Jar sold for £32,500. Plath's daughter, Frieda Hughes, consigned the typewriter for sale on which the author wrote her only novel under a pseudonym a year before her suicide.

3

John Updike (1932-2009)

Above An advertisement for the later Remington ‘visible writing’ typewriter Above right Remington No. 2, c. 1887-1888, image courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland Below right Ernest

Hemingway’s Corona typewriter at the Cuban home where he lived from 1939 to 1960.

1 The most expensive typewriter ever sold, image courtesy of Christie’s 2 Plath’s Hermes model 3000 typewriter, image courtesy of Bonhams

2, like its predecessor the Remington 1, or Sholes and Glidden, is an understrike or blind typewriter. To see what you have typed, you had to lift up the hinged carriage and look at the underside of the platen.

It wasn’t until Underwood launched a machine that struck the front of the platen that you could see what was being typed. For years Remington obstinately refused to switch over to 'visible writing'. They conceded in 1908, when they produced the Remington Standard 10.

FIRST PORTABLE Born in Pennsylvania in 1891, at the age of 10, George C. Blickensderfer (1850-1917) attempted to build a flying machine. While his attempts at early aviation were not successful, he was an inventor at heart and, after spending much time travelling by train as part of his conveyor business, realised the need for a portable typewriter to type letters and invoices on the move.

When it debuted in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Blickensderfer deployed his red-headed secretary, May Munson, to demonstrate the typewriter’s speed and economy. Her performance proved such a draw that the other typewriter companies closed their booths early.

3 The imprint of some

of Updike’s words are still visible on the ribbon, image courtesy of Heritage Auctions

The Olympia electric 65c typewriter on which John Updike wrote Couples sold for $4,375 in 2010.

Dating from 1967-1968, the serial number indicates Updike probably bought the typewriter when his family lived in London from 1968-1969, shortly before he wrote the book. Because the ribbon passes from reelto-reel, the ghostly imprint of some of Updike's writing can still be seen on it. The typewriter was given to one of the writer's daughters 15 years before his death.

AUTHORS AND THEIR TYPEWRITERS For the majority of the world’s greatest authors, the typewriter was their most treasured possession

‘While the first Remington typewriter sold poorly (it could only type in upper-case letters, was expensive at $125 per unit, and often broke), the Remington 2 was the ‘Model T’ of typewriters’ 26 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Mark Twain (1835-1910) In his autobiography Twain claimed to be the first person to apply the "type-machine" to literature, claiming The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was written on a Remington No.2. Historians believe it was, in fact, Life on the Mississippi that the the author had typed from a handwritten manuscript. Before Twain owned a Remington, it is thought he tried the 1874 Sholes & Glidden Treadle.

After securing contracts in England, Germany, France, New Zealand and Canada, by 1896 he was producing some 10,000 machines per year.

The early Blickensderfer's "Ideal" keyboard was non-QWERTY, instead having the sequence DHIATENSOR in the home row, these 10 letters being capable of composing 70 percent of all the words in the English language.

SPIRIT COMMUNICATION George Washington Newton Yost (1831-1895), was another important figure in the early days of typewriter manufacture and invention.

As well as being a shrewd businessman, Yost was a devoted spiritualist and, in line with other early typewriter manufacturers, believed the devices provided a way of recording communications with the dead.

On a more mundane level he formed the American Writing Machine Company, which produced one of Remington's main competitors, the Caligraph – the first typewriter to appear with a double keyboard arrangement and no character shift key.

Later understroke models included the New Yost (1889), No. 4 (1895), and No. 10 (1902). This machine is of the upstrike type, in which the type-bar moves upward to strike the paper on the underside of the platen.

Collecting tips

Above Blickensderfer No. 5, first year of production 1893, image courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland Below Caligraph No. 4

typewriter c.1895-1900, image courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

FIRST BRITISH MODEL

Hemingway wore out several typewriters, including a Corona No.3, No.4 and several Royal portables. Supposedly, the author of A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea preferred to write standing up, with his Royal Quiet de Luxe perched on a bookshelf.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

Above An early advertisement for the Caligraph

The Poirot creator was said to favour the Remington No.2, having started off with an Empire giving to her by her sister after the author broke her wrist. The crime writer credited the typewriter for her brevity as she didn't want to repeat comparable sentences several times using the machine.

Other typewriters she favoured include a Corona portable No.3. and Remington Victor T.

Above right Lambert typewriter, c.

1900-1904, image courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland

Orson Welles (1915-1985)

No. 3 typewriter, image courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland

The American cultural icon, producer, screenwriter and actor, famous for the film Citizen Kane and the play War of the Worlds, used an Underwood standard portable typewriter, with his name and address painted on the case.

In a case of truth imitating fiction, the Underwood No. 5 used in the film Citizen Kane – which Charles Kane finds Jedediah Leland slumped over writing a negative review of his wife's operatic performance – sold for $27,000 at auction in America in 2017.

While people collect typewriters for a myriad of reasons – provenance, history and nostalgia – certain criteria apply. Most look for machines that are in good, working condition, with a roller that moves, striking keys, a working return arm and a bell that rings. Mechanical parts should be in place and original. Make sure the keys are readable and watch out for rust, which can be difficult to remove.

Having said that, the more adventurous collector may go for a less than pristine model. In July 2014, a Remington No. 1 in poor condition sold for nearly $27,000 on eBay. While earlier models tend to command higher prices, look out for odd-shaped models or unusually organised keyboards, brass plated casings, or fancy inlay work. Later Remingtons, including the Standard No. 10, can be found for $150 in working condition.

Below right Maskelyne

The Maskelyne was the first typewriter to be manufactured in Britain and the brainchild of John Nevil Maskelyne (1839-1917), not only one of the greatest British magicians of all time, but the inventor of a number of Victorian devices, including the public pay toilet, activated by a coin and the origin of the phrase “spend a penny”.

The typewriter was produced at Cadby Hall, 72 Hammersmith Road, West Kensington, by the Maskelyne British Typewriter and Manufacturing Company Ltd. It first appeared at the Exposition Universelle, the Paris World’s Fair from May to October in 1889 with patriotic adverting stressing the need for a British, rather than American model.

The typewriter also had the unusual feature of a shift key that could be operated by hand or foot.

The Typewriter Revolution is on at the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh until April 17 2022.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 27

COLLECTING GUIDES Typewriters THE TYPEWRITER AS A FASHION ICON The 20th century Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass is primarily remembered for his work with the international artist collective Memphis Group and his 1969 red Valentine typewriter.

Recruited as a design consultant in 1957 by the industrial office manufacturer Adriano Olivetti, Sottsass’s initial project was the first mainframe computer, the Elea 9003. From there, he went on to design the Valentine, with the British designer Perry King (1938-2013). It was intended to be an inexpensive, colourful and egalitarian machine, meant for work outside the office.

Unveiled on Valentine’s Day 1969, Sottsass chose bright red to “not remind anyone of the monotonous working hours,” with orange scroll caps that resemble nipples and eyes.

Using only capital letters and eliminating the bell was radical, but it also lowered production and engineering costs enough to make the Valentine affordable.

However on its debut, Olivetti reportedly told Sottsass that he didn’t want such an inexpensive-looking design manufactured by his Italian company.

Despite the creative difference, the Valentine rose to stardom with Brigitte Bardot, Richard Burton, and Elizabeth Taylor all photographed carrying the little red typewriter.

An advertising campaign featuring the Valentine in unusual settings, including the Acropolis, an airplane cockpit, and a beach, reinforced the portable as the ultimate “work from home” machine.

Above Valentine Portable Typewriter, 1968, image courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland Above right Superman author Jerry Siegel's Royal typewriter on display at the American Writers Museum in Chicago

28 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Q&A While Tom Hanks may be the most famous typewriter collector (with some 200 models) Steve Soboroff, president of the Los Angeles police commission is also a fan, with a collection including Ernest Hemingway’s 1932 Royal model P and the Imperial model T on which John Lennon wrote the lyrics to some of the most famous Beatles’ songs. He also owns Tom Hanks’ typewriter.

Q A

Why did you start a typewriter collection?

I was at an auction and a typewriter came up right after a lot I had sold for which I got more than I was expecting so I had extra money. It was a Remington Model J typewriter owned by Jim Murray, the Pulitzer Prize-winning icon of sportswriting who died in 1998.

I was fascinated by the idea of the relationship and what he had created on that typewriter. If someone said Picasso only used one paintbrush for 25 years, I’d be interested in that. That’s what these typewriters are to these writers – a part of their personality and who they are..

Q A

What appeals to you most about typewriters?

I’m very picky about whose I’m interested in. It’s only some of the greatest names of our times such as John Lennon or Ernest Hemingway.

When you know the hours that people spent with these machines, it’s historic. In addition to that, typewriters were and are different. There’s no ‘delete,’ no ‘cut and paste’ that you can rely on.

Where in life now do you find something that makes you slow down?

That’s why people love typewriters and are going back to them.

Also, they also last so long. Andy Rooney, whose typewriter I have, wrote a piece about his typewriter. He said he had six computers, and they’re obsolete on purpose. He said, “I’ve had one typewriter and I put another ribbon in and it’s good for another 25 years.”

A lot of people like them because they are unique. In 75 years, my collection will still work and people will still be able to type on them.

Q A

As a typewriter enthusiast, do you have a certain make and/or model you particularly like?

Any make or model that Winston Churchill typed on. I had this discussion with Tom Hanks, who had the same typewriter repairman as I do, about how he collects for the type of typewriter and I collect for who used them. He sent me the typewriter the next day.

I have Hugh Hefner’s typewriter, and it came with this photo of him typing on it.

It’s the history of the sexual revolution in one photo. It’s amazing. It’s phenomenal.

These people didn’t want to part with them, but they want them to be part of an amazing collection.

QA

So you have a favourite?

I have five children, so it’s like choosing a favourite child. If you ask which is worth most, I could say but that doesn’t make it my favourite.

Q A

If you could meet any writer past or present, who would it be?

I am a populist so the person I would most like to talk to is James Patterson. Of my typewriter owners, I would love to talk to George Bernard Shaw.

There are typewriters I haven’t got and thousands of owners I’d like to talk to.

QA

Do you ever use them?

I allow people to type on them if they will donate to charity.

Pierce Brosnan paid $5,000 to type on John Lennon’s typewriter.

This interview first appeared on the Chicago-based American Writers Museum website. Its current exhibition Ray Bradbury: Inextinguishable (on until May 2022) features one of Soboroff’s typewriters. For more details go to www.americanwritersmuseum.org.

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EXPERT COMMENT David Harvey On some of the better versions, it is nice to see the turned inner columns on the legs and brass barrel casters. There are varying degrees of sophistication on all of these.

PRISTINE NATURE But, despite the name, I can’t help thinking when I look at the table that it is rather too well made and thought out to have been in an architect’s office.

Where are the marks, pin holes, scratches, compass marks and scribed lines which might have accompanied such a trade?

Some of the tables have multiple, rising easel stands and, as on this example, some are double articulated allowing them to be used from both sides, the double rise also gives additional height to the stand. The photo below, taken from the back of the table, shows how it can be accessed from back and front.

WEALTHY OWNER

Waxing lyrical

O

David Harvey considers whether the origins of the so-called architect’s table might be built on an entirely wrong premise

ver the past 50 years I have had the good fortune to have handled a number of what antique dealers usually call architect’s or artist’s tables, dating from between about 1740 and 1830, and I do wonder whether we are guilty of misnaming them or misunderstanding their real uses.

The image above shows a fine quality mahogany example dating from the middle years of the 18th century and, like so many, when the drawer at the front is opened, the split section front legs, attached to the drawer front, open out to give it support. This means one could lean on the sliding cover, rest books on it, or write at it without fear of collapse.

30 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above The table dates from about 1750 but what was its intention?

Above right Better versions have turned columns and brass barrel casters Right The table’s reverse

shows how it can be used from both sides

Another feature of this table is the four pull-out candlestands, two to each side, which are located to provide maximum light to whatever project the owner was working on.

Once again, the question arises as to who would have commissioned such an intricate piece? Certainly, it was a person of wealth, as the time required and materials used would not have been cheap.

Everywhere you look there are distinct elements which would have added to the expense for the owner.

These tables often have a very good drawer lock and oversized brass escutcheon plate, suggesting the owner wanted to keep items of value or personal importance in the drawer.

INGENIOUS DESIGN In many cases, the book ledge or ledges are removable and secured to the easel with brass locator pins slotting into brass mounted holes. But on some examples the ledge is itself articulated and rises to stand proud of the easel, due to springs located in the back. These then retract the ledge when the easel is lowered. There is a level of engineering involved here that we may not have expected on a table dating from the 1750s, with still more to come.

When the drawer opens the sliding cover/easel retracts to reveal the table’s inner secrets. You can see the little brass ring pull handles showing the secret drawers, and the right-hand well is shallower than the left as it contains a quadrant drawer for pens, inks, etc., which can be swung out.

The centre part of these fittings would have been for keeping private papers and notes. All of these pointers indicate the owner was a person of wealth, status, education and good taste.

Right The complicated

mechanics at the heart of the table

Below right The drawer

reveals its hidden compartments

Bottom right The Reverend Edward Foyle in his library Below left The fine lock hints at superior quality Bottom left The pull-

out candlestands are designed to give maximum light

CLERICAL USE Over the decades I have never seen a table I could confidently state was an artist’s table, with splashes of paint, pencil sharpenings or pin holes. How many mid 18th-century artists would have been able to afford such a large and relatively immobile piece? One could hardly take it to Yorkshire to set it up while sketching the Dales, or to Wales to capture a river scene.

Rather, I believe they were made as library centre tables for a gentleman to work at having completed The Grand Tour and returning home with works of art and relics. What better way to impress his peer group than by having such a table at which he could catalogue his treasures, simultaneously reading and writing about them?

To back up this belief I offer a delightful painting of the Reverend Edward Foyle in his library by the artist Arthur Devis, dating from about 1760. It shows the cleric leaning on just such a table with rows of bookshelves in the background.

David Harvey is the owner of Witney-based W R Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd. For more details go to the website www.wrharvey.com

‘How many artists of the mid 18th century would have been able to afford such a large and relatively immobile piece? One could hardly take it up to Yorkshire to set it up out of doors while sketching the Dales, or to Wales to capture a river scene’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 31

COLLECTING GUIDES School prints

Class Act After the revival of the once well-known School Prints scheme, Antique Collecting looks back at one of the most remarkable post-war artistic endeavours and the equally remarkable woman behind it

T

he date is June 25, 1947, and it is a sunny afternoon on the French riviera. On one side of the bay at Golfe Juan stands Brenda Rawnsley, a 31-year-old decorated war widow, sporting a new hat and bikini. She is surrounded by an unusual crew, including a man with a poodle. It is an important day for Brenda, because she has in her sights her most notable artistic ‘scalp’ to date.

Her quarry, also on the beach, is the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, aged 66 and at the height of his career.

Her mission is to persuade the Guernica creator to come up with an original work for the benefit and education of underprivileged British schoolchildren.

32 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above L.S. Lowry Punch and Judy, 1943, © The Estate of L.S. Lowry. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2018 Right Pablo Picasso

Composition, 1948, © Succession Picasso / DACS, London 2018

This was far from a casual encounter. Brenda, a former WWII intelligence officer and the Oxford-born daughter of a British diplomat – had researched the sting in the detail one might expect from a former spy.

It was also not her first high-profile commission.

Since she had taken on the School Prints project, started in 1935 by her husband, she had persuaded an impressive number of British artists to create original work for schools.

By 1947 she had her sights on international artists.

Her recent form had been good, in the preceding three days she had approached Georges Braque (1882-1963) in Paris (who initially turned her down) and Fernand Léger (1881-1952) (who agreed immediately). But the jury was out regarding the reaction of the Spanish cubist.

Left John Nash (18931977) Window Plants, First series, No. 4, image courtesy of the Goldmark Gallery Right One of the

contemporary artists, Sir Frank Bowling OBE, RA (b. 1934)

Below left Michael Rothenstein (19081993) Timber Felling, First series, No. 5, image courtesy of the Goldmark Gallery

NEW FATHER

SCHOOL PRINTS REVIVAL

She had travelled to the Côte d’Azur on the advice of Jaime Sabartes, Picasso’s friend and secretary, and her entourage included the British artist and friend of Picasso, Peter Kapp (and his poodle) and Denise Chesney who had previously sat for him.

On the ground in Nice, Brenda had also sought out the artist’s chauffeur as their advisor. It was he who had suggested the British group went to the beach where Picasso spent each day with his family.

The plan, hatched in advance, was that Brenda and Denise should frolic and swim in the sea before casually “bumping into” Picasso.

But Brenda need not have worried. Perhaps unknown to her, the artist was in benevolent mood. A month before her arrival, Picasso’s 23-year-old lover and muse Françoise Gilot, with whom he quit warravaged Paris a year earlier, had given birth to his second son, Claude.

Soon her approach had succeeded. Over lunch, which included melon (later incorporated into the subsequent work, with Brenda herself) Picasso agreed.

With his eyes no doubt on his young son, Picasso said he was doing it for the love of “les enfants du monde”.

Below far right Claudette

Johnson (b. 1959) has also joined the team

Below right Claudette

Johnson (b. 1959) Child Painting, 2020, lithograph, edition of 40, signed and numbered by the artist, on sale for £500

Last year, following a third edition of School Prints commissioned in 2018, the Hepworth Wakefield announced six artists to take part in a fourth edition.

With the emphasis on black histories, the six were made up of Hurvin Anderson (b. 1965, Birmingham); Alvaro Barrington (b. 1983, Caracas, Venezuela); Sir Frank Bowling OBE, RA (b. 1934, British Guiana); Lubaina Himid CBE (b. 1954, Tanzania); Claudette Johnson (b. 1959, Manchester) and Yinka Shonibare CBE (b. 1962, London).

The contemporary artists were provided with the original 1940s brief which stated: “We only ask you if you would be good enough to do something suitable for children and not to use more than six colours.

The auto-lithographs will be used in schools as a means of giving school children an understanding of contemporary art.”

The five-year project aims to see every participating Wakefield school given a set of limitededition prints for display, with 40 limited-edition prints going on sale at the gallery’s shop (at £500 each) with money raised funding art in schools.

Claudette Johnson’s contribution, Child Painting, 2020, depicts her three-year-old granddaughter helping her in the studio. She said: “She was dressed in a pair of my studio overalls and she sang a paint song as she worked. Her pleasure and concentration as she worked illustrated for me the special alchemy of painting.”

‘The plan, hatched in advance, was that Brenda and Denise should frolic and swim in the sea before casually “bumping into” Picasso. The scheme worked. Over lunch, which included melon (later incorporated into the subsequent work along with Brenda herself) Picasso agreed’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 33

COLLECTING GUIDES School prints Left Kenneth Rowntree (1915-1997) Tractor, First series, No. 3, image courtesy of the Goldmark Gallery

DEREK RAWNSLEY But there was no time for Brenda to rest on her laurels, with Picasso in the bag, a day later she flew from Nice to Perpignan to recruit the 70-year-old French Fauvist Dufy who despite being crippled with arthritis agreed to “do something with his left hand”.

The commission of five leading international artists was the culmination of a project that had started 12 years earlier with Brenda’s husband, Derek, the grandson of Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley, famous as being the founder of the National Trust.

Derek was a former Etonian who, after an illustrious Oxford career, took up flying, reportedly flying from from Australia to Abingdon in a Tiger Moth.

In 1935, he set up the first iteration of the ‘School Prints Ltd’ business, with the aim of bringing quality reproduction prints of fine artworks to schools for hire, to be seen by children who would otherwise lack the means and opportunity to visit galleries. Within two years he was operating out of an office in Bloomsbury, and had begun persuading schools to sign up to the scheme with a catalogue of almost 150 prints.

Not knowing a great deal about art, she co-opted the writer and critic Herbert Read, a renowned critic and champion of radical young artists paving the way in modern British art. She also recruited Raglan Squires, Derek’s friend at Eton who had helped set up the business. Together they began expanding the series; no longer content to use reproductions, Brenda wanted to commission original works.

In 1946, a letter was sent out to a number of British artists. It began: “We are producing a series of auto-lithographs. four for each term … for use in schools, as a means of giving school children an understanding of contemporary art. By keeping the price as low as possible, we are able to bring this scheme … within reach of all Education Authorities.”

Conscious of schools’ low budgets, artists were asked to include decorative borders so that the prints could be pinned up without the need for framing.

Rawnsley was adamant not to patronise children with the images presented in the School Prints, and wrote that: “the pictures themselves are far from being juvenile in their concept. While they definitely hold the interest of the children and appeal to their imaginations, they are sophisticated by adult standards ...”

DECLINE OF THE SERIES Sadly, the European series, published in 1949, was not a huge success with the schools, which found them too avant-garde.

The reception among the press and public was also not warm. One wrote: “Picasso’s Composition horrified me. It looks as though a four-year-old has scribbled it on a piece of paper with a red pencil. I can see nothing uplifting in this.”

When a journalist on the Swiss weekly Die

MARRIED COUPLE By 1939, the same year war broke out across Europe, Derek met Brenda, his future wife. They married in February of 1941 but soon after their wedding, Derek was posted to Cairo as an RAF pilot. Brenda signed up with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in an attempt to join him, but it was not to be and in 1943 he was killed in an accident. After the war, Brenda inherited her late husband’s enterprise. Fluent in Arabic and French, she had served during the war as an intelligence officer in Algiers, Cairo and Palestine.

IMPRESSIVE TEAM

Right Henri Matisse

The Dancer, 1949, ©Succession H. Matisse / DACS 2018

Left Julian Trevelyan (1910-1988) Harbour, First series, No. 9, image courtesy of the Goldmark Gallery

The most sought-after of the first and second series is L S Lowry’s Punch and Judy. The image is Lowry, through and through, the ordinary mass of people, all walks of life, gathered in a vignette of stark, simple colours’ 34 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Weltwoche asked children what they thought of the prints, a 12-year-old was reported as saying, “Such a thing I can do better”.

As dissolution of the project soon after was at odds with Picasso’s own defence of his work when he said, in 1947, “The children will understand.”

Brenda was left in debt and with a large number of prints. Undaunted, she continued the scheme in the 1950s but diversified from schools, instead embarking on schemes called ‘Pictures for Industry’ and ‘Pictures in Hospital’.

COLLECTING THE PRINTS The School Prints are all small, poster size, 497 x 860mm (19½ x 30in), original, hand-drawn, colour lithographs printed by the specialist lithographic printers, The Baynard Press.

At its height around 4,000 schools subscribed to the scheme, added to which many people also purchased them for their own homes.

Given the purpose of the works and their treatment in their natural environment, where they were pinned, glued, taped and pasted like posters, often in direct sunlight and surrounded by less-than-careful children, extremely few have survived, and even fewer in mint condition.

Though less popular with post-war British schoolteachers, the French set is the one that has best stood the test of time.

The Goldmark Gallery in Uppingham has some of

Top Derek and Brenda

on their wedding day

Top right Brenda in her

office

Above Brenda, to the left of Picasso, and the rest of the group on their meeting Above right Brenda and Denise Chesney boarding the plane in Paris to the south of France Left Fernand Léger King of Hearts, 1947-1949, © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London

the last caches of School Prints lithographs in public and private circulation.

A gallery spokesman said: “In terms of popularity it is very much down to personal preference. The range of styles and imagery is phenomenal, and there is something for everyone. Through the gallery we can safely say that the most popular choices are two prints

by John Nash: Harvesting and Window Plants, with Julian Trevalyan’s Harbour hot on their heels.”

The most sought-after of all, however, is L.S. Lowry’s scene Punch and Judy. The image is typical of the artist, featuring a mass of ordinary people, from all walks of life, gathered in a vignette of stark and very simple colours.

Lowry’s print has proved so popular that in recent years it all but disappeared from the market, until the Goldmark Gallery discovered a pristine stash of Punch and Judy prints wrapped in perfect, mint condition.

The Goldmark also has a complete collection of 24 prints from the first two series for sale at £6,000.

A spokesman said: “Given the great displacement of the School Prints after they were sold to schools and passed on among future generations, we suspect this must be one of the very last collections of this fantastic print still intact.”

With thanks to Ruth Artmonsky, the author of The School Prints A Romantic Project, distributed by the ACC Art Books. For more details on all her work go to www.ruthartmonsky.com ANTIQUE COLLECTING 35

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36 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

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ANTIQUE COLLECTING 37

C H A T S

W O R T H

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Puzzle TIME

Put your feet up and pit your antiques knowledge against that of our resident quiz master Peter Wade-Wright

Send your answers to Crossword, Antique Collecting magazine, Sandy Lane, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, UK. Photocopies are also acceptable, or email your answer to: magazine@ accartbooks.com. The first three opened by August 10 will win a copy of Jackson’s Hallmarks, pocket edition: English, Scottish, Irish Silver & Gold Marks From 1300 to the Present Day, priced £6.95.

Match each with the following descriptions. (i) Two bird-like legs (no spurs) and a serpent’s tail, (ii) Bird’s head, serpent’s tail and spurs on its legs, (iii) forepart an eagle attached to the hind part of a lion.

AUGUST QUIZ Q1 The ‘voyageur’, is a 1930s coin issued by which French-speaking country? (a) France, (b) Belgium, (c) Canada, (d) Haiti.

Q2 What was depicted on the coin? (a) a drifting raft with shipwrecked survivors, (b) a canoe paddled by a member of the indigenous population, (c) a steamship (d) a battleship.

Q9 The naker, gourd, barrel and tubular are all types of antique (a) firearms and stock shapes, (b) galley food containers, (c) drums, (d) spoon-handle shapes.

Anagram Anagram B What

is the name of this popular design?

Q3 Scagliola is (a) a counterfeit Italian banknote, (b) a miniature Gothic landscape found on French box-lids, (c) a barbersurgeon’s sharpening leather, (d) decorative material imitating marble or other stones.

Q4 ‘Roxburghe’ is (a) a watermark used on fine paper, (b) a type of dish used for game birds, (c) a distinctive, square glass paperweight, (d) a style of book binding.

Q5 The ‘Goat’s foot’ or ‘Hind’s foot’ is (a) a crossbow bending apparatus, (b) fairground souvenirs, (c) porcelain pedestal ornamentation, (d) A Rococo picture-frame.

Q6 Clobbering is (a) a bid that exceeds all realistic expectations, (b) coloured enamel decoration on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, (c) a ‘distressing’ of furniture, (d) a jewellery-maker’s term for gemstone clasps.

Q7 Nyout, senat, pasang and pachisi are all types of (a) Victorian bird-cages, (b) board games, (c) decorative designs, (d) early fountain pen tradenames.

Q8 Three common heraldic beasts are the (a) Wyvern, (b) Griffin, (c) Cockatrice.

38 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Q10 In 1968 the US car manufacturer Dodge launched a collectable V8-engined model. Was it the (a) Router, (b) Charger, (c) Rodeo, (d) Cruiser?

Finally, here are four anagrams: Allow Pert Twin, Actor’s Treat, Gran Clique and Intern’s Pee

Above Q10 Can you name this

Dodge vehicle?

Rearrange them to form (a) The laying of varnishes on to metals, (b) A pseudo-Chinese decoration (two words), (c) A green magnesium silicate which is easily carved, (d) Unglazed objects (pl.) made from natural iron-containing clay.

For the answers turn to page 13.

SOLUTION TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD:

The letters in the highlighted squares made the words Ashmolean and Sumi-e (a Japanese ink painting).

The winners, who will each receive a copy of the book, are Mrs K. Kelly-Jones, Stockton on Tees; B. Sharma, Leicester; and Terry Biggs, West Yorkshire

1

7

6

R O L L T O P D E S K I P O E E A 2

P R E S T C 10 11 O C H R N A 15 16 A T Y 20 H U 22 A A L T L L

3

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S 9 T E

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S H O V

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S T E R E

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I D E A L N I N E 12 13 T E S T 14 M C 19 18 E D I T H A R L L I O N S T I K O S C O P E

1

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14

Across

1 Early form of bicycle propelled by the feet on the ground. (10) 7 George ______ (1632-1683). English businessman who perfected the manufacture of lead glass. (11) 8 With 13-Down. Perhaps Fabergé’s most famous creations (pl.).

(6, 4) 11. Dark, salty sauce made from beans of the pea family.

Decorative table cruets for it appeared in the 17th century. (3) 13 _ ___ spears. To catch some slippery characters they have traditionally been made of offset flat metal tines, usually with rounded ends set close together. (3) 15 In heraldry, the term for having a crown or coronet around the neck. (6) 20 Furniture used for cards, dice etc. (sing.) (6, 5) 21 Raw, peppery tasting salad leaf. Porcelain dishes for it (after washing) had drainage holes and a plate under it to catch the water. (10)

8

ACROSS CLUE Fabergé’s bestknown design

DOWN CLUE

Who is the female depicted on this painting by John Williams Waterhouse?

Down

1 S ide of the road. Also an early escapement mechanism for clocks superseded by the anchor mechanism from about 1670. (5) 2 _ ____ Corinth (1858-1925). German writer and impressionist painter. (5) 3 Light, narrow boat propelled with oars (collectable ones are usually from outside the UK). (5) 4 B rownish-purple or deep purplish-pink colour. (4) 5 Openings to cabinets etc. (pl.) (5) 6 W indow fastener (very old ones were only needed when windows could at last be opened) or stiffening material in corsets etc. (4) 9 A lcoholic drink. The ____ glass was popular in the 18th c. being decorated with engraving, enamelling and gilding. (3) 10 A type of doll. An American patent for them was taken out in 1873. (3) 12 ____- piece. A type of quilt. (3) 13 See 8-Across.

14 Mythological, female, ghostlike monster who stole and ate children (and in later stories lured older youths to their destruction). Title of a painting

by John William Waterhouse (1849–1917). (5) 16 T he term once used for a telescope, microscope etc. and a drinkmeasure device. (5) 17 The triangular part of an exterior wall of a building between wall and roof. (5) 18 Female attire (sing.) 18th and 19th c. examples are particularly collectable. (5) 19 The upper, convex part of a cabriole leg. (4)

Finally: the letters in the highlighted squares, when rearranged, form the French term for which tin-glazed earthenware?

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 39

Join us for our next Fine Art & Antique Auction

Wednesday 25th August 2021 Entries invited until 6th August 2021

TREVANION trevanion.com

COTSWOLD AUCTIONEERS & VALUERS SPECIALISTS IN SINGLE-OWNER COLLECTIONS NATIONWIDE VALUATIONS & ADVICE

Jewellery | Watches | Silver | Ceramics | Glass | Decorative Arts Paintings | Furniture | Clocks | Design | Books

FINE ART & ANTIQUES

26th August at 9:30am

Viewing by appointment 23rd - 25th August 10-12 Cotswold Business Village, London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, GL56 0JQ 01608 695695 adrian@kinghamsauctioneers.com www.kinghamsauctioneers.com

40 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

0207 431 9445 info@DawsonsAuctions.co.uk www.DawsonsAuctions.co.uk

J E W E L L E RY | WATC H E S | M A K E RS | D E S I G N S | C O L L E C T I N G

IN THE

Loupe

Spotlight on peridot, this month’s birthstone, and what to look for in Jaeger Le-Coultre’s classic art deco watch, the Reverso.

Plus! Bling time: costume jewellery is back in vogue

Faceted peridot, bezel set in white gold on a white gold cable chain, image Shutterstock

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 41

IN THE

Loupe

In the

LOUPE

Putting on the

Glitz

No longer viewed as trinkets, costume jewellery is fetching dazzling prices at auction

F

or centuries, jewellery has been a symbol of wealth and a way to demonstrate status. In Roman times only men of a certain status were permitted to wear it and, during the medieval period, precious metals and gemstones were reserved for royalty and nobility, with the majority of the population only allowed to wear base metals.

In the Victorian era, this divide was still apparent.

The use and cost of precious metals dictated only the very rich could afford dazzling accessories.

Even in the 20th century, the tax on precious metals in post-war Britain ensured jewellery was once more the preserve of the very rich.

These days jewellery is seen as a fashion statement and demonstration of individual style rather than a blatant symbol of wealth. Costume pieces are back in vogue. As Coco Chanel once said: “Costume jewellery isn’t made to provoke desire, just astonishment.”

RHINESTONE COWBOY The beginning of this movement can be traced to the 17th and 18th centuries, when Europe’s collective desire for precious gemstones, in particular diamonds, prompted many jewellers to search for more affordable substitutes in glass.

In 1724, a young Alsatian jeweller named Georges Frédéric Strass (1701-1773) invented rhinestone, called strass in many European languages, after a particular type of crystal he found in the river Rhine.

Before long, his creations were very popular in Parisian society. His work was in great demand at the court of King Louis XV of France. While his pieces had no intrinsic value, once French couturiers put their names to it costume jewellery became desirable, and expensive.

FASHION FORWARD Various early 20th-century couturiers, including the French fashion designer, Paul Poiret (18791944), became proponents of costume jewellery, accessorising his models with necklaces of silk tassels

42 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Below Paul Iribe (1883-

1935). Illustration of three Paul Poiret evening coats. Plate 29 of Les Robes de Paul Poiret

Below right Dress by

Elsa Schiaparelli (18901973) in collaboration with Salvador Dalí (1904-1989). Wallis Simpson included this model in the trousseau she purchased from Schiaparelli

and semiprecious stones designed by the artist Paul Iribe (1883-1935). Poiret commissioned pieces by the influential Parisian house, Maison Gripoix, founded in the 1860s by Augustina Gripoix, which specialised in costume jewellery.

But it was the legendary French designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971) who really developed the concept of costume jewellery in the 1920s, launching a line of statement accessories. Made to resemble large flowers

or frogs, these items were meant to be worn like art rather than as indicators of wealth.

ELSA SCHIAPARELLI Chanel’s mantle was soon taken up in the 1930s by Elsa Schiaparelli, the most popular and flamboyant fashion designer in Paris. Her best collections mocked the established code of beauty, featuring odd miniature hats, trompe l’oeil prints, or buttons formed like everyday objects. She dubbed her favourite hot-pink colour “shocking pink” and aimed her signature looks at a younger, American clientele.

She also worked with artists, including Salvador Dali resulting in avant-garde surrealist fashion, ranging from a compact shaped like a telephone dial to the infamous ‘Lobster Dress’, worn by Wallis Simpson in Vogue magazine.

Schiaparelli also produced a line of jewellery with large faux stones on bold bracelets whose designs were inspired by the Dada art movement.

The queen of whimsy, she added metal insects and caterpillars to necklaces, and her brooches ranged from miniature musical instruments, to roller skates, harlequins and ostriches.

Left A collection of jewellery and costume jewellery, including: an 18ct gold diamond single stone ring, an Edwardian triple-row fancy-link necklace, an Edwardian 9ct gold curb-link, an early 20th-century gold pietra dura brooch and earrings, three cultured pearl necklaces and a cultured pearl sold for £4,500 in February, image courtesy of Roseberys Right An adjustable

necklace, attributed to Jakob Bengel, Germany, c. 1925, silver-coloured metal Tubogas chain

Below right Festoon

necklace with geometric elements, unknown maker, Germany, c.

1925, brass, galaith triangles

ART DECO Inevitably, the trademark 1930s style made an impact on costume jewellery design. Influenced by the Ballets Russes, African art and the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb, art deco was characterised by strong colour contrasts, geometric shapes, clean lines, and stylised motifs.

The new look was influenced by another style of jewellery that came to the fore at the same time, this made from plastics, including celluloid, Bakelite and galalith (a synthetic plastic material made from casein and formaldehyde, its name derived from the Greek words gala milk and lithos stone).

By 1925, the catalogue of Marshall Field’s (a department store in Chicago) celebrated costume jewellery, announcing: “The imitation is no longer a disgrace.” The Colonial Exhibition in Paris in 1931 and the New York World’s Fair in 1939 expanded the breadth and origin of source materials, with rough “barbaric”

Jakob Bengel In 1873, the locksmith Jakob Bengel started a company in IdarOberstein, Germany, which, by the ‘30s had started to experiment with ‘machine age’ costume jewellery.

Its Bauhaus-inspired geometric designs were made from chrome, bakelite and galalith.

Production was prolific during the ‘30s, with thousands of pieces stored away in the Bengel factory until the late ‘70s. Many have come onto the market in recent years, becoming some of the most sought-after pieces of bakelite jewellery. Jakob Bengel’s jewellery was never signed, with authenticity often questioned. materials including ivory (both real and faux) amber, wood and even cork, all used for over-scale jewellery.

Chanel’s statement piece of 1939 was a large bib of faux pearls, uncut emeralds and ruby beads.

In the US, Coro (founded in New York by Emanuel Cohn and Carl Rosenberger in 1901) was the largest costume jewellery manufacturer from the ‘30s to ‘50s.

Known for its brooches, necklaces, bracelets, doubleclip brooches and sets, many were by Adolph Katz, the company’s renowned design director.

‘Coco Chanel (1883-1971) developed the concept of costume jewellery in the 1920s, launching a line of strong statement accessories. Made to resemble large flowers or frogs, these items were meant to be worn like art rather than as indicators of wealth’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 43

IN THE

Loupe POWER of PEARL The most ubiquitous jewellery imitation in the 1920s was the pearl necklace. Strands of pearls or coloured beads neatly circled the neck or swung to the waist, hip, or even knees, were made to move with fast-paced dances like the Charleston.

Sautoirs (long strands of beads that ended in a tassel) and lariat necklaces were often worn at the back. Long necklaces were also wound around the wrist to form a bracelet.

At the end of the period when the little black dress became a daytime standard, shorter strands of lightcoloured beads and pearls continued as the accessories of choice. Rhinestone jewellery also became de rigeur, as the perfect match for two fashions of the day: suntans and white evening gowns.

SWINGING SIXTIES Unsurprisingly, costume jewellery came of age in the free-wheeling, ‘anything goes’ era of the 1960s. Now, in every way, costume jewellery was more than a match for fine jewellery.

The influential Detroit-born costume jewellery designer Kenneth Jay Lane (1932-2017) launched his business in 1963, with his designs soon coming to the attention of Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor, who bought several pieces before recommending him to her wellheeled friends.

Clients soon wore his $30 rhinestone and enamel panther bracelets (inspired by the Duchess of Windsor’s original Cartier models) with almost as much pride as the real versions. Jacqueline Kennedy was among those who commissioned fake jewels from Lane, choosing to wear them while keeping the valuable originals in a safe.

In Europe, Chanel continued to produce Renaissance-style jewellery, notably Maltese crosses and cuff bracelets embellished with large stones which became a hit both sides of the Atlantic.

‘70S TO ‘80S Punk and the power dressing of the ‘80s ensured costume jewellery’s success in both decades. Two designers, Italian Elsa Peretti (1940-2021) and Robert Lee Morris (b. 1947), heavily influenced designs during this period.

Peretti began designing for Tiffany in 1974, with costume jewellers immediately copying her streamlined “lima bean” and “teardrop” pendants, and “diamonds by the yard” of cut stones strung on slender chains.

In New York City, Robert Lee Morris set up his own boutique, Artwear, as a showcase for his handmade gold-bead necklaces, gladiator-size cuffs, metal breastplates, and hefty belt buckles. Fashion designer Donna Karan accessorised her line with Morris’s bold and simple creations for several seasons.

Above left Pearls were the costume jewellery of the 1920s Above right Articulated bracelet, unknown manufacturer, France, c. 1925, chrome-plated metal, bakelite Right Geometric dress

clip, Jakob Bengel, Germany, 1933, chrome-plated metal, red galaith

Below left A brooch made by Kenneth Jay Lane in the Cartier style, c. 1960 Below right Bar brooch

pendant watch, unknown manufacture, Germany, c. 1930, partially fired enamel on silver, marcasite stones

Did you know?

In 1965, plastic pearls were produced for the first time in lightweight, gigantic sizes. They were strung together in multi-strand necklaces, bibs and even dresses.

44 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Expert view We asked jewellery specialist Liz Bailey from the auction house Wilson 55 what she looks out for in a box of costume jewellery While the majority of gems in costume jewellery will be paste by definition, some of my greatest auction finds have been precious gemstone pieces fished from boxes of costume jewellery.

Always look at the back. It is an age-old saying from jewellers and specialists alike, but it is so true.

By turning the piece around, you can see just how much effort has gone into it. Is the piece numbered, dated or signed by the maker? Does it have registration marks? How are the fittings attached? Are they glued or roughly soldered, or does the back have an equivalent amount of detailing to the front? It is these pieces that really merit taking a further look.

Gemstones

Be sure to inspect the lustre of the gemstones, the sharpness of the facet edges, and check with a loupe for any tell-tale inclusions (gas bubbles generally means glass).

There is the classic ‘teeth test’ for strings of pearls that I would not recommend. Instead check the drill hole of pearl beads to differentiate between imitation and nacreous pearls.

Seeing paste-set jewellery does not always equate wth worthlessness. Much Georgian jewellery was set with colourful pastes, frequently foil backed and encased within closed back settings. These pieces can sometimes mistakenly end up in costume jewellery parcels and sell exceptionally well with collectors.

Other paste-set antique jewels to watch out for are those from the arts and crafts movement, so keep an eye out for intricate wirework, naturally inspired designs and enamel set in silver.

Above right Most people own some pieces that are worth a second look Above left A Georgian paste and gem-set giardinetti ring, which sold at Wilson 55 for £1,550 Below A synthetic ruby

and diamond cluster ring, which sold at Wilson 55 for £320

Collecting costume jewellery Expert Gillian Wareing reveals the names to look out for in a disregarded jewellery box lurking in the attic It’s more than likely most of us own some great pieces of costume jewellery, whether they be inherited and antique, or statement power pieces from the 1980s.

This was the decade that ushered in powerhouse dressing and costume jewellery to match. Designers such as Christian Dior, Crown Trifari and Givenchy, among others, made quality, affordable costume pieces that many of us will have in our attics from 40 years ago. Vintage, high-end designers are in demand now more than ever, making this the perfect time to have a look in your attic for your old statement pieces.

In fashion

We are seeing a significant increase in demand for midcentury Modernist pieces, especially by designers such as the sixties designer Andrew Grima (1921-2007). The earlier pieces of renowned Denmark designer Georg Jensen are also incredibly collectable. A simple and wearable piece such as a gold tone chunky necklace is both on trend, but also incredibly versatile. Pieces by Trifari are now highly collectable, and a classic gold tone necklace can be picked up for around £20-£50. Since the 1920s, Trifari has been one of the most respected and admired producers of costume jewellery in the United States. Founded in the 1910s by Gustavo Trifari, the Italian-immigrant son of a Napoli goldsmith, the company has designed jewellery that’s been worn by countless high-profile clients, from Mamie Eisenhower to Madonna. After hiring designer Alfred Philippe in 1930, who had previously designed for the likes of Cartier, the brand created a unique and popular market for costume jewellery that was based on extravagant, highend pieces at a costume price.

How to spot a fake

Details such as the signature and stamp, their font and position, as well as the composition and manufacturing details can be key indicators of a product’s authenticity.

Always check the clasps and the back of the piece as this is where quality and authenticity are most apparent.

Gillian Wareing is a jewellery specialist at Vintage Cash Cow, www.vintagecashcow.co.uk ANTIQUE COLLECTING 45

IN THE

Loupe

46 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso

Ahead of the

Field

The Reverso, an art deco classic born on the sports field, celebrates its 90th birthday this year, and has topped collectors’ ‘must-have’ lists for years

I

n the pantheon of iconic watches, the Reverso stands proudly alongside those other classics: the Cartier Santos, Patek Phillipe’s Calatrava, Rolex’s Submariner and Omega’s Seamaster.

Throughout its lifetime it has earned a legion of illustrious fans including George VI; aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (who famously wore a men’s model); US General Douglas MacArthur and Edward VIII. Currently on display at the Jaeger-LeCoultre museum is a gold Reverso engraved Edward VIII - 1937, commissioned to mark a coronation that never took place after Edward abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson.

The Reverso famously started life on the polo fields of the British raj in India, a place where, among the rough and tumble of play, the life of a watch was short.

Players approached a local watch dealer by the name of Cesar De Trey to design a timepiece to withstand the rigours of the sport. In turn, De Trey enlisted JacquesDavid LeCoultre to come up with a solution.

Initially the brand’s designers explored a protective grill similar to the military-issue watches of WWI but soon started work on a reversible case.

On March 4, 1931, LeCoultre filed a patent for a watch able to slide of out its frame and turn around.

One side was a precious glass crystal, the other made of plain unadorned steel.

He registered the name, and the Reverso was born.

The original model was 38mm by 24mm by 6mm (still the dimensions of today’s Reverso Classique).

Who wears a JLC Reverso?

About a Boy actor Nicholas Hoult wears an Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classic Large small second engraved with his son’s initials. Similarly Mamma Mia actress Amanda Seyfried has personalised her timepiece engraving her JaegerLeCoultre Reverso with a picture of her rescue dog Finn on the flip side. One-time James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan sports a Reverso, as does Clive Owen.

Promoted as “Pour les heures d’activites physique”, it was effectively one of the world’s first sport watches.

RISE AND FALL

Above An early advert shows how the Reverso can be flipped Top far left 1993

Reverso Tourbillon, image courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre

Top left 1993 Reverso

Tourbillon, image courtesy of JaegerLeCoultre

Bottom far left 2008

Reverso Gyro, image courtesy of JaegerLeCoultre Below left 2000 Reverso

Quantieme Perpetual, image courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre

However, after the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso’s initial success, it hit a roadblock following WWII. The art deco aesthetic faded in popularity and round watches became the new style.

In turn, the Reverso watch history became uncertain throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Infrequently produced from old stocks of materials and omitted from sales catalogues’ copy, it was regarded as something of an anachronism.

By the early 1970s, the model fell out of production.

The late 1970s and early 1980s brought on the dawn of the quartz crisis, when traditional manufacturers were forced to look to new ways to stay relevant and afloat.

The brand turned to the Reverso and, in 1983, started production once more. In 1985, JaegerLeCoultre developed a new water-resistance Reverso.

ANNIVERSARY MODELS On the model’s 60th birthday, the firm debuted complications on both the watch’s back and its front.

For its 80th anniversary, JLC launched a 7.2mm ultrathin version. On its 85th birthday, Jaeger-LeCoultre streamlined its entire range, introducing several new models to delight collectors.

With female customers comprising half of the

Below left The watch

started life on the polo field

Below right The Reverso

is an art deco design classic

‘However, after the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso’s initial success, it hit a roadblock following WWII. The art deco aesthetic faded in popularity and round watches became the new style’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 47

IN THE

Loupe Right Amelia Earhart

wore a man’s Reverso watch

A collector’s guide We asked Ewbank’s watch specialist Nick Orringe for the Reversos that most strike a chord with him

Far right The aviator engraved the watch with the route of her 1935 flight between Mexico and New York

Below right JaegerThe epitome of art deco style, the range of variants of LeCoultre is still Reverso dating from the 1990s gives the collector the based in Le Sentier, opportunity to acquire an everyday watch with individuality. Switzerland Steel models from the 1930s, in a 22mm by 38mm case with a 15-jewel movement, are getting hard to find. Look out for watches dating from 1935 onwards when, along with a subsidiary seconds dial, the name “LeCoultre” was added to the dial. Rarities also include lacquered dials in vivid colours, which were available on request.

In the 1940s, JLC came up with the reference 419 Reverso which didn’t flip, it was an interesting variant of production that ceased before the end of WWII. Dating from 1991, the ‘Reverso 60ème’ (issued on the watch’s 60th anniversary) launched the era of the limitedseries complicated Reverso models. Look out for the solid silver guilloche dial framed by a Grande Taille pink gold case concealing a manually-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 824 with its substantial power reserve. Another favourite is the 1994 Reverso repetition minutes which has open display dials for complications.

The trend for ever more complications continued in the ‘90s with a time-zone mechanism added in 1998 and the perpetual calendar in the year 2000.

Greater complications The current Reverso Tribute Nonantième, launched this year as a limited-edition watch to commemorate its 90th anniversary, is a fitting way to end this wish list.

Within the extensive range values vary greatly but expect to pay £4,000 for a Reverso ref. 1899424 in a stainless steel case and £12,000 for a ref. 270.2.63. in 18ct rose gold case and bracelet with moon phase and exhibition back from the 2000s.

However, for those with more modest budgets other models are available starting around the £2,500-mark.

Ewbank’s next watch sale is on September 15.

watch’s clientele, JLC also created a collection exclusively for women. Called ‘One’, it THE features three models.

REVERSO From its genesis, through 90 years of SUMMED UP evolution and countless variations, the Its unique construction, timeless Reverso has reinvented itself without lines and range of complications compromising its identity. are rarely seen. With an Versatile and ageless, it has become interesting history to boot, this is one of the world’s most recognisable a watch which will continue to wristwatches. But it is more than simply attract admirers as it heads a watch: the Reverso has rightly become towards its centenary recognised as an icon of 20th-century anniversary. design.

48 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

History of the maker: Jaeger-LeCoultre The brand began with the Swiss inventor and self-taught watchmaker Antoine LeCoultre (1803-1881) who founded his first workshop in the Jura mountains in 1833. In 1847, he devised the crown winding system, which eliminated the need for keys to wind or set a watch.

At London’s 1851 Universal Exhibition he received a gold medal for his contributions to watchmaking, in addition, Queen Victoria purchased one of his watches.

Encouraged to expand by his son, Elie, LeCoultre started to develop complicated movements including one that combined a repeater and a chronograph in a single piece.

Edmond Jaeger

In 1903, Paris-based watchmaker to the French navy, Edmond Jaeger (1850-1922), started to develop ultra-thin movements which soon caught the attention of others in the industry. LeCoultre was intrigued and decided to approach Jaeger about a collaboration. Just after the turn of the century, the duo created the most remarkable ultra-thin caliber of the era.

Eventually, Jaeger-LeCoultre would go on to use this Caliber 145 movement in its watches for the next half a century. Jaeger and LeCoultre continued to work together on projects over the next several decades.

In 1925, the pair introduced the world’s smallest movement: the Caliber 101. With nearly 100 components, the movement shockingly only weighed about one gram.

However, it wasn’t until 1937 that they officially formed a partnership and the Jaeger brand history began.

GREEN with ENVY

Often overlooked in favour of the flashier emerald, August’s gemstone of peridot has much to recommend it

W

hen the Duchess of Sussex appeared at Trooping the Colour in 2019, she was wearing a new eternity ring.

Bought for her by Prince Harry to mark the birth of their son, Archie, it was a traditional band of diamonds but the underside included a trio of birthstones: an emerald for Archie, a sapphire for Harry and a peridot for Meghan.

Peridot is one of the jewellery world’s most understated – and under-celebrated – gemstones. It is a silicate of iron and magnesium found in basaltic igneous rocks. Although the mineral is fairly common, gem-quality specimens are rare.

Peridot is what is termed idiochromatic, meaning that the element causing its colour is essential to its composition. The colour of peridot varies only slightly as a result of the amount of iron and magnesium, ranging from vivid yellow-green with gold hues, to midgreen and deep olive in colour.

The darkest olive-green peridots are the most expensive. Unlike many other gems, the colour of peridot cannot be artificially altered so they are not heat treated or otherwise enhanced like many similar birthstones.

FAVOURED GEM

Did you know?

The largest, cut peridot weighs 311 carats. The cushion-shaped stone was found on the Egyptian island of Zabargad and can be seen at the Smithsonian Institute.

Above Peridot has been a jewellery favourite since ancient times

Peridot was in fashion from the mid 1800s, reaching the height of popularity during the aesthetic period and the reign of Edward VII for whom it was his mostpreferred gemstone whom it was his favourite gemstone. Pre-Raphaelites, the arts and crafts movement, and art nouveau artists all adopted the gem in their designs.

The Hollywood star and renowned jewellery wearer Elizabeth Taylor was the proud owner of a number of peridot pieces, including a parure set of ear pendants with a bangle; an amethyst, peridot and 18ct gold ring; and a delicate pair of pearl, peridot and diamond drop earrings.

Below A early 20th-century

15ct gold peridot and seed pearl pendant, sold for £340 at Wilson 55

An early 20th-century peridot and split pearl bracelet, sold for £480 at Wilson 55

Egyptians, who called them “the gem of the sun”, wore peridot beads 3,500 years ago, and peridot remains the national gem of Egypt.

In the West, it became a favourite stone from the mid 1800s, reaching the height of its popularity during the aesthetic period and the reign of Edward VII for ANTIQUE COLLECTING 49

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR East Asian art motifs Large-scale trade between Europe and Asia began in the 16th century, when the Portuguese sent trading ships around southern Africa heading east, which were soon joined by the Spanish who operated from their colonies in present-day Mexico and the Philippines.

Around 1600, Dutch and English merchants, lured by the profits to be made from porcelain, lacquer, silk and spices, set up joint stock organisations known as the East India Companies to compete for the trade.

WINE TO ROSEWATER

Lost in Translation Emile de Bruijn reveals the influence of East Asian art on 18th-century interiors and how its motifs acquired new meanings

E

ast Asian art and design is everywhere in the West. The blue and white ceramics on our breakfast tables, the bird and flower fabrics on our fashion catwalks: they are so ubiquitous we often fail to recognise their Asian origins.

In fact, motifs and materials that originally came from China and Japan have been popular in Europe for hundreds of years. But their popularity has belied the real meanings behind the motifs – while flowers, for example are associated with femininity in the West, the same is not necessarily true in the East.

50 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above Collection of 17th-century Chinese and Japanese porcelain at Wallington, Northumberland, all images courtesy of National Trust Images Right Chinese blue and

white porcelain ewer, 1550–70, with slightly later English silver-gilt mounts, at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

The Chinese blue and white porcelain ewer at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire came to Europe during the second half of the 16th century. In China, it would have held wine, and its elegant shape, with a long, curving spout and handle, is derived from metalwork.

In Elizabethan England, however, such vessels were used in upper-class households to hold rosewater for washing one’s hands before a meal. Europeans were not yet able to produce porcelain, and the reverence with which these objects were treated is reflected in its English silver-gilt mounts.

The ewer is decorated with sprays of camellias symbolising the winter season and endurance, combined with stylised lotus flowers and lingzhi fungus, which stand for purity and longevity. Using flowers and birds as metaphors for specific qualities has a very long history in Chinese culture. Flower symbolism is found in the Book of Songs (Shijing), an ancient compendium of poetry, and, by the 10th century, bird and flower motifs were frequently used in paintings and in decorative art.

Over time, certain birds and flowers became associated with particular qualities or concepts.

Individual motifs could be combined to communicate more elaborate messages, and their names could be used as puns to suggest yet more associations.

FINE PORCELAIN Chinese and Japanese objects were imported into Europe in increasing numbers during the 17th century. While Westerners enjoyed their decorative appeal they may not always have appreciated the complexity of the images on show.

Even so, lacquer, porcelain and embroidered silk were highly prized as materials that could not then be produced in Europe with the same technical finesse. Reports from Jesuit missionaries and Dutch envoys described China and Japan as sophisticated, well-run societies with venerable histories. The European admiration for East Asian civilisations was reinforced by the material beauty of Asian products, and vice versa.

The Chinese and Japanese porcelain plates and vessels in the dining room at Wallington in Northumberland, combining underglaze blue with overglaze enamel colours, show what was available in Britain towards the end of the 17th century. The Chinese wares in which shades of green enamel predominate were called yingcai in Chinese (‘hard colours’, later known in the west as famille verte or ‘green family’).

Japanese potters were also producing porcelain for the Western market at this time, having filled the gap when Chinese production was temporarily disrupted by the invasion of the Manchus in the middle of the 17th century.

The two large dishes at the top of the Wallington display (opposite) are Imari ware, named after the Japanese port through which they were exported, and are decorated with overglaze iron red and gold in addition to underglaze blue. The fact that all these pieces are covered in floral images shows the dominance of this visual language, and how it impacted European interiors.

Writing on the Wall

The British-made ‘Oriental’ wallpaper which was hung at Erddig at some point in the 19th century is an example of the thorough absorption of East Asian elements into British design. Indeed, this kind of wallpaper is still produced across the Western world today. East Asian and Orientalist design has become part of the DNA of the British country house, evoking not just a sense of exoticism but also an awareness of the quintessentially layered nature of history.

Above Some of the pieces of 17th-century Chinese and Japanese porcelain at Wallington, Northumberland Right Detail of the

peacock wallpaper in the lobby near the Red Bedroom at Erddig, Wrexham, Wales, 19th century

Below right Half of a

Chinese ‘Coromandel’ lacquer folding screen, c. 1670, from Ham House, Richmond upon Thames

‘The motifs on the Chinese silk at Calke include stylised peonies, associated with rank and wealth, interspersed with hunting scenes which probably depict the annual hunt of the Chinese emperor and his court in Rehe, northern China. In early-18th-century Britain, the original significance of these motifs was most likely not understood and East Asian luxury goods acquired different meanings, for instance becoming associated with women and femininity.’

LACQUER SCREEN 17th-century Britain also saw the increasing popularity of the Chinese lacquer known as kuan cai (‘incised colours’), called ‘Bantam’ or ‘Coromandel’ lacquer in English, after the Asian regions where British and Dutch merchants sourced them. This type of lacquer was made by engraving designs into black lacquer and then filling the incised areas with various pigments, resulting in saturated, luminous images.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 51

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR East Asian art motifs The Coromandel lacquer folding screen at Ham House, Richmond upon Thames, features a series of vignettes of birds and flowers, each in the vertical composition of a hanging scroll. The birds include pheasants, symbolising beauty; and hawks, signalling boldness; but also the mythical phoenix, embodying supreme grace.

Seen from the East Asian perspective of that time, in which nature presented a myriad of symbols to the human viewer, it made perfect sense to represent natural and supernatural birds together.

HUNTING SCENES

Below Chinese

embroidered silk on the state bed at Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, c.

1715

Similar flower and bird motifs appeared on embroidered Chinese silks of this period, such as the ones that survive on the state bed at Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. The bright, intense colours, reminiscent of lacquer and porcelain, must have been astonishing to Western viewers at that time. Textiles are susceptible to fading, of course, but the hangings of the Calke bed were mostly kept packed away until the late 20th century, preserving the original colours.

The motifs on the Chinese silk at Calke include stylised peonies, associated with rank and wealth, interspersed with hunting scenes which probably depict the annual hunt of the Chinese emperor and his court in Rehe, northern China. In early-18thcentury Britain, the original significance of these motifs was most likely not understood and East Asian luxury goods acquired different meanings, for instance becoming associated with women and femininity. This is an example of what has been called ‘Orientalism’, or the adoption and refashioning of elements of ‘eastern’ cultures.

EASTERN IMITATION One of the characteristics of Orientalism is the production of imitations of Asian objects by Western artists and artisans. English imitations of lacquer, deploying European varnishes, rather than the hardened sap of lacquer trees used in Asia, began to appear as early as the start of the 17th century. The splendid scarlet and gold bureau bookcase at Erddig near Wrexham, made in about 1720, combines an early Georgian shape with colours and motifs derived from Japanese and Chinese lacquer.

The concept of authenticity was rather fluid at this time: European orientalist objects were used alongside genuine Asian objects without any sense of incongruity, as long as they conformed to the prevalent notions of what was ‘Indian’ – the catch-all term for anything Asian.

WESTERN DECORATION Chinese prints and paintings on paper have been used as wall decoration in British interiors since the late 17th century. By 1760, painting workshops in Canton (Guangzhou) were producing pictorial wallpapers for the Western market. The motifs (often birds and flowers), materials and techniques were Chinese, but the specific format combining wallpaper with imagery was developed for the Western market.

The Chinese seem to have preferred plainer wallpapers for their own interiors, although they did hang and sometimes paste paintings on top of them.

In Britain, Chinese wallpapers were mostly hung in relatively private rooms associated with women, such as bedrooms, dressing rooms and drawing rooms.

The Chinese wallpaper in the State Dressing Room at Penrhyn Castle in Gwynedd (opposite) was hung in the early 1830s and combines peonies with bamboo, the latter symbolising humility and integrity.

By this time the general perception of China in Britain had changed considerably. Victorian

52 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Britons, imbued with the imperialist ambitions and technological prowess of their age, viewed it as a country resistant to change and unwilling to engage with the rest of the world. Even so, Chinese and Chinese-style decorations were still used in upperclass interiors and Chinese-style willow pattern glazed earthenwares, produced in Staffordshire, were hugely popular. East Asian style was still seen as exotic, but at the same time it had become thoroughly domesticated.

Emile de Bruijn is an assistant curator at the National Trust, specialising in East Asian art and European decorative art. He is giving an online lecture on Chinese wallpaper in 18th-century British interiors on September 14, for more details go to www.georgiangroup. org.uk. For visitor details on all the properties mentioned go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Above Imitation lacquer bureau cabinet, possibly

by John Belchier, c. 1720, at Erddig, Wrexham Right Chinese wallpaper

at Penrhyn Castle, 1830s

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 53

ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER Arts and crafts

SALEROOM SPOTLIGHT

A wealth of design classics are promised when pieces from two important arts and crafts collections go under the hammer in Salisbury this month

P

ieces owned by two of the UK’s foremost arts and crafts collectors are among the lots on offer at Woolley and Wallis this month.

The quality of the lots is not surprising given their provenance. The first collector is David Coachworth, a former curator at the V&A and one of the organisers of Liberty’s centennial exhibition in 1975, which showcased the famous London store and its wares since it opened in Regent Street in 1875.

Coachworth also helped curate the museum’s 1979 exhibition Thirties: British Art and Design before the War, as well as a number of contemporary pottery and craft exhibitions, including those of Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Peter Collingwood and Sam Herman.

As such, it is unsurprising his own collection ranged from arts and crafts, to art deco as well as later pots and glass from contemporary potters.

The other is Kate Catleugh, a driving force behind

54 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Top The collector and

former V&A curator David Coachworth’s house

Above right An early

Liberty wooden clock, from the Coachworth collection, estimated at £300-£500

Right Neville Neal chair bought by Jon Catleugh direct from Neville Neal in 1969, estimated at £300-£500. Neal was apprenticed to Ernest Gimson’s chairmaker, Edward Gardiner in the 1930s and, on Gardiner’s death in 1958, set up his own workshop

the William De Morgan foundation and the widow of Jon Catleugh, with whom she amassed a huge collection of De Morgan tiles

THE COLLECTOR Kate’s husband, Jon, was born in 1920 in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. He was educated at Oundle School and in 1939 entered the Bartlett School of Architecture. His studies were interrupted by the war, and he enlisted in the army. He took part in the D-Day landings, by then a captain. On June 11, in the assault on Caen, he was seriously wounded and invalided home. After a long convalescence he was able to continue his studies and qualified as an architect in 1949, which was the same year he bought his first William De Morgan tile.

The purchase was to spark a life-long obsession, leading him to becoming the foremost expert on De Morgan and his tiles. In the 1970s and ‘80s, Jon and Kate became keen collectors of contemporary potters before selling their large and important collection to an American collector.

They then threw themselves into the work of

Ceramic crafts

From the Coachworth collection is this Peony tile for William Morris by Kate Faulkner (1841-1898).

Faulkner was an arts and crafts artist and designer and the sister of Charles Faulkner one of the founder members of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. Beginning as an amateur, both she and her sister, Lucy, earned money for their work as professional craftswomen.

She was described by Philip Webb as “that excellentissimus of workwomen”. Her designs in the 1870s include the ceramic tiles Peony and Hawthorn, the fabrics Carnation, Peony and Vine & Pomegranate and wallpapers Loop Trail, Acorn and Mallow. She is also known for her gesso work.

AUCTION fact file WHAT: Pieces from the collections of David Coachworth and Kate Catleugh, part of the Arts and Crafts sale When: August 24 Where: Woolley and Wallis, Castle Gate Business Park, Old Sarum, Salisbury, SP4 6QX Viewing: Online at www.woolleyand wallis.co.uk Above William Morris Peony tile, by Kate Faulkner for Morris & Co. Glazed earthenware, c.1875, from the Coachworth collection, estimated at £150-£250 Left A large William De Morgan portrait tile, estimated at £1,000£2,000 Below A Liberty &

Co ‘Tudric’ pewter and enamel clock

by Archibald Knox, c. 1902-1905, with enamelled dial embellished with berries. It has an estimate of £4,000£6,000 at this month’s sale (not from either of the two collections)

Below right Two

Brannam wall plaques have an estimate of £200-£500

both William and Evelyn De Morgan.

In 1971, Jon was invited by the trustees of the De Morgan Foundation to look after the foundation’s ceramic interests, a role in which he continued to be active until his death in 2009.

While he and Kate amassed a large collection of tiles, Jon wrote a monograph on De Morgan tiles. When Jon died, Kate sold most of the tiles, instead turning her attention to contemporary glass, ceramics and sculptures, including jewellery by Wendy Ramshaw, driftwood sculptures by Sid Burnard, pots by Alan Caiger-Smith and glass by Anthony Scala who all became close friends.

‘In 1949, Jon bought his first William De Morgan tile. The purchase was to spark a life-long obsession, leading him to becoming the foremost expert on De Morgan and his tiles’

IN MY OPINION...

We asked Michael Jeffery, Woolley and Wallis’s associate director and head of design, for his sale highlights How important are the collections?

David’s collection is important as it reflects quite closely the Victoria & Albert museums approach to exhibitions in the 1970s and relates to many of the exhibitions he organised. There are many pieces which have been exhibited in such groundbreaking exhibitions as Liberty 1875-1975 a centennial exhibition, Moorcroft Pottery, Poole Pottery and also the William Morris Exhibition.

Do you have a favourite piece?

Difficult to answer, as there are so many including lovely examples of Della Robbia, Poole Pottery and John Pearson copper.

But I think I would have to choose a William Morris tile. Something that is rare to find and pure, and also adheres to Morris’s famous dictum: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful.”

What is the current market for arts and crafts?

The market has continued to hold up since the highs of the 2000s, with good examples by the best makers and designers keenly fought over at auction.

Are there any pieces to attract the new collector?

Yes, the sale has many items, from both collections, priced at under £300, which would be perfect for new collectors.

There is also a good section in the field of English arts and crafts metalware, as well as Monart glass and studio pottery, which will appeal to the new buyer.

Where are you expecting interest to come?

The market has been global for some time and, with lockdown, the internet has continued to be the method of choice for potential buyers.

But, as with the sale of many of these very personal collections, it can entice older collectors back to the saleroom: people who may have known the collector, or even known the piece when it originally came to market.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 55

ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER Lots in August

TOP of the LOTS

Artwork from the children’s programme Jackanory is among the lots on offer this month, along with a pair of Barbara Windsor’s shoes A nest of three oak Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson (1876-1955) tables, with the trademark rodent running up the leg, has an estimate of £700£900 at Nantwich-based Wilson 55’s 20th-century art and design sale on August 19.

With the largest table measuring 61cm (24in) across, the set is part of a larger collection of Mouseman furniture from a Cheshire estate.

Thompson started to sign his furniture with the now iconic mouse mark sometime between 1924 and 1928, it was said to represent him being as poor as a church mouse.

The signature was registered as a trademark in 1931 with some of the earliest mice carved free from the oak. Until 1930, most were carved with front paws.

A pair of Gothic revival X-framed walnut window seats has an estimate of £600-£800 at Berkshire-based Dreweatt’s live online summer sale on August 11.

Dated to 1870, the height of Gothic revival, the chairs – each 71cm high, 75cm wide and 41cm deep – come from the contents of The Old Rectory, Gloucestershire.

The Gothic revival movement emerged in Britain in the 1740s, and reached its height in the late-19th century. The architectural style (echoed in furniture) is characterised by pointed arches, floral details, finials, heraldic motifs and linenfold carving.

Leading designers included Charles Barry and A.W.N. Pugin, the architects of London’s Houses of Parliament (designed in 1840), who believed the art and architecture of the Middle Ages was both more spiritual and moral than those of their times.

Above The window seats can double as stools

Above All three tables have Mouseman’s famous signature

Of interest to small-footed soap fans: a pair of size three Jimmy Choo shoes worn by Barbara Windsor as the EastEnders landlady Peggy Mitchell. The kitten heels have an estimate of £200-£300 in Woking auctioneer’s Ewbank’s entertainment sale on August 12.

Both shoes are signed on the bottom in black felt tip and come with a signed photo of the actress who died in 2020.

Below The Jimmy Choo

shoes are a size three

A late 19th-century 15ct gold and split-pearl star and crescent brooch has an estimate of £180-£260 at the Birmingham auctioneer Fellows’ online jewellery sale on August 12.

The crescent moon was popular during the Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian eras when it was said to represent femininity.

Another jewellery trend that emerged in the Victorian era was the depiction of insects, including bees, moths and beetles. The latter was sparked, in part, by the British interest in Egypt that accompanied the building of the Suez Canal between 1859 and 1869. In Ancient Egypt, scarab beetles were a common symbol of good luck and fertility.

A gold micro mosaic stickpin featuring a scarab beetle has an estimate of £50-£80 at the same sale.

Above left A late 19th-century scarab stickpin has an estimate of £50-£80 Above right Celestial jewellery was popular in Victorian times

56 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Artwork used to illustrate stories created for the legendary children’s programme Jackanory goes under the hammer in Surrey this month.

Ewbank’s in Woking is to sell more than 1,200 original works by Gareth Floyd (b.1937) whose illustrations appeared alongside the narrators of five well-known children’s books in the 1980s.

The set is made up of five different stories, each broadcast over five days. The illustrations from each book will be divided into five lots, matching the five broadcast days. Each lot of 10 to 15 pictures is estimated at around £150, with some 100 lots in total.

The five stories represented are Stig of the Dump

by Clive King, The Otterbury Incident by Cecil Day Lewis, The Ghost of Tomas Kempe by Penelope Lively and The Dolphin Crossing by Jill Paton Walsh.

Floyd, who spent 15 years on the show, consigned the numerous ink and watercolour on boards for the timed sale on August 22 himself. Each measures roughly between 40 and 55cm in width.

Ewbank’s senior partner, Chris Ewbank, said: “This will be a unique opportunity for fans to recapture a piece of their childhood by acquiring what are some very good illustrations from a truly talented artist.”

1 2

Caveman Stig

Jackanory launched on December 13, 1965, filling a 15-minute slot every week day for the next 31 years.

With a small budget the studio-based programme had to be creative. Creator Joy Whitby said: “We had to be inventive. Cutting away from the presenter to pictures was an obvious enhancement. And, increasingly, our graphics unit provided illustrations for stories that had no pictures.”

As well as the stories, it was the memorable performances from actors like Rik Mayall, Bernard Cribbins, Margaret Rutherford, Victoria Wood, Martin Jarvis and Kenneth Williams that enchanted viewers and drew them into reading.

Floyd’s illustrations for Stig of the Dump depict the adventures of Barney who falls over a cliff edge in a chalk pit to tumble into a den. While exploring the midden, Barney encounters its owner, Stig, a caveman with shaggy, black hair and bright black eyes. The book charts the pair’s adventures as they repair the den, collect firewood and go hunting.

3

4

1 Gareth Floyd (b.1937) Illustration for Clive King’s book

Stig of the Dump. The book’s hero, Barney. One of a number of 10-15 lots of pictures each with an estimate of £150 at Ewbank’s timed online sale on August 22 2 Gareth Floyd (b.1937) Illustration for Clive King’s book Stig of the Dump. Barney before he falls into the chalk pit, part of a 10-15 picture lot with an estimate of £150 3 Gareth Floyd (b.1937) Illustration for Clive King’s book Stig of the Dump. Barney falling onto the den 4 Gareth Floyd (b.1937) Illustration for Clive King’s book Stig of the Dump. Barney and Stig survey the cave 5 Gareth Floyd (b.1937). Illustration for Clive King’s book Stig of the Dump. The Snarget brothers Billy, Kenny and Danny discover the den 6 Gareth Floyd (b.1937). Illustration for Clive King’s book Stig of the Dump. Barney’s sister, Lou, and his grandmother

5 6

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 57

EXPERT COMMENT Lennox Cato TURN BACK TIME

LENNOX CATO

Without RESERVE

Lennox Cato always has time for an antique clock, and there is one to tick everyone’s box

Left A classic 18th-century Edinburgh longcase clock.

Courtesy of W.F. Bruce Antiques Ltd. Below right 18th-century

8-inch silvered dial wall clock, courtesy Lennox Cato

I

do not see myself as a romantic, but there is something about the sound of a ticking clock that slows me down and relaxes me. Most of our parents and grandparents would have had clocks or a barometer hanging on the wall.

For me, it is part of the fabric of a home adding character and atmosphere, not to mention the sound of a striking of a bell cometh the hour.

Unfortunately, in many modern homes, timepieces are becoming rarer, as their function is incorporated into mobile phones and electrical appliances.

Some homes today are almost silent except for the hum of computers.

58 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

With the advent of technology, certain traditions are being lost, possibly forever. When did you last see someone tapping the wheel barometer in the morning to see if the weather is set fair or not? Or pull up the chain on a 30-hour clock to carry on its momentum? Not to mention the once-a-week ritual of winding an eight-day duration clock – usually carried out on a Saturday by the head of the family.

Although I am mainly known as ‘the furniture man’ I also have a passion for other specialisms, including clocks. Over the years I have met many clock collectors who are obsessed with seeking out the best possible clocks they can buy.

They are intrigued by the workings and designs and become incredibly knowledgeable as they handle more and more.

While I do know of some keen, young horologists who advertise their clocks and knowledge on Instagram, sadly, for the most part, these collectors are dying out.

STARTING A COLLECTION If you do decide to take the plunge in this rewarding collecting sphere, what should you look for when making such a purchase?

Basically, the clock has to work in its intended space.

I am the owner of a circular, white-painted, dial clock, often referred to as a school clock or station clock. This unpretentious timepiece has been with my wife and I since we purchased our first house in the ‘80s. So, for me it is very much a part of our home and family.

It has hung on various kitchen walls adding character to the plainest of rooms. It has been a source of comfort with its gentle tick-tock in the background.

Rather than opting for a number of ordinary timepieces, my advice, as always, is to acquire a modest collection of good quality clocks. I always suggest an odd number, say seven or nine. One friend has clocks in nearly every room and most cupboards. He rotates the smaller ones to other spaces and rooms. When he showed me his collection, he opened a cupboard and found clocks he had completely forgotten about – an example of an extreme collector.

Left William IV period table library clock, c.

1835, courtesy Lennox Cato Right 19th-century

French gorge cased repeating carriage clock, courtesy Lennox Cato

Below 19th-century

satinwood cased carriage clock, courtesy Lennox Cato

TIMES PAST When I started dealing back in the late ‘70s and early 80s, the Regency rosewood, or mahogany, cased bracket clock with brass inlaid decoration was the height of fashion.

Tastes have since changed and these big, statement, bracket clocks no longer fit today’s taste or lifestyle, mainly because they are too large for today’s average mantelpiece or just don’t sit comfortably in a contemporary interior.

What is highly sought after today is the small 18th-century, or earlier, table library clock.

Small is best, the earlier clocks strike a bell and are usually made by a well-known or listed clockmaker.

CARRIAGE CLOCKS Carriage clocks remain as popular as ever as they are small, neat and can fit into a variety of rooms. If

‘What is highly sought after today is the small 18th-century, or earlier, table library clock.

Small is best, the earlier clocks strike a bell and are usually made by a well-known or listed clockmaker’

you have a large budget, I will always suggest buying an English carriage clock as they are rarer and more sought after. Alternatively, the classic French carriage clock is a good buy and comes in a multitude of designs.

Like all purchases, look who you are buying from.

Make sure the seller has a great reputation in their field of knowledge, as well as integrity. Generally, they will provide a year-long guarantee. When buying a clock or barometer try before you buy and always buy the best you can. If your financial position changes for the better, then most certainly trade up.

SILENT TREATMENT I cannot finish this article without mentioning electric clocks. Originating from the mid-19th century through to the 1970s, there are some very interesting electric clocks to be found.

I would strongly advise you visit The Clockworks based in south London (www.theclockworks.org) which has a collection of electrical clocks and, of course, there is the world-famous Science Museum.

Seeing and experiencing such clocks can put a new prospective on the ‘quiet’ clock we have all experienced, in schools, public buildings, and factories. Electric versions led to the quartz clock which was virtually silent. It all depends on which clock ticks your boxes.

Lennox Cato is a specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and owns Lennox Cato Antiques, for more details go to www.lennoxcato.com ANTIQUE COLLECTING 59

AUCTION Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes.

We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.

LONDON: Inc. Greater London Bonhams New Bond St., W1 020 7447 7447 www.bonhams.com None listed for August Bonhams Knightsbridge, SW7 020 7393 3900 www.bonhams.com Homes and Interiors, Aug 4 Knightsbridge Jewels (Online), Aug 6-16 Chiswick Auctions 1 Colville Rd, Chiswick, W3 8BL 020 8992 4442 www.chiswickauctions.co.uk Interiors, Homes and Antiques Aug 18 Christie’s King St., London, SW1 020 7839 9060 www.christies.com None listed for August Dix Noonan Webb 16 Bolton St, Piccadilly, W1J 8BQ 020 7016 1700. www.dnw.co.uk Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, Aug 18 British, Irish and World Banknotes, Aug 26

Olympia Auction 25 Blythe Road, London, W14 OPD, 020 7806 5541 www.olympiaauctions.com None listed in August Morton & Eden Nash House St. George Street London W1S 2FQ , 020 7493 5344 www.mortonandeden.com None listed for August Phillips 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX,, 020 7318 4010 www.phillips.com None listed for August Roseberys Knights Hill, SE27 020 8761 2522 www.roseberys.co.uk Traditional and Modern Home, Aug 19 Sotheby’s New Bond St., W1 020 7293 5000 www.sothebys.com Vine | Featuring Exclusive Releases from Weingut Eva Fricke (Online), Aug 25-Sept 10 SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: Inc. Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex

Forum Auctions 220 Queenstown Road, London SW8 4LP, 020 7871 2640 www.forumauctions.co.uk Modern Literature (Online), Aug 5 Books and Works on Paper, Aug 19, 26

Beeston Auctions Unit 12, Paynes Business Park, Dereham Road, Beeston, Norfolk, PE32 2NQ, 01328 598080 www.beestonauctions.co.uk Coins, Stamps & Ephemera, Aug 11 Antiques and Collectables, Aug 12

Hansons Auctioneers The Normansfield Theatre, 2A Langdon Park, Teddington TW11 9PS, 0207 018 9300 www.hansonsauctioneers.com None listed in London for August, see other listings in Oxford and Derbyshire

Bishop and Miller 19 Charles Industrial Estate, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5AH, 01449 673088 www.bishopandmiller auctions.co.uk Jewellery (Timed) ends Aug 8 Music (Timed) ends Aug 8 Photographica (Timed) ends Aug 22 Tribal Art (Timed) ends Aug 17

Lyon & Turnbull 22 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AF 0207 930 9115 www.lyonandturnbull.com None listed for London, see other listings in Edinburgh

60 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Bellmans Newpound, Wisborough Green, West Sussex, RH14 0AZ 01403 700858 www.bellmans.co.uk

Interiors, Aug 3-5 The Friday 500, including Furniture, Asian Art and Jewellery, Aug 6 Burstow & Hewett The Auction Gallery, Lower Lake, Battle, East Sussex,TN33 0AT 01424 772 374 www.burstowandhewett.co.uk Antiques, Aug 25 Fine Art, Aug 26 Cheffins Clifton House, Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA 01223 213343, www.cheffins.co.uk Interiors, Aug 12 Jewellery, Silver and Watches, Aug 26 Durrants Auctions The Old School House, Peddars Lane, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 9UE, 01502 713490 www.durrantsauctions.com General Antiques, Aug 6 Silver and Jewellery, Aug 13 Collectables, Aug 20 Militaria and Taxidermy, Aug 27 Ewbank’s London Rd, Send, Woking, Surrey, 01483 223 101 www.ewbankauctions.co.uk Antique and Collectors’ inc. Silver, Aug 11 Entertainment, Memorabilia & Movie Props, Aug 12 Collectors. Stamps, Postcards & Photography, Aug 25 Fine Wines & Spirits (Timed), Aug 29

Lacy Scott & Knight 10 Risbygate St, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3AA, 01284 748 623 www.lskauctioncentre.co.uk Home and Interiors, Aug 14 Toys and Models, Aug 20 Lockdales 52 Barrack Square, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk IP5 3RF, 01473 627110 www.lockdales.com The Banknote Sale, Aug 1 Mander Auctioneers The Auction Centre, Assington Road, Newton, Sudbury,Suffolk CO10 0QX, 01787 211847 www.manderauctions.co.uk Summer Fine Art, Aug 14 Parker Fine Art Auctions Hawthorn House, East Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7SX 01252 20 30 20 www.parkerfineartauctions.com Fine Paintings and Frames, Aug 5 Reeman Dansie No. 8 Wyncolls Road Severalls Business Park, Colchester, CO4 9HU 01206 754754 www.reemandansie.com Homes and Interiors, Aug 3-5, Aug 24-25

Excalibur Auctions Limited Unit 16 Abbots Business Park Primrose Hill Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 8FR 020 3633 0913 wwwexcaliburauctions.com Marvel, DC and Independent Comic Books, Aug 7

Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, CM24 8GE 01279 817778 www.sworder.co.uk Modern and Contemporary Art (Timed) ends Aug 1 Homes and Interiors, (Live Online), Aug 3, Aug 24 Jewellery (Live Online) Aug 25

John Nicholson’s Longfield, Midhurst Road Fernhurst, Haslemere Surrey, GU27 3HA 01428 653727 www.johnnicholsons.com General Auction, Aug 7 Fine Paintings,, Aug 25

T.W. Gaze Diss Auction Rooms, Roydon Road, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 4LN, Norfolk 01379 650306. www.twgaze.com Blyth Barn Furniture Auction, Aug 3, 10, 17, 24 The Special Antiques Sale, Aug 5

Antiques and Interiors, Aug 6, 13, 20, 27 Rural Bygones, Aug 12 Jewellery, Aug 19 Toys, Aug 26 SOUTH WEST: Inc. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire British Bespoke Auctions The Old Boys School, Gretton Rd, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, GL54 5EE 01242 603005 www.bespokeauctions.co.uk None listed for August Chippenham Auction Rooms Unit H, The Old Laundry. Ivy Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire. SN15 1SB 01249 444544 chippenhamauctionrooms.co.uk None listed for August Chorley’s Prinknash Abbey Park, Gloucestershire, GL4 8EU 01452 344499 www.chorleys.com None listed for August David Lay Auctions Penzance Auction House Alverton, Penzance, Cornwall 01736 361414 www.davidlay.co.uk Asian Sale, Aug 12 Dawsons Kings Grove Estate, Maidenhead, Berkshire | SL6 4DP 01628 944100 www.dawsonsauctions.co.uk Jewellery, Silver and Watches, Aug 19 Fine Art, Antiques, Asian Art, Aug 26 Dominic Winter Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 5UQ 01285 860006 www.dominicwinter.co.uk Printed Books, Maps, Documents, 20th Century Photography, Vinyl Records & CDs, Aug 11 Dreweatts Donnington Priory Newbury Berkshire RG14 2JE 01635 553 553

www.dreweatts.com Jewellery, Silver, Watches, Pens and Luxury Accessories: Part 1, Part II, Aug 4-5 A Private Collection of Vintage and Modern Pens, Aug 6 Duke’s Brewery Square, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1GA 01305 265080 www.dukes-auctions.com None listed for August East Bristol Auctions Unit 1, Hanham Business Park, Memorial Road, Hanham, BS15 3JE 0117 967 1000 www.eastbristol.co.uk Antiques and Collectables (ThreeDay Sale), Aug 4-6 Jewellery, Aug 19 Fine Art, Antiques and Wine, Aug 20 Gardiner Houlgate 9 Leafield Way, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9SW 01225 812912 www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk None listed for August Hannam’s Auctioneers 4 The High Street, Alton, Hampshire, UK, GU34 1BU, 01420 511788 www.hannamsauctioneers.com Fine Art and Antiques, Aug 4, 31 Hansons Auctioneers 49 Parsons Street Banbury, Oxford, OX16 5NB 01295 817777 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Banbury Antiques and Collectors, Aug 7 Kinghams 10-12 Cotswold Business Village London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucester, GL56 0JQ, 01608 695695 www.kinghamsauctioneers.com Interiors and Colllectables, Aug 6 Lawrences Auctioneers Ltd. Crewkerne, Somerset, TA18 8AB, 01460 703041 www.lawrences.co.uk General, Aug 4, 11 Mallams Oxford Bocardo House, St Michael’s St, Oxford.

01865 241358 www.mallams.co.uk None listed for August

Mallams Cheltenham, 26 Grosvenor St, Cheltenham.

Gloucestershire, 01242 235 712 www.mallams.co.uk Modern Living, Aug 18 Mallams Abingdon Dunmore Court, Wootten Road, Abingdon, OX13 6BH 01235 462840 www.mallams.co.uk The Home Sale, Aug 2 Moore Allen & Innocent Burford Road Cirencester Gloucestershire GL7 5RH 01285 646050 www.mooreallen.co.uk Two Day Sale of Vintage and Antique Furniture to include Home Interiors, Paintings, Prints, Silver, Jewellery, China, Glass, Rugs, Aug 18-19 Vintage and Antique Furniture with Home Interiors (Timed), Aug 25 Philip Serrell Barnards Green Rd, Malvern, Worcs.

WR14 3LW, 01684 892314 www.serrell.com Interiors, Aug 12 Stroud Auctions Bath Rd Trading Estate, Bath Rd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 3QF 01453 873 800 www.stroudauctions.co.uk Guns & Weapons, Medals & Militaria, Taxidermy, Sporting, Ceramics, Glass, Cameras, Scientific Instruments and Weights & Scales, Aug 4-5 The Pedestal The Dairy, Stonor Park, Henleyon-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 6HF, United Kingdom 01491 522733 www.thepedestal.com None listed for August Special Auction Services Plenty Close, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5RL 01635 580 595 wwwspecialauctionservices.com Glorious Trains, Part 3, Aug 3 Toys for the Collectors, Aug 24 Antiques and Collectables, Aug 26 Woolley & Wallis, 51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU, 01722 424500 www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk

Old Masters, British and European Paintings, Aug 11 Arts and Crafts, Aug 24 Design, Aug 25 EAST MIDLANDS: Inc. Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Sheffield Batemans Ryhall Rd, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1XF 01780 766 466 www.batemans.com Fine Art, Antiques and Specialist Collectors, Aug 7 Jewellery and Watches, Silver and Gold, Aug 20 Gildings Auctioneers The Mill, Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough, LE16 7DE 01858 410414, www.gildings.co.uk Antiques and Collectors, Aug 3 Golding Young & Mawer The Bourne Auction Rooms, Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9LE 01778 422686 www.goldingyoung.com Bourne Collective, Aug 4-5 Lincoln Fine Art Sale, Aug 25 Golding Young & Mawer The Grantham Auction Rooms, Old Wharf Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 7AA01476 565118 www.goldingyoung.com Grantham Collective, Aug 11-12 Grantham Asian Art & Ceramics, Aug 25 Golding Young & Mawer The Lincoln Auction Rooms, Thos Mawer House, Station Road North Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 3QY 01522 524984 www.goldingyoung.com Lincoln Collective, Aug 18-19 Hansons Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire, DE65 6LS 01283 733988 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Antiques & Collectors Auction, Aug 19-24 The Historica Two-Day Sale to include Artefacts, Antiquities, Coins & Banknotes, Aug 26-27 The Derbyshire Fine Art Auction, Aug 31 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 61

AUCTION Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes.

We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.

Mellors & Kirk The Auction House, Gregory Street, Nottingham NG7 2NL, 0115 979 0000 www.mellorsandkirk.com Antiques & Collectors, Aug 10, 11, 12, 14 WEST MIDLANDS: Inc. Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Bigwood Auctioneers Stratford-Upon-Avon Warwickshire, CV37 7AW 01789 269415 www.bigwoodauctioneers.com Home Furnishings and Collectors, Aug 6 Summer Sale of Interiors and Collectors, Aug 20 Cuttlestones Ltd Wolverhampton Auction Rooms, No 1 Clarence Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 4JL, 01902 421985 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Antiques and Interiors, Aug 18 Cuttlestones Ltd Pinfold Lane Penkridge Staffordshire ST19 5AP, 01785 714905 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Specialist One Off, Aug 1 Antiques and Interiors, Aug 11, 25 Fellows Augusta House, 19 Augusta Street, Hockley, Birmingham, B18 6JA 0121 212 2131, www.fellows.co.uk Silver & Costume Jewellery (Timed), Aug 5 Pawnbrokers Jewellery and Watches, Aug 5, 19 Jewellery (Timed Online), Aug 12, 26 The Luxury Watch Sale, Aug 16 Antiques, Silver and Collectables (Timed), Aug 23 Fieldings Mill Race Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 1JN 01384 444140 www.fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk The August Sale, Aug 19-20 Halls Bowmen Way, Battlefield, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 3DR

62 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

01743 450700 www.hallsgb.com/fine-art The David Bowie Collection of Artist Edward Bell (Timed), ends Aug 1 Antiques and Interiors, Aug 4 Hansons Auctioneers Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST18 0XN, 0208 9797954 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk The Shooting, Hunting and Fishing Auction, Aug 12 The Country House Toy Nostalgia Auction, Aug 14 Antique & Collectors’ Auction with filming of BBC One’s Bargain Hunt, Aug 17-18 Potteries Auctions Unit 4A, Aspect Court, Silverdale Enterprise Park, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 6SS, 01782 638100 www.potteriesauctions.com Two Day Auction of 20th-Century British Pottery, Collectors’ Items, Household Items, Antiques and Quality Furniture, Aug 13-14 Trevanion The Joyce Building, Station Rd, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 1RD, 01928 800 202 www.trevanion.com Fine Art and Antiques, Aug 25 NORTH: Inc. Cheshire, Co. Durham, Cumbria, Humberside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Sheffield, Yorkshire Adam Partridge Withyfold Drive, Macclesfield, Cheshire, 01625 431 788 www.adampartridge.co.uk Two Day Auction of Stamps & Ephemera with Furniture & Interiors, Aug 12-13 Adam Partridge The Liverpool Saleroom, 18 Jordan Street, Liverpool, L1 OBP 01625 431 788 www.adampartridge.co.uk Rock & Pop with Antiques and Collectors’ Items, Aug 4

Anderson and Garland Crispin Court, Newbiggin Lane, Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 1BF, 0191 430 3000 www.andersonandgarland.com Homes and Interiors, Aug 10, 24 The Pictures Auction, Aug 12 The Toys Auction, Aug 18 The Stamps and Coins Auction, Aug 19 Capes Dunn The Auction Galleries, 40 Station Road, Heaton Mersey, SK4 3QT 0161 273 1911 www.capesdunn.com Interiors, Vintage & Modern Furniture, Aug 9, 26 Summer Auction, Aug 10 David Duggleby Auctioneers The Gallery Saleroom, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1XN, 01723 507 111 www.davidduggleby.com Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Coins, Aug 12 Decorative Antiques and Collectors, Aug 13 Affordable Art, Aug 14 The Furnishings Sale, Furniture and Interiors, Aug 14 Duggleby Stephenson of York The Saleroom, York Auction Centre, Murton, York YO19 5GF 01904 393 300 www.dugglebystephenson.com Jewellery, Watches and Silver, Aug 5 Antiques, Fine Art and Collectors, Aug 5 Furniture, Clocks and Interiors, Aug 6, Elstob & Elstob Ripon Business Park, Charter Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1AJ 01677 333003 www.elstobandelstob.co.uk Fine Art and Antiques, Aug 21 Maxwells of Wilmslow The Auction Rooms, Levens Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire, SK7 5DL 0161 439 5182

www.maxwells-auctioneers.com Monthly Antiques and Collective, Aug 19 Mitchells Antiques and Fine Art 47 Station Road, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9PZ 01900 827 800 www.mitchellsantiques.co.uk Interiors, Aug 5, 26 Vintage And Antique Toy Sale, Aug 12 house and Garden Sale, Aug 19 Sheffield Auction Gallery Windsor Road, Heeley, Sheffield, S8 8UB, 0114 281 6161 www.sheffieldauctiongallery.com Silver, Jewellery and Watches, Aug 12 Vinyl Records & HiFi Equipment Auction, Aug 12 Antiques and Collectables, Aug 13 Silver, Jewellery & Watches plus Penknives (tbc), Aug 20 Tennants Auctioneers Leyburn, North Yorkshire 01969 623780 www.tennants.co.uk Beswick & Border Fine Arts, Aug 7 Antiques and Interiors, Aug 7, 21 Coins and Banknotes, Aug 11 Costume, Accessories & Textiles, Aug 21 Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, Marconi Road Burgh Road Industrial Estate Carlisle, CA2 7NA, 01228 535 288 www.thompsonroddick.com Furnishings and Interiors, Aug 3, 17, 31 Antiquarian Books, Aug 18 Vectis Auctions Ltd Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton on Tees, TS17 9JZ www.vectis.co.uk, 01642 750616 TV and Film-Related Sale, Aug 3 Diecast, Aug 10-11 General Toys, Aug 19 Model Trains, Aug 20 Books, Aug 25 Warrington and Northwich 551 Europa Boulevard, Westbrook, Warrington, Cheshire WA5 7TP, 01925 658833

www.warringtonauctions.com General Sale, Aug, 3-4 Militaria, Aug 17-18 Wilkinson’s Auctioneers The Old Salesroom, 28 Netherhall Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 2PW, 01302 814 884 wilkinsons-auctioneers.co.uk None listed for August Wilson55 Victoria Gallery, Market St, Nantwich, Cheshire.

01270 623 878 www.wilson55.com 20th Century Art & Design (Live Online), Aug 19 Designer, Luxury & Fashion Autumn, Aug 26 SCOTLAND Bonhams Queen St, Edinburgh.

0131 225 2266 www.bonhams.com None listed for August Great Western Auctions 1291 Dumbarton Road Whiteinch, Glasgow, G14 9UY 0141 954 1500, www. greatwesternauctions.com Antiques and Collectables, Aug 11-12 Furniture, Aug 25 Single Owner Collection – William Hardy, Aug 28 Lyon & Turnbull Broughton Pl., Edinburgh.

0131 557 8844 www.lyonandturnbull.com Contemporary and Post-War Art, Aug 11 Scottish Works of Art and Whisky Aug 18 McTears Auctioneers 31 Meiklewood Road, Glasgow, G51 4GB, 0141 810 2880 www.mctears.co.uk The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction, Aug 1 The Antiques & Interiors Auction, Aug 6, 20 The British & International Pictures Auction, Aug 11 The Clocks, Scientific & Musical Instruments Auction, Aug 12 The Works of Art, Medals, Militaria & Furniture Auction, Aug 12 The Jewellery Auction, Aug 13 The Sporting Medals & Trophies Auction, Aug 13

Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, 118 Carnethie Street, Rosewell, Edinburgh, EH24 9AL, 0131 440 2448 www.thompsonroddick.com Home Furnishings and Interiors, Aug 5 Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, Irongray Road Dumfries, DG2 0JE, 01387 721635 www.thompsonroddick.com Home Furnishings and Interiors, Aug 10, 24 WALES Anthemion Auctions, 15 Norwich Road, Cardiff, CF23 9AB. 029 2047 2444 www.anthemionauction.com General Sale, Aug 4 Jones & Llewelyn Unit B, Beechwood Trading Estate, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, SA19 7HR 01558 823 430 www.jonesandllewelyn.com General Antiques, Aug 7-8

Malvern Flea & Collectors Market

Three Counties Showground, Worcestershire, WR13 6NW.

Sunday 25th July Holiday Monday 30th Aug Entrance: 7.30am-3.30pm - £5

Edinburgh Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, EH28 8NB.

Sat 4th - Sun 5th Sept Sat: Early 8.15am - £6 Sat: Entry 10am-4.30pm - £5 Sun: 10am-3.30pm - £4 Royal Highland Centre - £5 visitor car parking charge.

Please check www.b2bevents.info in case these dates have changed or been cancelled

Tel: 01636 676531 • www.b2bevents.info

Rogers Jones 17 Llandough Trading Estate, Penarth, Cardiff, CF11 8RR 02920 708125 www.rogersjones.co.uk Interiors, Aug 6 Jewellery & Collectables, Aug 27 Rogers Jones Colwyn Bay Saleroom, 33 Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, LL29 7RU 01492 532176 www.rogersjones.co.uk Vintage and Interiors, Aug 10, 24 IRELAND Adam’s 26 St Stephens Green Dublin, D02 X66, 00 353-1-6760261 www.adams.ie None listed for August Whyte’s 38 Molesworth St. Dublin, D02 KF80, 00 353-1-676 2888, www.whytes.ie None listed for August

ESSEX CLOCK AND WATCH FAIR Antique and Modern Clocks, Watches, Tools and Books Collectors, Horologists, Makers and Repairers.

SUNDAY 10th OCTOBER 2021 9.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m.

Marks Tey Parish Hall Old London Road Marks Tey, Colchester CO6 1EJ

   

Easy access – Just off the A12 at junction 25 Free Parking Refreshments from 9.15 Admission 9.00 – 12.00. £3.00 12.00 – 14.00. £2.50

Contact : David Barrowclough (info for sellers and buyers) E-mail: clockB@btinternet.com Telephone: 07851 870185 Managed by the British Horological Institute (Ipswich and District Branch) Subject to any prevailing Covid restrictions.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 63

FAIRS Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the fairs listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes.

We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend a fair especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.

LONDON: Inc. Greater London Etc Fairs 01707 872 140 www.bloomsburybookfair.com Bloomsbury Book Fair, Holiday Inn, Coram St, London, WC1N 1HT, 8 Aug Bloomsbury Ephemera, Book & Postcard Fair, Holiday Inn, Coram St, London, WC1N 1HT, 29 Aug Sunbury Antiques 01932 230946 www.sunburyantiques.com Sunbury Antiques Market, Kempton Park Race Course, Sunbury-onThames, Middlesex, TW16 5AQ, 10, 31 Aug SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: including Beds, Cambs, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex Black Dog Events 01986 948546 www.ablackdogevent.com Grand Brocante, Woolverstone Hall, Woolverstone, 29 Aug Continuity Fairs 01584 873 634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk Epsom Racecourse Antiques and Collectables Fair, Epsom Racecourse, Epsom Downs Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5LQ, 3 Aug Dovehouse Fine Antiques Fairs www.dovehousefineantiques fairs.com, 07952 689717 Dorking Decorative Vintage Brocante, Dorking High Street, Surrey, RH4 1UX, 8 Aug Lomax Antiques Fairs 01379 586134, www.lomaxfairs.com Summer Antiques Fair, Saint Felix School, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6SD, 27-29 Aug Marcel Fairs 07887 648 255 www.marcelfairs.co.uk Antique & Collectors Fair, Berkhamsted Sports Centre Douglas Gardens, Berkhamsted,

64 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Herts. HP4 3QQ, 29 Aug Melford Antiques Fair www.melfordantiquesfair.co.uk Long Melford Antiques and Vintage Fair, The Old School, Long Melford, Suffolk, CO10 9DX, 28-29 Aug Newmarket Antiques Fair Antiques and Collectors Fair, Rowley Mile Racecourse, Cambridge Road, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 OTF, 15 Aug St. Ives Antiques Fairs 01480 896866 www.stivesantiquesfairs.co.uk Antiques Fair, Burgess Hall, Westwood Road, St. Ives, Cambs, PE27 6WU, 29-30 Aug SOUTH WEST: including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire AFC Fairs 07887 753956 www.antiquefairscornwall.co.uk Royal Cornwall Showground Antique, Salvage, Vintage & Decorative Fair, Wadebridge Showground, Whitecross, Cornwall, PL27 7JE, 28-29 Aug Continuity Fairs 01584 873 634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk Cheltenham Festival of Antiques, Cheltenham Racecourse, Evesham Rd, Cheltenham, GL50 4SH, 31 Jul-1 Aug Cooper Antiques Fairs 01278 784912 www.cooperevents.com The Cotswolds Decorative Antiques and Art Fair, Westonbirt School, Tetbury, Glos., GL8 8QG, 13-15 Aug

EAST MIDLANDS including Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland

Arthur Swallow Fairs 01298 27493 www.asfairs.com Lincolnshire Antiques and Home Show, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln, LN2 2NA, 11 Aug Guildhall Antique Fairs 07583410862 www.guildhallantiquefairs.co.uk Brockington Indoor and Outdoor Fair, Brockington, Enderby, Leicester LE19 4AQ, 22 Aug Halcyon Fairs 0780 3543467 www.halcyonfairs.co.uk Buxton Antiques and Collectors Fair, The Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6BE, 1 Aug IACF 01636 702326 www.iacf.co.uk Newark International Antiques and Collectors’ Fair, Newark and Nottinghamshire Showground, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY, 12-13 Aug WEST MIDLANDS

including Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire B2B Events 07774 147197 or 07771 725302 www.b2bevents.info Malvern Flea and Collectors’ Fair, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcs., WR13 6NW, 30 Aug Continuity Fairs 01584 873 634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk Bingley Hall Antique Home & Vintage Fair, Stafford Showground Ltd, Weston Rd, Stafford, ST18 0BD, 7-8 Aug JOS Events 07584357808 www.jos-events.co.uk Shrewsbury Flea, West Mid

Showground, Berwick Road, Shropshire, SY1 2PF, 7-8 Aug (Bargain Hunt filming) P & V Rowson 079766 43174 Himley Hall Antiques Fair Himley Hall, Himley Park, Dudley West Midlands, DY3 4DF, 22 Aug NORTH Arthur Swallow Fairs 01298 27493 www.asfairs.com The Decorative Home and Salvage Show, Cheshire Showground, Knutsford, WA16 6QN, 2-4 Aug Galloway Antiques Fairs 01423 522122 www.gallowayfairs.co.uk Antiques and Fine Art Fair, Stonyhurst College, Hurst Green, Nr. Clitheroe, Lancs., BB7 9PZ, 6-8 Aug Antiques and Fine Art Fair, Doubletree By Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa, Harrogate, N. Yorks, HG1 2HU, 20-22 Aug Jaguar Fairs 01332 830444 www.jaguarfairs.com The Great Wetherby Racecourse Antiques Fair, Wetherby Racecourse, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS22 5EJ, 7-8Aug V&A Fairs 07759 449257. www.vandafairs.com Nantwich Town Square Antiques Market, Nantwich Town Centre, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5DH, 14 Aug WALES Towy Events 01267 236 569 www.towyevents.co.uk Carmarthen Antiques and Flea Market, The Showground, Nantyci, Carmerthen, SA33 5DR, 1 Aug

ANTIQUES CENTRES

LENNOX CATO ANTIQUES & WORKS OF ART EST: 1978

•WANTED• ~ WANTED ~

for epic East Yorkshire Georgian townhouse restoration.

For East Yorkshire town house renovation.

Labelled/ stamped branded furniture from Georgian to Victorian, eg Thomas Butler, Morgan & Sanders, J Alderman, Ross of Dublin (pictured), Gregory Kane, Wilkinson of Ludgate Hill, Robert James of Bristol, James Winter, W Priest, Samuel Pratt and many others. Tables all types, chairs, bookcases, , Davenport. mirrors etc. Campaign shower.

Georgian chamber horseIVexercise chair (pictured) Signed and unusual furniture. Georgian, Regency, William . Sofa / Pembroke / side tables, library furniture / bookcases. Also Victorian campaign chests, armchairs etc.

Ross of Dublin, Morgan & Sanders, Williams & Gibton, James Winter, Hill & Millard Unusual to William IV architectural features andGeorgian many others. eg doors, door frames, over door pediments. 18th century

J Alderman. Daws and George Minterspindles recliningand chairs.

Shoolbred/ Hamptons staircase handrail needed.

Anything/ Cornelius Georgian Smith Victorian with armchairs. or Regency lots of character considered.

Marble fire surrounds. Georgian / Regency/ William IV. Bullseyes etc.

Exceptional Georgian / Regency fire grates

Rectangular Georgian fanlight.

Sash windows x 4 identical. Georgian reclaimed. Approx 58” high x 36” wide.

Four identical reclaimed Georgian wooden sash windows Wide reclaimed floorboards.

Approx 100 m2. with boxes, 60 highwall x 37orwide.

Early decorative oil / gas / electric light fiapprox ttings. Ceiling, table.

Early gasoliers. Colza lamps. Gimble lamp.

1 The Square, Church Street, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 5BD 01732 865 988 cato@lennoxcato.com

www.lennoxcato.com

surrounds fromskull.

1750Hippopotamus to 1850ish. White or coloured.

Roland Ward, VanMarble Ingen fire taxidermy.

Human skull.

Stuffed crocodile / alligator.

Bullseyes, William IV styles etc. Brass Regency reeded fire insert and Victorian griffin grate (pictured)

Quirky architectural features. Regency columns, corbels, marble and stone pieces, over door pediments, folding/rolling multi part Georgian room dividing doors.

Human skull, stuffed crocodile/ alligator.

Victorian canopy shower bath. Decorated toilets etc Unitas, Simplicitas, Deluge etc.

Grand tour souvenirs.

Decorated basins x 3.

vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk ororteltel07958 vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk 07958333442 333442

•WANTED• •WANTED•

VINTAGE WRISTWATCHES WRISTWATCHES VINTAGE

Rutland The

Longines, Tudors and Zeniths, pre-1970. Even basic steel models in nice condition.

Longines, Tudors and Zeniths, pre-1970. Even basic steel models in nice condition.

All the quirky oddities like Harwoods, Autorists, Wig Wag, Rolls etc, and World War I hunter and semi-hunter All the quirky oddities like Harwoods, Autorists,wristwatches.

Wig Wag, Rolls etc, and World War I semi-hunter Early, pre-war ladies’ hunter watchesand also wanted by wristwatches.

Rolex, Jaeger LeCoultre etc. Prefer 1920s/30s styles, early by doughnuts also considered.

Early, pre-war ladies’ deco watches alsobut wanted Rolex, Jaeger LeCoultre etc. Prefer 1920s/30s deco styles, but early doughnuts also considered.

Yorkshire based, but often in London and can easily collect nationwide.

Yorkshire based, but often in London and can easily collect nationwide.

vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk or tel 07958 333442 vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk or tel 07958 333442

ARMS

Omega Seamasters and pre-1980s Omegas in general.

Omega Seamasters and pre-1980s Omegas in general.

IWC and Jaeger LeCoultres, all styles. Looking for Reversos. American market filled IWC and Jaeger LeCoultres, styles.

Lookingatfor American market filled and 14kall pieces possibly, theReversos. right price. and 14k pieces possibly, at the right price.

Breitling Top Times, Datoras and 806 Navitimers.

Breitling Top Times, Datoras and 806 Navitimers.

Pre-1960s Rolex models, with a focus in pre-war tanks, tonneaus etc.

Pre-1960s Rolex models, a focus pre-war tanks, etc. tonneaus etc.

Gold or silver/steel.

Alsowith World War in I Rolex 13 lignes Princes.

Gold or silver/steel. Also World War I Rolex 13 lignes etc. Princes.

PM Antiques & Collectables We Buy & Sell are a modern and innovative pm-antiques.co.uk antiques retailer based in Surrey.

Specialising in a wide array Contact us: of collector’s items, including phil@pm-antiques.co.uk contemporary art, entertainment 01932 640113 and memorabilia, vintage toys, decorative ceramics, watches Over 45 dealers on 2 floors presenting Quality Antique Oak & and automobilia.

ANTIQUES

Centre

ADVERTISE TODAY PLEASE The Square Bakewell Derbyshire DE45CALL 1BT CHARLOTTE KETTELL ON 01394 389969 or email: Charlotte.Kettell@accartbooks.com

Mahogany Furniture, Clocks, Silver, OSP, Arts and Crafts, Porcelain, Pottery, Fine Art Paintings, Bronze Sculpture, Jewellery, Bijouterie, Glass, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Vintage Luggage and Clothing, Oriental Items, Treen, Exquisite Lighting, Books and other Collectables. Incorporating Gallery Café PMAntiques2015 PM_Antiques VISIT NOW FOR A WONDERFUL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10-5, Sundays 11-4.

Tel: 01629 810468 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 65 www.therutlandarmsantiquescentre.co.uk ANTIQUE COLLECTING 65

LAST WORD Marc Allum The old guard. Grayson Perry’s work is appreciating in value

porcelain plate decorated with a diatribe from the ceramicist to the would-be buyer about how much the purchaser’s ‘measly investment’ would appreciate in price, subsequently making him more successful in the process.

All true, of course, and reassuring to be charged £60 for a transfer-printed plate from the gift shop knowing full well it would be the closest I would ever come to owning a true piece of Grayson Perry.

Proving the artist’s point, it has already gone up in value and the plates are now appearing at auction – but I’m not selling!

TOUGH TIMES

Marc My Words

M

Marc flies the flag for the next generation of fine art students, including one very close to home

y daughter is just coming to the end of her fine art degree.

It was obvious from the word go that she was creative and, far from being a pushy parent, I had no problem being supportive in her pursuit of whatever avenue she decided to go down.

Fine art students often get a bad press, probably because in trying to find their metier they go through an agonising tradition of trying to justify in ‘art speak’ what everything they produce stands for.

My daughter decided to specialise in ceramics and, as a result, quickly found herself in an ideological battle. Whether to throw pots to make a buck or two – with the almost inevitable outcome of becoming a cottage potter who never makes any money – or studying very hard to master the very technical aspects (combining complicated firing techniques and large structural challenges) to make impressive and innovative sculptural pieces.

GRAYSON PERRY I’m glad to say she stuck with the latter and her final degree show stood testament to what dedicated young artists go through to forge careers that give us the new material to perpetuate our trade.

66 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Of course I’m a little biased but I hope that she can mould a relevant career path out of her experience because, by the time she’s finished her MA, she will have spent five years in education. She could have become a vet in the same period.

Yet, it’s far too easy for people to say fine art isn’t a ‘real’ qualification, going to art school is a not a route to a real job and art students are not useful to society.

I only wish I’d bought the Grayson Perry pot that I was offered 30 years ago.

Having visited his most recent retrospective at the Holburne Museum in Bath it reminded me I really must buy some of my daughter’s early work to make sure I’m in on the ground floor – just in case.

Amusingly, the gift shop at the Holburne was selling a variety of Perry souvenirs including a tongue-in-cheek

Unlike Perry, the present Bright Young Things of the art world have had to battle through a period of extreme difficulty, with little or no access to studios and facilities, scant possibility of exhibiting or interacting with their fellow artists – while paying large amounts to live in student accommodation that effectively became redundant. So let’s hope those who persevered receive the same amount of attention as their predecessors.

I hope they are not forsaken as a ‘lost generation’ of Covid-blighted talent that should rightly continue to fuel the art market that we all love (or hate) so much.

Marc Allum is an author, lecturer and specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. For more details go to www.marcallum.co.uk

Below The next

generation: Tallulah Lloyd-Allum’s ceramics

‘Fine art students often get a bad press, probably because in trying to find their metier they go through an agonising tradition of trying to justify, in ‘art speak’, what everything they produce stands for’

Specialists in the sale of single owner collections and estates

A 1964 Porsche 356C part of a private collection

SOLD: £48,000

INDEPENDENT ANTIQUES ADVISOR & VALUER • Antiques • Silver • Classic Cars • Watches • Jewellery • Wine & Whisky www.marklittler.com

01260 218 718

valuation@marklittler.com

Autumn & Winter Auctions Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers

We are now welcoming consignments for our Autumn & Winter auctions Contact clientservices@roseberys.co.uk with the details and images of your object to receive a complimentary valuation from one of our specialists

Traditional & Modern Home 19 August|5 October|9 December

Jewellery & Watches 7 September|30 November

Design: Decorative Arts 1860 to the Present Day 12 October

Modern & Contemporary British Art 13 October

Islamic & Indian Arts 22 October

Modern & Contemporary Prints & Multiples 2 November

Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art 9 November | 10 November

Old Master & 19th Century Pictures 17 November

Fine & Decorative 18 November

Impressionist, Modern, Post War & Contemporary Art 1 December

www.roseberys.co.uk Email clientservices@roseberys.co.uk for more information 70/76 Knights Hill, London SE27 0JD | +44 (0) 20 8761 2522