antiquedealersblog

We are very pleased indeed to announce that the Phillips of Hitchin archives, held at the Brotherton Library Special Collections at the University of Leeds, have been awarded a prestigious National Manuscript Conservation Trust Grant. The NMCT awarded us £8,000 to conserve parts of the archive, which was one of only 10 major grants awarded by the NMCT this year.  The award was supported by a generous donation from the John S. Cohen Grant fund, and is a testament to the historical and cultural significance of the Phillips of Hitchin archives, the research potential and significance of Antique Dealer archives more generally (and the fabulous holdings at the Brotherton Library), and the expertise of the archive team at the Brotherton Library Special Collections.

Phillips of Hitchin Archive, ‘Daybook’ 1890-1892. Brotherton Library Special Collections, University of Leeds.

As part of the application for the Grant we composed a ‘Statement of Significance’ for the PoH archives – and here it is, in full –

‘The Phillips of Hitchin archive (PoH) (dating 1882-2005) is an exceptionally rare survival of a senior-level antique dealer archive. It is extremely unusual for such archives to survive, as they have often been deliberately destroyed due to the highly sensitive nature of the information that they contain (prices/values of artworks and antiques, restoration and provenance information). This makes the PoH archive a unique resource for future researchers. PoH were one of the most important and influential antique dealers in the UK and sold many thousands of objects to many major national museums, both in the UK and internationally. The client lists of PoH include virtually every well-known collector and personality of the day, from members of the British Royal family to influential American collectors such as Judge Irwin Untermeyer.  The richness of the PoH archive is without parallel in its comprehensiveness and contains not only stock books, sales ledgers and copy invoices but also includes extensive client correspondence material relating to the acquisition and sale of artworks.  This completeness allows for much more fine-grained research and makes the archive an essential resource for both provenance research and the expanding field of art market study.’

This grant, together with our recent success in the University of Leeds Undergraduate Research and Leadership Scholarship scheme (the Laidlaw scholarship) and which allowed Liv Powell, our Laidlaw Scholar, to work with us on the Phillips of Hitchin archives, means that we can press on with the conservation and research on the PoH archives.  We hope that the rich potential of the archives will soon be made available scholars and researchers. There’s still a lot of work to do…as you can see!……

Packets of archive papers, Phillips of Hitchin archive, in situ at Hitchin prior to removal to Leeds. Photo copyright Antique Dealer project, University of Leeds 2015.

….but we are delighted that the National Manuscript Conservation Trust  have recognised the importance of Phillips of Hitchin Archives.

Mark

Phillips of Hitchin Archive, advertisement, c.1920. Brotherton Library Special Collections, University of Leeds.