Welcome
Compiling the monthly listings is one of the least glamorous jobs of the magazine editor. But, when it came to this issue, I set about it with the giddiness of day-old foal (if horses made magazines). Because, for the first time in more than a year, we see – drum roll – the return of the fairs calendar on page 58. And what that single page may lack in Pulitzer-winning journalism, it more than makes up for in what it represents: namely, we are getting back to something that looks something like normal. From the two-day Festival of Antiques in Peterborough on May
21-22, to the Malvern Flea on May 31, the world really is opening up (with Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair next month). We only have days to wait until we can traipse around freezing fields buying things we didn’t even know we wanted and I, for one, can’t wait.
And it’s not just the fairs, galleries and long-postponed exhibitions are back, including the V& A’s landmark exhibition on Alice in Wonderland (which we mark in a feature on page 24), while the museum’s delayed Fabergé show now has an opening date in Novembe r. To celebrate, (this year also marks 175 years since the birth of Carl Fabergé) we have a feature on the legendary Russian make r, see page 16.
In the hope that the very worst of the pandemic may soon be consigned to histor y, on page 22, Paul Fraser considers the ephemera that one day might excite collectors. How about that letter from Downing Street at the start of the lockdown, or the certificate you got with your jab? All of them may be collected in the future.
Elsewhere, on page 50, we mark the 200th-anniversary of the death of Napoleon with a look at some of the amazing artefacts, from intricate miniature ships rigged with human hai r, to inlaid boxes, made by prisoners of war jailed in this countr y. Lennox Cato provides a whistle-stop guide to the whatnot, on page 38; while on page 13 Christina Trevanion gets her hands on one of watch collecting’s ‘holy grails’. Enjoy the issue
Georgina
Georgina Wroe, Editor
PS Because next month’s issue is a joint one, combining June and July, it will be with you slightly later, please expect delivery from the second week in June.
KEEP IN TOUCH Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, or email magazine@accartbooks. com. Visit the website at www.antique-collecting.co.uk and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @AntiqueMag
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ISSN: 0003-584X
We love
This art nouveau gold and silver, sapphire, diamond and cultured pearl brooch, which
has an estimate of £300-£400 at Fellows’
online sale on May 13
FIRST WORD
IN THIS ISSUE
CHRISTINA TREVANION
on a very special military
watch, page 13
PAUL FRASER introduces us to the world
of ‘pantiques’, page 22
MARK LITTLER reports on the lesser-known
French jewellery house of
Boucheron, page 40
ALISON GREY unveils a celebrity-curated sale you won’t want to miss, page 54
The Team
Editor: Georgina Wroe, georgina.
wroe@accartbooks.com Online Editor: Richard Ginger, richard.ginger@accartbooks.com
Design: Philp Design, james@philpdesign.co.uk Advertising: Georgina Wroe,
georgina.wroe @accartbooks.com Subscriptions: Sue Slee
01394 389957, sue.slee@accartbooks.com
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 3