Every now and again in Miller’s Towers, we come across names that make us smile in the course of researching our books. Here’re some we’ve found recently: May Doorbar, Charlotte Rhead’s housekeeper. Gwendoline Suckling, decorator at Poole Pottery from 1935-39. Thelma Bush, decorator at Poole Pottery, from 1966-68. Fuller Pilch, cricket batsman, known for his […]
Well, at least the rain held off! It was that that everyone seemed most worried about as the merry band of Antiques Roadshow production crew and specialists gathered in the beautifully manicured grounds of Saumarez Manor on the idyllic island of Guernsey. The photo above shows the event just before the gates opened. What you […]
Paul Atterbury and I talking at the start of yesterday’s Antiques Roadshow in Brooklands Museum in sunny Surrey.
Of course it had to be a chequered flag – a stylish and perfectly suitable opening to the Antiques Roadshow at Brooklands motoring and aviation museum in sunny Surrey today. As soon as it was dramatically swept down, thousands of visitors, excitedly clutching their antiques and collectables, made their way to the tables of waiting […]
Having just compiled the pens and writing equipment section of the new edition of the Miller’s Collectables Price Guide (out next Spring), my love for Mordan’s marvellous silver propelling pencils has been rekindled. In 1822, Sampson Mordan patented the propelling pencil with fellow inventor John Hawkins. Mordan bought Hawkins out, and then sold half the […]
I’ve just spent the past four days at the wonderful Antiques for Everyone Spring fair at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. This is the largest quality antiques show in the UK, taking out the higher-end Olympia fairs in London. Living up to its name, there truly was something for the thousands who attended (see […]
I’ve just got back from the glorious and spectacular Hopetoun House, outside Edinburgh, which was Wednesday’s location for the Antiques Roadshow. Billed as ‘Scotland’s Finest Stately Home’, it certainly didn’t disappoint, although I’ve always been a sucker for anything with a long gravel drive, Classical columns and a garden with a ha-ha. Arguably even better […]
I had to read the price twice. Then a third time, just to make sure. Yes, Eileen Gray’s Art Deco ‘Dragons’ chair really had sold for £17.7 million! For me, the most surprising aspect of the recent Yves Saint Laurent auction held at Christie’s in Paris was the level of prices being paid for furniture […]
They say radio is growing in popularity, and it’s certainly been an increasing part of my life recently, with three interviews in the past two weeks! Up today was BBC radio Cambridgeshire, with another phone-in valuation that also helped promote the excellent Cambridge Glass Fair this Sunday, at Chilford Hall. Here I am in the […]
I’ve just got back from an extremely enjoyable one-and-a-half hour long phone-in valuation for BBC Radio London. Hosted by the lovely Lesley Joseph, I was invited along as a guest with my friend Tracy Martin. Lesley is best known for her character Dorian in hit BBC TV sitcom ‘Birds of a Feather’ but, unlike her […]
In mid-January, I heard from a reliable source that the dastardly Dudley Council is proposing to close this museum in Spring next year. For those of you who don’t know it, Broadfield is a national treasure and is, to my knowledge, the only museum dedicated to glass in the country. It’s also one of the […]
…buy vintage! The market for vintage clothing has boomed over the past few years, even entering the ‘mainstream’ with high street stores such as TopShop and TopMan even stocking vintage lines. We’ve certainly become a lot more ‘individual’ in our tastes for interior decoration and the way we dress. One of the best sources I […]