Our latest oral history interview, thanks to the continued support from the British Antique Dealer’s Association for the BADA Voices theme in the research project took us all the way to Devon last week.
Our interview was with 3rd generation antique dealer Philip Andrade, a former BADA member before he retired in 2000. Philip’s grandfather, Henry de Costa Andrade, came from an illustrious line of art and antique dealers which began, it seems, with the well known London antique dealer Cyril de Costa Andrade (b.1883) who traded in Duke Street, St. James’s in London and counted Duveen as a customer – Cyril was Philip’s 2nd cousin once removed; James de Costa Andrade, Philip’s uncle, also ran a well-known antique shop in the fashionable King’s Road, in London during the 1950s and 1960s.
Philip’s grandfather, Henry de Costa Andrade ran an antique shop in Plymouth, Devon after arriving in Plymouth with his son, Reginald, in 1907; the family came from Clissiold Park in London. Reginald Andrade had joined his father’s business by the mid 1920s, before Philip took over the family business during the early 1960s. Here’s Philip, at his home in Devon with his dog ‘Bailey’.
Philip Andrade, at home, with ‘Bailey’. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds, 2018.
In this very engaging oral history interview, Philip told us of his life as an antique dealer, of his father’s business, which traded as Reginald and Muriel Andrade at Boringdon Villas in Plympton, just outside of Plymouth in Devon. Philip was joined in the business by his wife Margaret (they married in 1960), who was also, incidentally, the daughter of another Devon based antiques dealer, Arthur (Jack) West; both Philip and Margaret were junior directors of his father’s business, Reginald & Muriel Andrade Limited – the business later became a partnership. Philip started working for his father Reginald in 1955, driving his father around the trade and auctions within six weeks of leaving school, but also remembers serving customers in his father’s shop when he was aged 12 or 13 – so he has almost 70 years of experience of the antiques trade – that might be a record for our oral history interviewees!
As with all of our oral history interviews, our interview with Philip will be eventually be uploaded to the Antique Dealer Research project Oral History pages.
Mark
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