J'AIME JUNE 2018

A QUIRKY CHAIR AND BRASS RACK
MAKE FOR AN INTERESTING LOT
“A lot of people are interested in social history, and
there’s a huge market for nostalgia.
“I love medals, and the people who collect medals
are so passionate,” he adds. “First World War medals
were always engraved with names so people who are
buying medals are looking at the age of that medal
and wondering if the recipient survived, was young
enough to go into the Second World War, or if he
was too old for the Second World War did he go to
the Boer War? They want to build a history around
these medals, and it’s fascinating.”
Weird and wonderful, often macabre, items also
attract a huge amount of attention from buyers -
especially if there’s a historical element.
“A calling card left by Jack the Ripper has just sold
down south for thousands,” says Richard.
The item in question was an ink-written card which
arrived at Ealing Police Station on October 29, 1888
- just 11 days before the serial killer’s last suspected
victim Mary Kelly was disembowelled, and was
found among a selection of cards put up for auction.
The hammer price? £22,000, with a final price
closer to £30,000 once an auction premium is paid.
“Macabre will always sell,” says Richard. “We’re
thinking of doing an ‘out-of-the-ordinary’ sale in
December; we had a pair of glass eyes come in
yesterday and we had a false leg from 1910 at our last
sale, so I want to do a sale of weird and wonderful
lots. We get all sorts of strange things coming in, so
I think if we can put together 100 or so lots, it’ll be a
good talking point and people will come along just to
have a look.”
The unpredictable nature of auctions, with bidding
varying wildly from one sale to the next, means that
punters should buy
things for enjoyment,
rather than any
sort of long-term
investment, stresses
Richard.
“People ask me what
they should buy to
invest in but that’s
the wrong thing to
do; if you’re going
into antiques, do it
because you like it
and want to enjoy it,”
he explains. “For me,
it’s value for money;
if you go and buy at
Ikea or places like
that, furniture costs a
lot for what it is and it won’t last. But if you go and
spend a couple of hundred quid on a quality piece at
auction that’s been built to last it’ll hold its price, or it
won’t lose you much. It’s good value.
“It’s always interesting to see what things make, and
it changes from sale to sale. What goes well one week
might not be so good the next, it just depends who’s
THIS STYLISH CHAIR
WAS SNAPPED UP FOR
£90 BY A HAPPY BIDDER
9