antique dealer catalogues

May 30, 2023

More on Samuel Richards: a Nottingham antique dealer 1890s-1920s

Readers of the Antique Dealers’ blog will be aware that we have previously posted a couple blog entries on the antique dealer Samuel Richards (1859-1927) (see blog posts November 2018 & June 2014). Richards is well-known for producing charming and detailed lithographed catalogues of his stock of antiques, which he issued monthly (with a few exceptions) from the early 1890s until the period around the First World War. Richards’ catalogues are quite rare – there are a few copies at the Victoria & Albert Museum Art Library in London, bound together in a couple of volumes. We also have a small number of bound copies in the John Evan Bedford Library of Furniture History at the Brotherton Library Special Collections at the University of Leeds, thanks to the very generous bequest of the late John Bedford (1941-2019). The Brotherton Special Collections also has a couple more bound copies of Richards catalogues, very generously bought at auction (in Nottingham no less) in 2018 and donated by our friend and keen supporter of the antique dealer research project, Simon Myers, of the antique dealer R.N. Myers & Sons of Gargrave in North Yorkshire (thank you again Simon).

Samuel Richards, Nottingham, Catalogue of Stock, May 20th, 1896. Photograph, Antique Dealers’ Research Project, University of Leeds.

Richards drew the illustrations in the catalogues himself, producing them monthly and sending them out to collectors all over the UK – although Richards quite often felt the need to apologise for missing a month (due to sheer volume of work, he says) in some of the monthly catalogues.

Samuel Richards, Nottingham, catalogue of stock of antiques, April 1912. Photograph, Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

Whilst such lithographed catalogues produced by antique dealers were not unique to Richards (see blog post of the catalogues produced by A. W. & F. Little, of Bristol, in the same period – Blog Post February 2022), Richards seems to have been particularly prolific.

As a result of these fascinating catalogues, we have been doing more research on Samuel Richards over the past few months and have discovered new information about his activities an antique dealer in the period 1890s to 1920s. Richards was born in Nottingham in 1859, and died in Loughborough in 1927. He appears to have run his antique dealing business in Nottingham, but lived most of his life in Loughborough. The Census (1901) records Richards aged 42, a ‘dealer in antiquities’ (as antiques were often called at the time), living at 1 Park Street, Loughborough, with his wife Maud (aged 38), his son Arthur (aged 9), and daughters Winifred (aged 5) and Nora (aged 4), together with a servant, Fanny (aged 16). Richards appears to have owned or rented another property in Herrick Road in Loughborough at the same time. Richards antique shops were located in Nottingham, at 77 Houndgate and at The Old Friary, Friary Lane – he seems to have operated from both premises from the 1890s until his retirement from business in c.1919 – his son Arthur (1891-1976) appears to have worked with his father in the antique shops from about 1908, perhaps until his father’s retirement in c.1919. Richards shop at 77 Houndgate was crammed full of antiques (see photograph from 1892, below) typical of the material he illustrated in his monthly catalogues.

Samuel Richards antique shop, 77 Houndgate, Nottingham, 1892. Photograph, Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

You can just make out the exterior appearance of Richards’ Houndgate antique shop in the title page of some of his catalogues – see below).

Samuel Richards, catalogue of stock of antiques, 1891. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds.

And as mentioned in the previous blog post in June 2014, the building that housed Richards’ Houndgate antique shop still exists (see below).

Building that housed Samuel Richards antique shop, photographed in 2014. Photograph, Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

Richards’ other shop, The Old Friary in Friary Lane, Nottingham, was a much more famous building. He appears to have rented The Old Friary from the early 1890s until c.1919. The Old Friary was a 17^th century building, rebuilt as part of a much earlier series of buildings that were part of Whitefriars Priory (built c.1276).

The Old Friary, Nottingham, c.1927, just shortly prior to its demolition. Image courtesy of Getty Images as part of the Year of the Dealer project 2023.

The Old Friary was also partly rebuilt in the 16^th century and more famous for its associations with Dorothy Vernon (1544-1584) of Haddon Hall fame; Vernon is supposed to have lived at the Old Friary with her husband John Manners (1534-1611). In 1902 Charles Major published his famous romance novel ‘Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall’ which may have increased traffic to Richards’ shop. Certainly, such historic associations would have been of interest to an antiquary such as Richards and to his customers. The Old Friary was demolished in 1927. You can also just make out a photograph of The Old Friary in the title page of some of his catalogues of stock of antiques (see below).

Samuel Richards, catalogue of stock of antiques, February 1894. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds.

We also have some exciting news about Samuel Richards – he is the focus of one of our Year of the Dealer Project digital trails (see Year of the Dealer Project) – at the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight, near Liverpool. Richards sold a large amount of ‘antique straw-work’ objects to Sir William Lever in 1915, one specimen of which we have included in the Year of the Dealer trail at the Lady Lever (see below). So, keep your eye out for the official launch of the Year of the Dealer trails this summer.

Mark

Early 19th century Straw-work box. French. Sold by Samuel Richards to William Lever in 1915. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds.

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Tags: A W Little, antique dealer catalogues, BLSC, Haddon Hall, John Bedford, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Samuel Richards, Simon Myers, The Old Friary, Year of the Dealer

March 31, 2023

Godfrey Giles & Co – ‘antique dealers’

Yet more examples of historic ‘antique dealer’ booklets and catalogues keep turning up – this time our friend Thomas Lange, researcher at leading London based antique furniture dealers Ronald Phillips very generously send us a copy of a rare brochure from his own collection. Thomas has been a keen supporter of the Antique Dealer Research Project for many years and has often sent us information and historical material on the history of antique dealing – thank you again Thomas!

On this occasion Thomas discovered an antique dealer that had not previously been known to us – Godfrey Giles & Co, 18 Old Cavendish Street, London.

‘Antique Furniture’ – Godfrey Giles & Co. c.1915. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds 2023.

Godfrey Giles were certainly not figured in our Antique Dealer Map website – but their absence can be explained by our research methodology; we have tended to concentrate on information about antique dealers from historic Trade Directories, Antique Dealer Guidebooks and Listings, and antique dealer advertisements etc. But of course such an approach misses many traders who operated at the periphery of the trade in antiques, and in overlapping practices such as furniture makers, decorators and general furnishers etc.

Godfrey Giles appears to have been this type of business. Indeed, they are classified as furniture manufacturers in the Furniture History Society’s ‘British and Irish Furniture Makers Online’ (BIFMO) database. The firm seems to have been flourishing in the 1890s, as ‘Decorators, Cabinetmakers and Upholsterers’, with various retail outlets in Kensington High Street, London (for ‘general furnishings’) and in Queen Street, London and New Cavendish Street, London (for ‘Decorative Furniture’ and ‘Antique Furniture’). Their New Cavendish Street shop was right next to another well-known ‘Decorator and Antique Dealer’ Gregory & Co.

The brochure that Thomas kindly donated to us is undated, but appears to date from c.1915; it’s about 10 inches x 6 inches, contains just 8 pages, and is typical of the types of booklets produced by several antique dealers in the period. It illustrates examples of antique furniture for sale in Giles’ shop.

Godfrey Giles & Co., booklet c.1915 – illustrations of antique furniture. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds, 2023.

That Godfrey Giles, a ‘modern’ furniture maker and retailer, should also be selling antique furniture is no surprise of course, many furniture makers bought and sold antique furniture in the early 1900s as demand for antiques expanded in the period. As the booklet states, ‘The demand for antique furniture shows no signs of abating.’ The booklet has some interesting examples of antique furniture fashionable at the time. ‘Chippendale’ furniture was key of course, such as these ‘Chippendale Chairs’ described as ‘in original condition’ (see below):

Godfrey Giles & Co., booklet c.1915. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds, 2023.

Our these ‘Chippendale’ tables, the right hand one described as ‘of the best period and in exceptionally fine condition’ (see below).

Antique oak furniture was also particularly popular in the early 1900s – the booklet mentions the ‘Oak Room’ at Godfrey Giles’ showroom, ‘unique and full of interest to collectors’. The room itself is described in the booklet as a ‘Fine example of a Jacobean Oak Room taken from Erdington Hall, Birmingham. Circa 1650.’

Godfrey Giles & Co., booklet c.1915. Photograph, Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds, 2023

Erdington Hall was built in the mid 1600s, and was demolished in 1912, so this perhaps gives us a date for the Godfrey Giles & Co booklet.

Erdington Hall in 1879. Illustration from Harrison & Wills, ‘The Great Jennings Case’ (1879) – from https://billdargue.jimdofree.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-e/erdington/

The antique furniture illustrated in the booklet suggests that Godfrey Giles & Co were buying and selling high quality antiques. In fact Thomas Lange has spotted a ‘Queen Anne Mirror’ in the booklet that was later illustrated in the famous 3 volume ‘The Dictionary of English Furniture’ compiled by Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards in 1924. The mirror in Godfrey Giles & Co booklet (see below, shown right) is described as having ‘Original gilding’ –

The same mirror (see below) in ‘The Dictionary’ (see Volume 2, page 325, fig.45) was then owned by Mrs Percy Macquoid – perhaps, as Thomas suggests, Godfrey Giles & Co sold the mirror to the Macquoid’s? Illustrious customers indeed.

Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards – ‘The Dictionary of English Furniture’ (3 vols, 1924) volume 2, p.325.

We are so grateful to Thomas for so generously donating the Godfrey Giles & Co booklet to the Antique Dealer Research Project.

Mark

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Tags: antique dealer catalogues, Antique Dealer ephemera, Erdington Hall, Furniture History Society, Furniture Makers, Godfrey Giles & Co, Interior Decorators, Percy Macquoid, Ralph Edwards, Ronald Phillips, Thomas Lange

February 26, 2023

Waring & Gillow Italian Antiques Exhibition 1909

A new edition to the growing collection of Antique Dealer catalogues is a rare exhibition catalogue produced by the furniture makers and retailers Waring & Gillow in 1909. This ‘Exhibition of Italian Furniture and Pictures by Italian Artists’ took place at Waring & Gillow’s shop in Oxford Street in London.

Waring & Gillow Exhibition catalogue, 1909. Photograph, Antique Dealers’ Research Project, University of Leeds.

The exhibition included a very wide range of ‘antiques’ – ‘antique furniture’, ‘Old tapestries’, ‘sculptured marbles of historic interest’, ‘Bronzes’, ‘Old Majolica ware’, ‘Lace’, XVIth century Cathedral Vestments’ and paintings by ‘Old Masters’, as well as paintings by ‘Modern Italian Artists’ such as Pio Joris (1843-1921), Silvio Galimberti (1869-1956) and Filiberto Petiti (1845-1924) – the latter loaned by Queen Margherita of Savoy (1851-1926).

The ‘Modern’ paintings in the exhibition appear to have all been loans from various private collectors, no doubt an extra inducement for potential customers to come to buy the wide range of antiques in the exhibition, all of which were for sale. There were a small number of ‘Old Master’ paintings, which also appeared to have been loans (‘The Three Graces by Sarriboursi’, ‘The Annunciation by Francesco di Gentile’ and a ‘Madonna and Child and Saints Bernardo and Girolamo by Pinturicchio’); but there were also one or two ‘Old Paintings’ on sale at the exhibition – a pair of oil paintings on panel ‘of the Pier Della Francesca School’ (priced at £75 the pair), and a ‘XVth century Madonna and Child’ on panel (priced at £95).

The range of antiques for sale illustrates the evolving fashion for Italian interior decoration promoted by Waring & Gillow at the time. The catalogue even included an illustration of an ‘Italian Salon’ as one of the frontispiece images – the tapestries in the illustration were for sale in the exhibition, described as ‘Early XVIIth century’ the 7 tapestries were offered at £3,000 the set.

The exhibition included a wide range of antique furniture, including ‘XVth, XVIth and XVIIth century’ chairs and tables, coffers and cassone; this ‘Fine Italian Renaissance Credence’ in walnut (see below) was priced at £100.

And this ‘Table of old ”Verde Antico” marble, with ”Breccia Corallina” borders, was offered at £115 (see below).

Perhaps the most surprising ‘antiques’ for sale in the exhibition was a range of ecclesiastical vestments, including this ‘Renaissance Chasuble of the Sixteenth Century’ (one of 4 offered for sale) at £39.10s (see below). Although to be fair, the tradition of buying and selling antique textiles goes back to at least the early 19th century in terms of the history of antique dealing, and museums such as the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A Museum) had been assembling collections of antique textiles since it’s earliest days in the 1850s.

That Waring & Gillow, one of the leading modern furniture retailers in the period, should be staging exhibitions of ‘antique furniture’ is of course not unusual; the firm was also buying and selling antique furniture alongside many modern furniture retailers at the time. The exhibition catalogue will be making it’s way to the collections of Antique Dealer material at the Brotherton Library Special Collections at the University of Leeds in due course.

Mark

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Tags: antique dealer catalogues, Brotherton Special Collections, Italian Antiques, Waring & Gillow

September 30, 2022

American Antique Dealers – Francis Bannerman & Sons, New York, 1929

Our collection of catalogues produced by antique dealers had another fascinating addition in the last few weeks – a catalogue from Francis (Frank) Bannerman & Sons, dating from 1929. The catalogue is in quite a fragile condition (the paper used for the catalogue is rather thin) but it’s also quite thick, with more than 370 pages, and thousands of objects listed for sale throughout – it’s certainly one of the largest and most extensive antique dealer stock catalogues we’ve seen (so far).

Francis Bannerman & Sons, catalogue, 1929. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

The catalogue is titled, ‘War Weapons, Antique and Modern – Cannon, Pistols, Muskets, Rifles, Saddles, Uniforms, Cartridges’. The front cover, (shown above), has a photograph of one of the ‘Island Storehouses’ that Bannerman had in New York – and which was, as the catalogue description suggests, ‘one of the sights of New York’ and ‘the finest Military Museum in the City’. It’s certainly a very impressive building, in a ‘Romantic’ Gothic style, obviously deemed appropriate for the stock of antique and modern weapons.

Francis Bannerman (b.1851 in Dundee in Scotland) came to the USA with his parents in 1854 and began in business working with at his father’s ‘junk shop’ in New York, trading in ‘ship chandlery’ and ‘naval auction goods’ (as Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography described it), which had been established in 1865. Bannerman developed the business further, opening his own stores selling antique weapons alongside the naval and army surplus stores he acquired from Government auction sales. Here (below) is Francis Bannerman, photographed in the 1920s.

Francis (Frank) Bannerman, c.1920s. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds.

As a dealer in antique arms and armour, Bannerman continued a tradition that one can trace back into the early 19th century, with famous antique dealers such as Samuel Pratt (d.1849) and his brother Henry, who together with Samuel’s son, Samuel Luke Pratt (1805-1878), who ran a highly successful business trading in ‘ancient armour’ in New Bond Street, London, in the 19th century. Bannerman’s business in the 1920s draws from these traditions, but his business also seems to have acted as a wholesaler and supplier to several National Government’s during times of conflict. Hence, I guess, the large storehouses that Bannerman built in New York. Indeed, the images of the storerooms suggest a wide mixture of antique weapons and objects of antiquarian interest, alongside row upon row of rifles, many from Army and Navy stock from World War I; the weapons were sold for military re-use at the time. Here’s two images of the stores (apologies – the original photographs are very grainy):

Bannerman stores, New York, 1929. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds.

The catalogue itself contains a mixture of ex-Government rifles, swords, clothing, tents, cannon etc., alongside some fascinating antique weapons, many of European origin from the Medieval Period onwards, including 16th century armour, spears and crossbows. The business also seems to have bought and sold weapons from indigenous (‘native’) populations from both the USA and around the world. Here, for example, is a rather problematically described series of ‘Bows and Arrows from Savage Tribes’:

Bannerman catalogue, 1929. Photograph Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds.

There are also many rare collector’s pieces in the catalogue, some of which, the catalogue suggests, had been exhibited by Bannerman at the ‘British Empire Exhibition 1924’ at Wembley in London. Here (below) are some early wheelock and flintlock pistols from the 1924 Wembley Exhibition. The top image (‘C-WH’) is described in the catalogue as ‘Wheelock Sporting Gun, mid 17th century German’…’from Marquis of Ripon Collection’ and priced at $500.00.

Bannerman catalogue, New York, 1929. Photograph Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds.

As well as photographs, the catalogue has hundreds of line drawings of arms and armour. This powder horn, priced at $250, from the 1812 War between Britian and the USA (1812-1815) is described as ‘Showing engagement June 29, 1813, between the British frigate, Junon, 30 guns, Capt. Sanders, and the Martin, 18 guns, Capt. Stenhouse.’ It was also described as ‘the only illustration known showing the engagement.’ The powder horn was apparently pawned by the descendants of the original owner, but never redeemed, and was sold to Bannerman by the heirs of the pawnbroking business.

The Bannerman catalogue is a rare survival, although I’m aware of the existence of a small number of other editions of the catalogue, and provides a unique insight into some of the intriguing overlaps between ‘antique dealing’ and other commercial operations.

Mark

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Tags: Antique Arms and Armour, antique dealer catalogues, Bannerman, New York, Samuel Pratt

August 30, 2022

How (of Edinburgh, Limited) – rare antique dealer’s catalogue, 1937

Our collections of antique dealer catalogues have had a few more additions over the past months. The latest example of these rare pieces of ephemera is a catalogue produced in 1937 by the world-famous antique silver dealers How (of Edinburgh, Limited). As early 20th century antique dealer catalogues go, it’s quite a large, and obviously expensive to produce, catalogue of stock; it’s 12 inches high, by about 9.5 inches wide and contains 71 pages of black and white photographs of the antique silver that How (of Edinburgh, Limited) had in stock at the time. I guess such catalogues would be sent out to loyal customers, but you could also buy a copy of the How (of Edinburgh, Limited) catalogue for 5 shillings.

How (of Edinburgh, Limited) catalogue, 1937. Photograph, Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

How (of Edinburgh, Limited) were established in 1930 by Lt-Commander George Evelyn Paget How (Royal Navy, retired) FSA, Scotland. George How was born in Edinburgh in 1894, and spent much of his youth with his uncle, Lord Cuncliffe, who apparently taught the young How about antique silver. He purchased his first piece of antique silver, a George II silver basting spoon for £32 6d in 1911 in Gibraltar, whilst he was a cadet in the Royal Navy; he still had the spoon in 1936, shortly before the issue date of the How (of Edinburgh, Limited) catalogue.

G.E.P. How, perhaps from the 1920s Photograph, Antique Collector Magazine, June 1935.

How (of Edinburgh, Limited) opened their first shop in North Street, Edinburgh, in 1930, before moving to fashionable Charlotte Square, Edinburgh by 1932. The business opened a shop in London by 1933, first in Berkeley Square, then Stratton Street (the location suggested in the dealer catalogue), before settling in Pickering Place, St. James’s after the Second World War.

George’s wife, Jane Prentice How (1915-2004) joined him in the business in the mid 1930s and was herself a leading expert on antique silver, a member of the Plate Committee at Goldsmiths Hall in London, and, by all accounts, a formidable antique dealer in her own right. Jane, known as ‘Mrs How’, continued the business of How (of Edinburgh, Limited) after the death of her husband. Many leading antique silver dealers of the day, including Hugh Jessop, John Bourdon-Smith and Brand Inglis, worked at How (of Edinburgh, Limited) at some stage in their careers as dealers.

The catalogue offers a fascinating insight into a leading antique silver dealer’s stock in the 1930s, including, as one might expect given the status of How (of Edinburgh, Limited) as one of the leading antique silver dealers, some rare and important examples of antique silver. Here, for example, is a rare, early, ‘Tigerware’ jug with silver-gilt mounts, made in London in 1556 – (see below):

Or this mid 17th century ‘Commonwealth’ period silver salver, made in London in 1657 – (see below):

The stock also included examples of the work of the world famous silversmith Paul de Lamerie (1688-1751), always much sought after. Here, for example, is a silver ‘small dish on four feet’ (it’s actually a silver sweetmeat-dish), dating from 1730 – (see below):

This dish, which appears to have been one of a pair, turned up at auction at Christie’s in London on 5th July 2005 (lot 19) in a sale of ‘Important Silver, the property of a European Collector’, when it sold for £7,200 (the Christie’s auction sale catalogue suggested that the engraved Arms in the centre were a later addition – (see below):

Christie’s Auction Catalogue (online), 5th July, 2005. Copyright, Christie’s.

The How (of Edinburgh, Limited) catalogue also illustrates antique silver with very illustrious provenances. These examples, ‘The Lencker Tazza’ (silver-gilt, made by Elias Lencker in about 1570), and the silver-gilt beakers, made in Augsburg in about 1600, were both formerly owned by the Rothschild family – (see below):

However, (I couldn’t resist the pun!) one of the most interesting (to me at least) aspects of the How (of Edinburgh, Limited) catalogue is the inclusion in the catalogue of an example of a ‘Certificate of Authenticity’ issued by How (of Edinburgh, Limited). The certificate also directly relates to some of the suggested categories and classifications beneath each of the photographs of the objects in the catalogue – ‘Quality of Object’ – ‘Condition of Object’ – ‘Condition of Marks’, graded variously as ‘Fair’, ‘Good’ and ‘Exceptional’ throughout the catalogue and, as one might expect, as ‘exceptional’ in the certificate example.

Many leading antique dealers and trade organisations, such as the BADA (British Antique Dealers Association) and LAPADA (The Association of Art and Antique Dealers) have offered certificates of authenticity, and many continue to do so, but the How (of Edinburgh, Limited) certificates of the 1930s demonstrate the long genealogy and enduring legacy of authenticity in the market for antiques.

Mark

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Tags: antique dealer catalogues, Antique Silver Dealers, Authenticity, Certificates of Authenticity, George How, How of Edinburgh, Jane How

April 30, 2022

More Antique Dealer Catalogues – Herbert Sutcliffe 1968

The most recent addition to the growing collection of catalogues issued by antique dealers is this rare copy of Antiques Wholesale to the American Trade by the dealer Herbert Sutcliffe, dating from 1968.

Catalogue, ‘Antiques Wholesale to the American Trade’ Herbert Sutcliffe, 1968. Photograph, Antique Dealer Research Project, University of Leeds, 2022.

Sutcliffe appears to have established his antique dealing business at Ing Hey, Briercliffe, Burnley in Lancashire in the late 1940s, expanding the business in the 1960s and 1970s to be a major player in the then very lucrative ‘Shipping Goods’ business, trading mainly with the USA and Canada. The catalogues, aimed specifically at the North American antique trade, were issued regularly by Sutcliffe to American customers for $3.50 subscription per copy. The issue we have is Catalogue No.22, and whilst undated, the information in the catalogue describing details of parcel post and surface and air freight shipping mentions USA Customs duty, stating that ‘items manufactured prior to 1868 are duty free’ – i.e. items over 100 years old, indicating the catalogue must date from 1968.

There are some fascinating photographs of the Sutcliffe business operation, with images of the offices – the catalogue mentions that there were 5 office staff looking after the orders. According to the catalogue, ‘telephoned, cabled and letter orders are received, upwards to 100 per day, to about 15 days after issue [of the catalogues], when most of the individual items are sold out.’

Herbert Sutcliffe Antiques, office, 1968. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds, 2022.

There are also some photographs of the Packing and Shipping Department at Herbert Sutcliffe (see below). The catalogue also contains extensive information on packing and shipping costs and the various methods of transport etc.

Herbert Sutcliffe Antiques, Packing and Shipping Office, 1968. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds, 2022.

Images of the storerooms at the business reveal the enormous quantities of antiques that the business sold, with storerooms for antique glass, ceramics, metalwork, furniture, and extensive storerooms full of various types of antique clocks, from mantle clocks and wall clocks to longcase examples.

Herbert Sutcliffe Antiques, Storerooms for antique glass, ceramics and clocks, 1968. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds, 2022.

Below is a photograph of the storeroom for antique longcase clocks, which seems to have been a specialism of Herbert Sutcliffe Antiques. The catalogue usefully mentions that buyers should think about including small items that can be packed inside the cases of longcase clocks to save on shipping costs – freight shipping was costed by space, not weight.

The catalogue itself is quite heavy, with more than 100 pages of antiques for sale, with each page illustrating dozens and dozens of antiques in various categories. The introductory information in the catalogue confidently states that each catalogue has ‘over three thousand individual offerings’, and that the business itself has ‘about one hundred and fifty thousand quantity lines’. Here are some examples of the category pages illustrating antiques for sale.

Herbert Sutcliffe Antiques, catalogue page for antique ceramics, 1968. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds, 2022.

‘China ‘D’ (above), illustrates one page of antiques for sale, with each item having a number, so that customers could order by telephone or post; for example ‘D6315′ (which is the bowl, top row, middle, with ’15’ written on it) – in the catalogue list this is described as ‘Flo blue bowl by ‘Malkin’, Burslem 16” di.[diameter] From a chamber set. Perfect.’ ‘$15.00’. Most of the antique ceramics appear to be of relatively low quality and value, all appropriate for ‘Shipping Goods’. There are dozens of pages devoted to the sale of antique clocks – here’s just one example (below), mostly priced at between $9.00 and $20.00. The most expensive antique clock on the page is no.17, (row three, middle) priced at $55.00 and described as ‘Fine quality 19th c. Bracket clock 18” high. Casing richly decorated with brass-work. Bevelled glass to bezel. Ornate silver and brass dial. Mach [machine] for time and strike in good order. Casing has side handles and is dark patina. Gen.[generally] Snd. [sound].

Herbert Sutcliffe Antiques, catalogue page for antique clocks, 1968. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds, 2022.

There are only 7 pages devoted to illustrations of antique furniture, I guess the Sutcliffe business was more interested in volume sales of smaller antiques. The antique furniture is again generally of lower quality and value, mostly Victorian and Edwardian. Here is one of the pages of antique furniture (below).

Herbert Sutcliffe Antiques, catalogue page for antique furniture, 1968. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds, 2022.

The antique furniture item ‘F 10510’ (top left) is described in the catalogue as ‘Cancelled’ – i.e. is must have been sold whilst the catalogue was in production; but looks like a mid-19th century Continental piece. Item ‘F 10511’ is described as ‘A pretty art nouveau style mahogany display cabinet. 45” wide 62” high. Note very pretty marketry [sic] panel to centre. of a stylised peacock. Rich colourful inlaid various woods with some oyster shell inserts. Ex. [excellent] patina. Very cln [clean] and snd [sound] cond.’ [condition]. It is priced at $85.00. The final item, ‘F 10512’ which looks like an early 18th century oak side table, but heavily re-carved in the 19th century, is described as ‘A pretty Victorian 17th century style carved oak loobey [sic]. 33” wide 29” high. 3 small drawers to the front. Richly carved front freeze [sic]. Exce. [excellent] patina. Very cln [clean] and snd [sound] cond.’ [condition]. It is priced at $175.00.

The Herbert Sutcliffe catalogue gives a fascinating insight into the Antique Shipping Goods trade in the 1960s and 1970s, which was of course a major part of the British Antique Trade in the Post World War II period. The catalogue will be making it’s way to the Brotherton Library Special Collections in due course.

Mark

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Tags: antique dealer catalogues, Herbert Sutcliffe Antiques, shipping dealers, shipping goods

February 27, 2022

Dealer Catalogues – A.W. & F. Little, c.1890-1900

Old catalogues illustrating antiques for sale produced by antique dealers give a fascinating insight into how dealers described, classified and marketed antiques. The antique dealers research blog has showcased a number of antique dealer catalogues over the years – see, for example, our recent entry on the catalogue ‘Genuine Antique Furniture’ produced in c.1920 by the London based dealer Rueben Shenker (Blog Post, 30th September 2021). Our latest antique dealer catalogue is a very rare printed example produced by A.W. & F. Little of Bristol, dating from c.1890-1900.

A.W. & F. Little catalogue, c.1890-1900. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

The catalogue is in a fragile state, as you can see – the cover has a section missing, bottom right corner, and there are a number of tears throughout, but it is a remarkable survival given the ephemeral nature of these things. According to his own publicity A.W. Little established his antique dealing business in Bristol in 1865. By the time the catalogue was produced, A.W. & F. Little, ‘Dealers in Antiquities of Every Description’ were trading from two shops in Bristol, one in Narrow Wine Street and the other in Castle Hill. Frederick Little (perhaps a son or brother?) produced this edition of the A.W. & F. Little catalogue in c.1890-1900 (this edition is number 16) – it is inscribed ‘FRED LITTLE fecit’ on the final page (see bottom right in the image below).

Frederick Little’s association with print media and design seemed to have continued, as by 1902 he was listed as ‘newsagent’ in Narrow Wine Street, Bristol, and as a ‘Commercial Photographer’ at 16 Castle Mill Street by 1914; so perhaps Frederick had left the antique dealing business early in the 20th century? Certainly, by 1924 A.W. Little was in a new partnership with T.G. Smith, at 20 Castle Green, Bristol, but Frederick Little seems to have held onto the Castle Mill Street shop.

The catalogue itself has rather crudely drawn, lithographic, illustrations of various antiques that the business had for sale. The cover (page 1 above) shows a ‘Rare Old Japanese Vase, 24 ins High’, and priced at £10.’ Together with an ‘Old English Roasting Jack, complete with a pair fine fire dogs 28 ins High, Steel Spit and Jack, all in…’ (next words un-decipherable). The final page (page 16 above), also illustrates a variety of 17th and 18th century antiques, including a ‘Chippendale’ chair (£5), a ‘Sheraton’ ‘work table’ (11 shillings?), and a ‘Jacobean’ oak table (42 shillings and 6 pence). There are 16 pages in the catalogue, each one filled with little drawings of antiques for sale. Below is page 2, which rather neatly captures

the wide range of antiques that a dealer of c.1890-1900 would have for sale. Pottery and porcelain, in the form of an ‘Old Davenport Broth Bowl’ (20 shillings), ‘Three quaint Delft Pottery Animals….’ (5 shillings each), plus what looks like a rare maiolica ‘jardinière’ – described as ‘Beautiful Italian Jardinere, Hand Painted Colours on White’ (£4); ‘Old Bristol Wine bottle…date about 1650’ (5 shillings); an ‘Ancient Greek Bronze Jug’ (30 shillings); ‘a pair of Old Flintlock horse Pistols’ (10 shillings); an ‘Old Carved Oak Chest’ (£6, 10 Shillings); and a ‘Beautiful Indian Execution Sword…Engraved with Verses From the Koran’ (£2, 2 shillings). Page 15 in the catalogue (below) shows a ‘Curious Little Cabinet Made of Mahogany and Satin-wood’ (£3, 10 Shillings), as well as a ’17th [sic] century Card Table’ (actually an early 18th century example).

The other pages in the catalogue are similarly packed with illustrations of a wide range of antiques for sale, including this page (page 10, below), with a ‘Very Handsome Ebonized Cabinet’ inlaid with ‘Pewter’ and ‘Steel’ (£4) – perhaps an example of ‘Boulle work’?

Similar examples to the A.W. & F. Little catalogue were produced by the antique dealer Samuel Richards of Nottingham in the period 1880s-1920s (see blog post on 21st June 2014), see example below dating from April/May 1913.

S. Richards catalogue April/May 1913; private collection. Photograph Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

The A.W. & F. Little catalogue will, like the other antique dealer catalogues illustrated in the research blog, be making its way to the Brotherton Library Special Collections at the University of Leeds in due course.

Mark

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Tags: A.W. & F. Little, antique dealer catalogues, Bristol, S. Richards

September 30, 2021

Antique Dealer Catalogues – Rueben Shenker c.1920

Our collections of historic antique dealer catalogues and brochures continues to expand. The latest edition is a rare sales catalogue issued by the antique dealer Reuben Shenker (1872-1952) in c.1920. Shenker was born in Russia and came to England, settling initially in Grimsby, North Lincolnshire with his parents. The family moved to London by 1910, and Reuben, together with his younger brother Isaac (1882-1959) established an antique dealing business, specialising in ‘early oak furniture’.

Rueben Shenker, ‘Genuine Antique Furniture’ dealer catalogue, c.1920. Image, antique dealer research project, University of Leeds.

Isaac Shenker seems to have worked for his brother Rueben – he is recorded as ‘assistant antique furniture’ in the 1910 Census, whilst Reuben is listed in the same Census as ‘antique dealer’. Isaac appears to have left his brother’s business in 1913, first trading from Holland Park Avenue, then, by 1928, from 118 Brompton Road, a location with a very high concentration of antique dealers in the period. Isaac became a BADA (British Antique Dealers’ Association) member by 1932, and seems to have been very successful, ending up with a shop in Old Bond Street by the late 1940s.

Rueben established his business in 1911, trading from Red Lion Street, London until 1936. He specialised in ‘early oak’, which was hugely popular for furnishers and collectors in the opening decades of the 20th century. In 1937 Reuben appears to have closed his Red Lion Street shop and became ‘manager’ of an antique dealing business, Coslyn Limited, who were based at St. Mary Abbott’s Terrace, London.

Advertisement, R. Shenker, from *Connoisseur*, June 1914. Image antique dealer research project University of Leeds.

Rueben’s ‘Illustrated Catalogue of Inexpensive Genuine Antique Furniture’ contains a series of photographs of various examples of 16th, 17th and 18th century furniture, and is dominated by ‘early oak’ specimens.

In his introductory remarks to the catalogue, Shenker draws attention to the popularity of ‘early oak furniture’. He writes, ‘In recent years Genuine Antique Furniture has come into greater favour with buyers of all tastes and classes than heretofore…..The most important and durable pieces are to be found in the early oak examples, which, while being quaint in design and workmanship, are the most useful for country residences.’

‘Old oak’ was indeed amongst the most popular tastes in the opening decades of the 20th century, with many specialist dealers emerging in the market. There was also a thriving trade in the sale of ‘old oak rooms’, recycling 16th and 17th century panelling and fittings into new old-style properties as collectors and furnishers wanted the ‘period room’ look. Dealers such as Lenygon & Morant, Frederick Litchfield, and perhaps most famously, Charles Roberson, did a brisk trade in the sale of period panelling and period rooms. Below is a photograph of a ‘Gothic Oak Room from Boughton Malherbe Manor House, Kent’, from Roberson’s sales catalogue, volume II of three volumes, also, like Shenker’s catalogue, dating from the early 1920s.

‘Gothic Oak Room from Boughton Malherbe Manor House, Kent’, from Roberson, ‘Antique Panelled Rooms, vol II’, c.1921. Image, antique dealer research project, University of Leeds.

Reuben continued in his introductory remarks in his catalogue, highlighting the increasing importance of authentic specimens, which was a special concern for collectors of ‘old oak’ in the period, and of his own his expertise as a dealer. Reuben writes, ‘Having specialised in early oak furniture for many years, I offer intending purchasers the benefit of my experience to guard them against unfair dealing…I may mention that I have a large clientele all over the world, which has been obtained by giving satisfaction and by honest dealing.’

Shenker’s catalogue is a rare survival of an antique dealer’s sales catalogue from the 1920s and will be joining the growing collection of antique dealer catalogues and ephemera and antique dealer archives at the Brotherton Library Special Collections at the University of Leeds in due course.

Mark

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Tags: antique dealer catalogues, Isaac Shenker, Old Oak, Period Rooms, Reuben Shenker, Roberson

April 29, 2021

Antique Dealing & Department Stores

One of the latest acquisitions to the growing archive of antique dealer ephemera is a rare sales brochure, dating from c.1900, from Hampton & Sons Limited, Pall Mall East, London, of ‘Antique Embroideries, Furniture, Silver, Porcelain and other Art Objects’. It’s a very elaborate brochure, with a colour printed and embossed cover and full of black and white, and some colour photographs, of the stock of antiques that Hampton had for sale.

Hampton & Sons Ltd., Sales Brochure, c.1900. Image Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

Hampton & Sons were established in 1830 by William Hampton, trading in Cranbourne Street, London, selling general household items and furniture and expanded to a large general furnishing and department store in East Pall Mall, London, in 1869. Many department stores in London in the period c.1900, such as Debenham & Freebody, the 19th century department store business that eventually became Debenhams, and the furnishing store Maple & Co. Ltd., of Tottenham Court Road, developed ‘Antique Departments’ within their stores – here, for example, is a sales brochure produced by Maple & Co in c.1915, also in the Antique Dealer Research Project archives.

Maple & Co. Ltd., sales brochure for antiques, c.1915. Image, Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

(For more on antiques and department stores see also our blog post on November 2nd 2014 by Chris Coles). Like these other department stores, Hampton & Sons antiques department sold a wide range of antiques. They described themselves as ‘Decorators, Furnishers’ and ‘Dealers in Antiques’ in the frontispiece to their sales brochure – with ‘Antique Furniture’, ‘Old Tapestries’, ‘Embroideries and Laces’, ‘Old Arms and Armour’, ‘Old Silver’, Sheffield Plate and Porcelain, ‘Old Copper Ware’ and ‘Curios’ all listed in the contents of the brochure.

Hampton & Sons Ltd., Sales Brochure, c.1900. Image Antiques Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

In the Introduction to the brochure Hampton & Sons write that ‘The steady and continuous growth of the Department…rendered it absolutely necessary to make extensive additions to the Show-rooms’ that they had ‘recently constructed for the display of Antiques’ (Hampton & Sons, brochure, p.1). The sales brochure illustrates the very wide range of antiques that the business sold in the period around 1900. Here is a page showing ‘Old Arms and Armour’, including ‘A Demi-Suit of Bright Steel Armour…of the XVIIth century, from the celebrated Melges collection’, (Brochure, p.4) – numbered as item ‘O1.’ in the photograph.

Hampton & Sons sales brochure c.1900. Image, Antique Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

Among the photographs of antique furniture is this page, showing 18th century English and French antique furniture and clocks, is a fascinating cabinet on stand (right side of photograph, numbered ‘O71.’), described as ‘an old cabinet, of rosewood, richly inlaid with conventional representations, in ivory, of trees and flowering plants….’; and an equally interesting ‘Old English Miniature Bureau Bookcase’ (show top left, numbered ‘O67’)…an ‘Important example’ as the caption states. This, of course, as we now know, is a late 18th century example from Vizagapatam, India.

Another of the pages devoted to antique furniture includes another cabinet on stand, this time described as ‘A Very Fine Old Ebony Cabinet….Formerly the property of Oliver Cromwell. From Olivers Stanway, once the residence of the Eldred family’; (numbered O78.’) – the cabinet is also illustrated in Arthur Hayden Chats on Old Furniture (1905), p.99, where it is reproduced by ‘permission of Messrs. Hampton & Sons’ and obviously from the brochure here.

Hampton & Sons, Sales Brochure, c.1900. Image, Antiques Dealers Research Project, University of Leeds.

There is also an extensive selection of antique textiles and lace in the sales brochure; antique textiles and lace were highly fashionable at the time, but antique lace in particular had also been a key part of the antique markets since the early 19th century, perhaps most famously with Jane Clarke, who operated the ‘Antique Lace Warehouse’ at 154 Regent Street, London in the 1830s and 1840s. In the Hampton & Sons brochure there is a fabulous ‘Banner of Old Italian Lacis’, ‘dated 1606’, ‘a very fine and interesting specimen’ as it was described; (numbered ‘O130’).

There is also a page devoted to the ubiquitous ‘Curios’, which included an ‘Elizabethan Brown Glazed Ware Jug’ (numbered ‘O211’) top right in the photograph below, together with ‘Ivory Tankards’, ‘Silver and Metal Gilt Monstrances’, and ‘a Pair of Chinese Carved Cylindrical Spill Vases’ (numbered ‘O212’) top centre – these are carved Bamboo brush pots which appear to have been later mounted in silver, probably in Europe.

And finally, no antique department store would have been complete at the time without some collections of antique Chinese ceramics, and here are a couple of pages from the brochure illustrating Hampton & Sons collections of ‘Old Chinese Porcelain’. This page (below) showing 18th century polychrome porcelain, including an interesting vase ‘on Imperial Yellow Ground’ (centre, numbered ‘O272’):

And this page (below), showing ‘Old Nankin Porcelain’, from the extensive collections of blue & white Chinese porcelain at Hampton & Sons.

The Hampton & Sons sales brochure is a rare and fascinating survival of antique dealing in the period c.1900, and will be making its way to the antique dealer archives at the Brotherton Library Special Collections at the University of Leeds in due course.

Mark

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Tags: antique dealer catalogues, Arthur Hayden, Hampton & Sons, Jane Clarke, Maple & Co, Oliver Cromwell

September 11, 2019

Thanks to our friend and colleague, Chris Jussel, formerly of the antique dealers Vernay & Jussel, in the USA, our archive of historic antique dealers catalogues continues to increase. Chris very generously send us, all the way from America, a small cache of dealer catalogues from his collection. The catalogues are mostly undated, but appear to be mainly from the mid 1980s, and were produced by a number of well-known antique dealers, some of whom are no longer with us.

Amongst the catalogues are examples produced by the firm of Thorpe & Foster in c.1980-1985, who were trading in Dorking in Surrey in the 1980s; Thorpe & Foster were well-known as ‘specialists in antique walnut furniture’ and advertised extensively in the 1980s. They appear to have incorporated Hampshires of Dorking and the fine art dealership ‘Dorking Fine Arts’ in the late 1980s. Their shop in Dorking was appropriately located in an historic house – in this case a Georgian House, and such business premises had been a favourite setting for antique dealers since the early 1900s.

Thorpe & Foster catalogue, c.1985.

Some of the catalogues, probably dating from the late 1980s, appear to foreground Hampshires of Dorking as the main business, rather than Thorpe & Foster. It’s not known when the business of Thorpe & Foster was established, nor when the business joined with Hampshires of Dorking, but one of the Thorpe & Foster catalogues, evidently from the early 1980s, indicates that Thorpe & Foster were trading at 49 West Street, Dorking, and by the mid 1980s, when they had incorporated Hampshires of Dorking, the business extended from 48 to 52 West Street.

The Hampshires of Dorking catalogues suggest that the antique furniture on sale was displayed in ‘period room’ settings in the 1980s.

Hampshires of Dorking, catalogue 1980s.

Other antique dealer catalogues in the cache sent to us by Chris Jussel include examples produced by the dealer Brian Fielden, again dating from the 1980s and who was trading from New Cavendish Street, London at the time.

Brian Fielden antiques, catalogue 1980s.

And catalogues, also dating from the 1980s, from the well-known English antique furniture dealers Apter-Fredericks, who are still trading in the Fulham Road in London – Fulham Road was known by many in the antique trade as ‘the brown mile’ because the large number of antique furniture dealers that settled in Fulham Road during the 1970s and 1980s.

There are also a small selection of dated catalogues (dating from 1981, 1982 and 1983) produced by the firm of W.R. Harvey & Co (Antiques) Ltd., (then trading from Chalk Farm Road in North London; the firm is also still trading, now in Corn Street, Witney in Oxfordshire); and a 1980s catalogue produced by Edward A. Nowell Antiques, the well-known dealer in Wells in Somerset.

Edward A Nowell Antiques, catalogue, 1980s.

The antique dealer catalogues are a very valuable resource for the antique dealers research project – they illustrate the kinds of antiques that were most fashionable in the period and also indicate the changing marketing techniques and practices of the antique trade – or at least some key sectors of the antiques trade. These 1980s antique dealer catalogues are highly polished publications, produced as part of sophisticated advertising to promote the businesses.

The practice of antique dealers producing catalogues of their stock has a long history. Indeed, some of the earliest antique dealer catalogues were produced in the 1820s – the dealer Horatio Rodd, who was trading in Great Newport Street in London during the 1820s to 1840s, seems to have regularly produced printed and illustrated catalogues of his stock, two of which (dating from 1824 and 1842) survive in the National Art Library at the Victoria & Albert Museum (shelfmark G.31.H and shelfmark II.RC.L.32) – they were both also on display at the recent SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story at the Bowes Museum.

And as previous blog posts have demonstrated, many antique dealers, both in London and in the provinces, continued to produce catalogues of their stock throughout the 19th and 20th centuries (see, for example, recent blog posts on W.F Greenwood & Sons). Some of the most well-known examples are the late 19th and early 20th century catalogues produced by the Nottingham antique dealer Samuel Richards.

Catalogue of stock produced by Samuel Richards of Nottingham, 1890s.

Richards’ catalogues were posted to collectors on a regular basis, apparently every month, from the 1880s until the start of World War I. The S. Richards’ catalogues illustrate the very wide range of antiques and curiosities that a leading dealer sold in the period, from a ‘Fine Chippendale Armchair’ and a ‘Queen Anne Dressing Mirror’ to a pair of ‘Rare Silk work Pictures’ and an ‘Early Worcester Cup and Saucer’. Examples of Richards’ catalogues survive at the National Art Library at the Victoria & Albert Museum and in the extensive collections of antique dealer archives at the Brotherton Library Special Collections at the University of Leeds.

The latest cache of antique dealer catalogues that Chris Jussel has so generously donated to the antique dealers’ research project will provide future researchers will valuable information of the ways in which leading antiques dealers of the 1980s marketed their stock of antiques.

Mark

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Tags: antique dealer catalogues, Apter Fredericks, Brian Fielden, Brotherton Special Collections, Chris Jussel, Edward A Nowell, Hampshires of Dorking, S. Richards, Thorpe & Foster, Victoria & Albert Museum, W R Harvey & Co

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