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Silver Mordan pencil

Published June 25, 2026 at 2016 × 349 in The Fascinating Tale of Sampson Mordan Pencils

Silver Mordan pencil

Silver Mordan pencil

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ABOUT MARK HILL :

Mark is an author, publisher, TV presenter, and the leading specialist dealer in postwar Czechoslovakian glass. He has been an expert on the BBC Antiques Roadshow since 2007, and co-presented four primetime TV shows on antiques, collecting and interiors for BBC2, including two series of Collectaholics. Mark lectures widely and is an Arts Society (NADFAS) accredited lecturer, a member of The British Antiques Dealers’ Association, and a Freeman of the City of London.

Member of The British Antique Dealers’ Association

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Mark Hill @antiquemark ·

22 Jun 2025

Delighted and excited to be at next Sunday’s @premierfairs fair in Penshurst, Kent, organised by @richardburtonshaw.

Come and find me - say hi, have a chat or consign to @markhillauctions. Bring your treasures and buy more here! Curves, colours and cool!

Looking forward to…

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MARK'S INSTAGRAM

markhillantiques

New post in my art, antiques & design Journal abou

New post in my art, antiques & design Journal about this strange British drinking glass with an unusual connection to a mysterious American Colonial architectural icon… Read all about it - link in bio!

Are paperweights ancient history? I don’t think so

Are paperweights ancient history? I don’t think so! I rediscovered this rare late 1920s Art Deco carved Catalin (cast phenolic) paperweight in my collection last week, and it packs quite a punchy story. Read all about it on my art, antiques and design journal - link in bio!

Jam or cream first on a scone? New post on my an

Jam or cream first on a scone?

New post on my antiques, art & design journal.

And this one is free to read!

Futuristic jamtastic!

Link in bio.

Adored this plastic and padded PVC ‘Zombie’ chair,

Adored this plastic and padded PVC ‘Zombie’ chair, designed by Roger Tallon in 1967 for the L’Astroquet restaurant in Paris.

Only 20 were made, and dispersed after a redecoration a few years later.

Super rare!

Also great to see three vases (designed or) made by @samhermanstudio for Val St Lambert around 1970 in the bicentennial exhibition for Val St Lambert, founded 200 years ago in 1826.

Seen in the excellent plastics exhibition in the Design Museum Brussels, next door to the Atomium.

New (to me) oil on canvas on board painting of a r

New (to me) oil on canvas on board painting of a rocky beachscape to research. If anything can be found!

Unsigned but light shades of Kiffyn Williams, without the later heavy impasto knife work. But also probably too early with this fascinating label, verso, reading:

BOMBAY FINE ART GALLERY
BY APPOINTMENT TO
H.E. THE GOVERNOR
H.E. THE ADMIRAL
69 ESPLANADE ROAD 31 MEADOWS ST
BOMBAY

So probably c1900-30s, judging by the label and frame, but both could have been used later…

Midcentury modern gem by a studio glass pioneer wo

Midcentury modern gem by a studio glass pioneer worth thousands? Or something else entirely?

Could this be a rare and valuable 1970s ‘Emergence’ series sculpture by Dominick Labino?

Found in a charity shop recently for £5, read the story about it on my antiques, art and design Journal. Link in bio!

I tell the incredible (honestly, it really is!) st

I tell the incredible (honestly, it really is!) story of Miss Elizabeth Allen and her textile art. A true artist, if there ever was one.

Unknown for decades, finding international fame in the 1960s, then totally forgotten and lost. Until now…

Read all about it on my Journal - link in bio.

And, yes, if you saw Fiona Bruce’s appeal after my ‘A Life In Antiques’ interview on last year’s BBC Antiques Roadshow at FirstSite - this is it! And there’s a superb exhibition for you to see too @compton_verney.

Bumper midcentury ceramics selection in our local

Bumper midcentury ceramics selection in our local charity shop today! West German, Hornsea, Italian Fratelli Fanciullacci mini jug, scarce Schramberg Ceylon and more! Alas, all had major condition issues (cracks, chips, sometimes both) except for the handpainted Midwinter ‘Festival’ pattern teacup and saucer, designed by Jessie Tait in 1955, which I bought for a tenner!

I think he has amongst the best eyes in the busine

I think he has amongst the best eyes in the business today, and he’s up there as one of the few dealers I buy from (and learn from) the most.

Lawrence Prentice has opened a shop - go feast your eyes and mind at 315 Lillie Road, London SW, right in the heart of one of London’s best streets for great decorative antiques.

Unsurprisingly, the launch was packed out with clients buying pieces from Lawrence’s latest carefully curated collections selected from around the world. From Modernist European sculpture to Mexican votives - and more.

Go visit @lprenticeartantiques !

Fake? Or fortune? Is my flea market art find on th

Fake? Or fortune? Is my flea market art find on the South Coast of the U.K. a lost William Scott worth thousands - or not? Find out - and why - on my art, antiques & design Journal. Link in bio.

New post today! Emailed free to Subscribers!

Undeniably cute and quirky, this strange old bird

Undeniably cute and quirky, this strange old bird squawks quite a story.

Whilst many antique or vintage animal figurines we see around and about aren’t hugely rare, desirable or valuable, this YZ ‘Nutbird’ - made from nuts and plastic - really is.

Find out why on my antiques, art & design journal - link in bio.

Our Road Trip continues today - we’re ‘Even Steven

Our Road Trip continues today - we’re ‘Even Stevens’ right now, but what treasures ‘tickled’ our fancy to push one of us into the lead?

Plus sugar beet, tractors (which I loved driving!) and silver spoons!

Tune in to BBC1 today at 4.30pm, or catch up on @bbciplayer

Trains, spuds, a scent bottle, and a silver toothp

Trains, spuds, a scent bottle, and a silver toothpick! A combination that could only be found on Antiques Road Trip!

Izzie an I are one all, thanks to my tiny Mordan & Co silver toothpick. What treasures will we find to win tomorrow and push one of us into the lead?!

Tune into BBC One this afternoon at 4.30pm, or catch up on @bbciplayer.

Join me on my journey revealing the amazing hidden

Join me on my journey revealing the amazing hidden stories behind the objects that history has left us behind. And see how they can be part of our lives today.

I want to share my learnings, expertise and 30 years of experience in antiques and modern design with you.

The best thing about what I do is that every day is a ‘school day’. Wherever I am in the world, I encounter the curious, quirky, collectable and cool. And everything else in between.

Hit ‘Subscribe’ on the Journal link in my bio, or download the relevant app.

There are both paid and FREE options.

Get the popcorn! Izzie and I are back for a rematc

Get the popcorn! Izzie and I are back for a rematch on Antiques Road Trip! I won last time, but who will win this time as we travel from Scarborough down to Brighton, taking in Lincoln, Norwich & Margate too?!

Tune in on @bbcone at 4.30pm every day this week, or catch up on @bbciplayer.

(And there are potatoes, tractors, make-up, Gurkhas, and much, much more!)

Delighted and excited to be at next Sunday’s @prem

Delighted and excited to be at next Sunday’s @premierfairs fair on Sunday 29th June in Penshurst, Kent, organised by @richardburtonshaw.

Come and find me - say hi, have a chat or consign to @markhillauctions. Bring your treasures and buy more here! Curves, colours and cool!

Looking forward to seeing you there 🤩

This little fellow perches on a desk lens on my de

This little fellow perches on a desk lens on my desk @markhillauctions. You all know who he is!

I bought him recently - he’s made from painted lead, dressed as a fireman, and has a very ‘ratty’ face and snout, all showing he’s earlier in date. Being loose, rather than attached, he’s also the piece from a toy that most often got lost!

I presume that he once sat on a lead or tinplate fire engine. ‘The Fire Fighters’ was released in June 1930, and it was followed by ‘Mickey’s Fire Brigade’ in 1935. I’m sure both animated shorts spurred a whole wealth of Disneyana, as we call it today. And he must have been a part of a toy from that period.

Now all I need is to find Horace Horsecollar, Minnie and the other animal firefighters! But I’ve got more chance of finding out what fire engine toy he once sat on.

As I said at the start, loose popular characters like Mickey usually lost their steeds, and then got lost. This Mickey was kept safely and even retains his original paint.

So if you have the right fire engine without a Mickey fireman, let me know!

I think I found the world’s most boring postcard.

I think I found the world’s most boring postcard. It’s maybe on a par with those from Martin Parr!

A suburban semi, glowering gloomily out at us. Badly shot too. And the message on the back (with a hint of desperation?) inviting the recipient:

“Dear Mr Wood
with all good wishes
pleased to see you at any time at
‘Tarifa’
72 Southsea Road
Leigh on Sea”

I guess the un-named sender was very proud of his (then) newly, or nearly newly, built home back in late December 1928.

The house still stands today (swipe for a Google Maps image) and looks much fresher, much less menacing, and much more inviting.

I wonder if Mr Wood ever visited?! Maybe for a sweet sherry or two?

(P.S.; I didn’t pay £1 for this marvel!)

I love Star Wars, and I love a mystery. My first r

I love Star Wars, and I love a mystery. My first real memory of the excitement of going to watch a new Star Wars film was ‘Return Of The Jedi’ in 1983, when I was 8 years old.

Even though the Ewoks left me cold (😂), I loved the film, especially the high speed Speeder Bike chase on Endor and the Biker Scouts and their AT-ST ‘Scout Walker’.

So one lot in my friend @alexjenkins_20thcenturylots next auction with my auction house caught my eye - an aged Biker Scout uniform.

There’s no provenance or paperwork to go with it, but the vendor picked it up years ago. It certainly has age, and lots of the features and forms match the 1983 originals.

But did it feature in the film (undoubtedly as a background Scout) or was it made from the original moulds for promotional purposes after the film had been launched? Or is it something else?

LucasFilm are notoriously possessive about original props and costumes, although some did escape. Is this one of them? Originals can fetch tens, and even hundreds, of thousands of pounds…

The challenge is set…with a presale estimate of £500-600, it’s too tempting to miss out on.

Use the Force. Decide for yourself. Bid and browse this and the entire sale at markhillauctions.com

Over the moon to be back out on the road filming @

Over the moon to be back out on the road filming @bbcantiquesroadshow! So great to see dear friends and colleagues, including catching up with @tracymartincollectables after well over a decade @shuttleworthtrust!

Check out the BBC website to see where we’re going to be next! Submit your stories online or bring your treasures and tales on the day 🤩

As for me, see you all at Hill of Tarvit in Fife, Scotland!

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