An Evening of Antiques with Judith & Mark

This evening Judith and I became veritable seaside artistes with an ‘Evening of Antiques’ at The Palace Theatre in Paignton. The event was organised by one of the UK’s leading and most successful independent book stores, The Torbay Bookshop, in association with Miller’s. We were hosted by the booksellers, the innovative and progressive Matthew & Sarah Clarke, to speak to an audience of over 70 about our experiences with, and careers in, antiques.
This was followed with a valuation event, where Judith and I spoke about and valued antiques and collectables brought in by members of the audience. Facts (and laughs!) were a plenty, and the entire event lasted an enjoyable three hours. Judith spoke about her background in antiques crossing some three decades of experiences, and I spoke about how and why changing fashions and tastes are key factors affecting the values for antiques and collectables.
Amongst the items brought in for us to appraise were a truly exceptional 1930s Goldscheider face mask by Lorenzl valued at around £2,000, an iconic black ECKO AD65 Bakelite radio designed by Wells-Coates valued at £400-600, a 19thC mahogany medical chest valued at £400-600, an Armand Marseille doll valued at £50-80, and a stunning 1930s sequined and beaded flapper girl dress valued at £600-800 – but it may fetch more. We also saw a signed Lowry print, which caused some consternation between Judith and I as we’re not picture specialists at all. We decided to ‘phone a friend’ and got through to Alistair Nichol, the picture specialist at American auction house Freeman’s in Philadelphia. Everyone says that the antiques market is global – and from Paignton to Philadelphia that evening, we proved it!
We really enjoyed meeting everyone in the audience during the interval, and chatting over a glass of wine, while Judith and I signed and sold plenty of Miller’s books. Apart from the lovely people, we were also fortunate to be in a lovely environment as we were using a period set for the theatre’s current production of Agatha Christie’s ‘The Unexpected Guest’. Everything fell into place perfectly, making this one of the most enjoyable events we’ve done to date. Thank you Matthew and Sarah!

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