Anyone here collect antiques?
Discussion
If so, what are your interests and likes. Disclosure, I'm an antique dealer. Not touting at all, just curious as to what are the interests, aside from cars, on here.
I know one guy, used to have the yellow Zonda OO01OOO, who just hoovers up antiques. He's got the largest private collection of Rembrandt Bugatti bronzes and, well, just a huge collection of stunning and mad pieces.
I know one guy, used to have the yellow Zonda OO01OOO, who just hoovers up antiques. He's got the largest private collection of Rembrandt Bugatti bronzes and, well, just a huge collection of stunning and mad pieces.
Used to be obsessed, clocks and barometers and anything Arts and Crafts.
Kids came along and then antiques seemed to fall out of favour - I've got stuff that's worth half what I paid 25 years ago.
..Dad used to run a antique shop part time as well as being a full time CEO and was a very keen collector of oil paintings and Regency furniture - that got me started I guess when I got to nest building stage
Still appreciate good quality pre 1830 antique furniture and ceramics but no longer buy
Kids came along and then antiques seemed to fall out of favour - I've got stuff that's worth half what I paid 25 years ago.
..Dad used to run a antique shop part time as well as being a full time CEO and was a very keen collector of oil paintings and Regency furniture - that got me started I guess when I got to nest building stage
Still appreciate good quality pre 1830 antique furniture and ceramics but no longer buy
My Dad was (is) an antiques dealer so I’ve always grown up with antiques around the house. I’ve inherited a few bits and pieces but the only thing I really hold an interest in is Yorkshire ‘Critters’ furniture - Mouseman (Robert Thompson), Beaverman, Gnomeman, Eagleman etc....
I think it’s because I was always fascinated by the little carved mice all over my Grandparent’s furniture as a child.
I think it’s because I was always fascinated by the little carved mice all over my Grandparent’s furniture as a child.
Lotobear said:
Used to be obsessed, clocks and barometers and anything Arts and Crafts.
Kids came along and then antiques seemed to fall out of favour - I've got stuff that's worth half what I paid 25 years ago.
..Dad used to run a antique shop part time as well as being a full time CEO and was a very keen collector of oil paintings and Regency furniture - that got me started I guess when I got to nest building stage
Still appreciate good quality pre 1830 antique furniture and ceramics but no longer buy
What sort of clocks and any particular makers?Kids came along and then antiques seemed to fall out of favour - I've got stuff that's worth half what I paid 25 years ago.
..Dad used to run a antique shop part time as well as being a full time CEO and was a very keen collector of oil paintings and Regency furniture - that got me started I guess when I got to nest building stage
Still appreciate good quality pre 1830 antique furniture and ceramics but no longer buy
Arts and Crafts stuff still does pretty well but of course it's all about the makers. Liberty still tops the charts in many areas. Brown furniture of almost any age (apart from pre 1700's) really died a death a few years back, well, over a decade ago in fact. It just went out of taste. You still see stuff about and it can still make a lot, but of course, it's all about the makers, Gillows, Chippendale etc. Personally I've never dealt with any of that stuff, wasn't too keen on it either if I'm honest.
I have quite a lot of "brown" antique furniture - my houses are period so they look right and the quality of materials and workmanship is much better than modern furniture. Some specific pieces bought from antique shops, others I pick up at auction for relative buttons when I see a quality piece needing some light restoration. I think antiques are excellent value for money, especially compared with most of the crap on the high street.
I'm also a sucker for bracket clocks and regulators, under strict instruction not to buy any more.
I'm also a sucker for bracket clocks and regulators, under strict instruction not to buy any more.
PhilboSE said:
I have quite a lot of "brown" antique furniture - my houses are period so they look right and the quality of materials and workmanship is much better than modern furniture. Some specific pieces bought from antique shops, others I pick up at auction for relative buttons when I see a quality piece needing some light restoration. I think antiques are excellent value for money, especially compared with most of the crap on the high street.
I'm also a sucker for bracket clocks and regulators, under strict instruction not to buy any more.
In the right setting brown furniture is absolutely the right thing, it just never tickled my fancy and I've never dealt with it. I'm also a sucker for bracket clocks and regulators, under strict instruction not to buy any more.
The guy with the zonda is also a mad clock collector. He's got a few Nibb clocks, a really nice longcase one, and at last count I think he had four Thompions as well, aside from the all the cartier and other one's too. One type he doesn't have is a Cartier Mystery clock which are by far and a way my favourites. A rock crystal, platinum and diamond one sold a year or so ago at Doyles in New York I think for about $500k-$600k? Absolute beauties they are.
edit: it was $515k at Doyles. Here it is
Edited by chelsea9899 on Wednesday 22 January 17:16
I have a few "museum quality" oil paintings typically 200-400 years old. I simply admire the huge skill those artists had in creating these paintings. Sadly I don't think they are worth what I paid for them as: (1) they don't suit most houses nowadays and (2) the art most people hang nowadays in their houses (to me) is like kindergarten kids stuff.
I also collect militaria, no particular theme, just anything with an interesting story behind it. The item I wish I had bought but passed it by and have since regretted it every day is an original order of service from the 1920 original service for the unknown soldier at Westminster Abbey. That was such a poignant event for the nation and my family at the time that I regret not buying it. If you have one do let me know !
I also collect militaria, no particular theme, just anything with an interesting story behind it. The item I wish I had bought but passed it by and have since regretted it every day is an original order of service from the 1920 original service for the unknown soldier at Westminster Abbey. That was such a poignant event for the nation and my family at the time that I regret not buying it. If you have one do let me know !
I have a George III desk with an interesting family history, apart from that I have a UK pre decimal currency collection back to 1860 (only 100 more to go, mostly Victorian silver).
I see that it will 50 years ago next year that the UK went decimal. Used to cost me fourpence on the bus on the way home - the days when half a crown was a lot of money - and as for a ten bob note...
I see that it will 50 years ago next year that the UK went decimal. Used to cost me fourpence on the bus on the way home - the days when half a crown was a lot of money - and as for a ten bob note...
I've got a few bits and pieces I've inherited, but not a collector per se. They all have sentimental value more than financial.
My problem currently is a large sideboard that I'm strangely attached to. I grew up with it and we got it when my mum downsized and we got a house so it's been in my dining room for 20 years/3 houses. It's been sat beside the back door in our current house being a general dumping ground, but they're french doors so we've recently replaced it with a sofa! And I really need to get round to selling it.
My problem currently is a large sideboard that I'm strangely attached to. I grew up with it and we got it when my mum downsized and we got a house so it's been in my dining room for 20 years/3 houses. It's been sat beside the back door in our current house being a general dumping ground, but they're french doors so we've recently replaced it with a sofa! And I really need to get round to selling it.
Maps for me, specifically maps of Scotland from the early 1600s. I've been collecting them for years but haven't really bought any for a while. It was always a bit niche and was never particularly cheap but I always got a bit of pleasure having them framed on the walls in a way that I didn't get looking at more conventional paintings or the like.
Similarly I've collected quite a few of the first road maps of Scotland from 1776 which are also framed and on display. They're interesting in that they are double sided and printed in such a way that they just follow a particular road to make it easy for a bloke on a horse to roll up into a scroll and stuff into a satchel when going cross country.
Similarly I've collected quite a few of the first road maps of Scotland from 1776 which are also framed and on display. They're interesting in that they are double sided and printed in such a way that they just follow a particular road to make it easy for a bloke on a horse to roll up into a scroll and stuff into a satchel when going cross country.
Love any antique tools that are still usable or restorable. new wooden handles and they are perfect for my old cabin, it being an antique itself. screwdrivers, spanners, anything like that - even a petrol powered circular saw with a kick start instead of a rope. Loads of old washing machines used to work this way, with a mangle attached, but those go for daft money now and most are American (Maytag in particular).
Have found a few axe heads in the woodland round it that cleaned up really nicely with a flap wheel and wire brush, and a nice new oak handle with wooden wedges to splay the top of it before being sanded flush make them usable again. no better than a decent modern axe, but they just "feel" nicer.
Have found a few axe heads in the woodland round it that cleaned up really nicely with a flap wheel and wire brush, and a nice new oak handle with wooden wedges to splay the top of it before being sanded flush make them usable again. no better than a decent modern axe, but they just "feel" nicer.
I had a house full of arts & crafts oak furniture, mostly Liberty and Shapland & Petter but all gone now. These days I collect Riley automobilia and maps. O/H has a few pieces of Mouseman and we've an eclectic collection of water colours, oils, prints and posters, many of which have yet to be framed and hung.
Several years ago I asked if an 'Art & Antiques' section might be created within PH. Unfortunately my request fell on deaf ears.
Several years ago I asked if an 'Art & Antiques' section might be created within PH. Unfortunately my request fell on deaf ears.
Crumpet said:
My Dad was (is) an antiques dealer so I’ve always grown up with antiques around the house. I’ve inherited a few bits and pieces but the only thing I really hold an interest in is Yorkshire ‘Critters’ furniture - Mouseman (Robert Thompson), Beaverman, Gnomeman, Eagleman etc....
I think it’s because I was always fascinated by the little carved mice all over my Grandparent’s furniture as a child.
Mouseman works are fantastic... and seem to hold their value...I think it’s because I was always fascinated by the little carved mice all over my Grandparent’s furniture as a child.
I have a bit of fondness for antiques as my parents have carefully acquired quite a lot of really nice pieces over the last 40 years. Furniture, paintings, lamps, various collectables and so on.
Significant items in their house such as their large dining table and chairs, baby grand piano, etc are all antique, and really very nice.
But recently they started to think seriously about selling some of it as they see antiques falling in value and becoming ever more difficult to shift. People in the UK don't seem to want them anywhere near as much as 20-30 years ago?
When they were buying it all, it seemed to be either a good investment or something you would at least get your money back on.
Their antiques really suit their house, but sadly most of it would look out of place in my home, so I don't really want it either which is a shame.
My question is, what is going to happen to all this stuff in another 15-20 years time when people of my parents generation become elderly and pass away?
Is the backside simply going to fall out of antiques? Will countries like China want to buy them from us in increasing quantities?
Significant items in their house such as their large dining table and chairs, baby grand piano, etc are all antique, and really very nice.
But recently they started to think seriously about selling some of it as they see antiques falling in value and becoming ever more difficult to shift. People in the UK don't seem to want them anywhere near as much as 20-30 years ago?
When they were buying it all, it seemed to be either a good investment or something you would at least get your money back on.
Their antiques really suit their house, but sadly most of it would look out of place in my home, so I don't really want it either which is a shame.
My question is, what is going to happen to all this stuff in another 15-20 years time when people of my parents generation become elderly and pass away?
Is the backside simply going to fall out of antiques? Will countries like China want to buy them from us in increasing quantities?
Technically vintage stuff at least for another few years! We moved to a largish house that while being a new build has a more traditional size and layout and I'm slowly bringing the rooms up to something a bit nicer. Window casements, cornices etc. We've bought a few pieces but we mainly go for things that look nice and cost little.
I picked up a 1920-1930's dressing table for £40 which was in bad shape, it has been waxed/coated in some almost black gunk and abused with some horrible bits of trim glued on to be "modern" anyways striped it back to bare-wood and french polished it back to life and looks lovely now with all it's inlays and veneers exposed.
Not in anyway antique but our current bed was picked up from a charity shop for £300 it's cherry super king slightly french empire (which I love as a style) We debated quite a lot as it had some deep scratches and I wasn't keen on the condition. Got it home, had a good look at the pieces for stamps/details and turns out it's made by "and so to bed" and costs 4 grand new, so bit of TLC and we've a lovely antique style bed for peanuts
I guess I've picked it up from my Dad who was a wood turner so we always had antique or older wooden furniture so to me it's normal and something I wanted when we moved to a bigger house. Last time we went out to an antiques place together he found some sets of posters form 4 poster beds being sold as mid 18th century he'd made about 20 years ago, he had lots of fun pointing out exactly how you could tell they weren't original and how little they were really worth vs what they were marked up as.
I picked up a 1920-1930's dressing table for £40 which was in bad shape, it has been waxed/coated in some almost black gunk and abused with some horrible bits of trim glued on to be "modern" anyways striped it back to bare-wood and french polished it back to life and looks lovely now with all it's inlays and veneers exposed.
Not in anyway antique but our current bed was picked up from a charity shop for £300 it's cherry super king slightly french empire (which I love as a style) We debated quite a lot as it had some deep scratches and I wasn't keen on the condition. Got it home, had a good look at the pieces for stamps/details and turns out it's made by "and so to bed" and costs 4 grand new, so bit of TLC and we've a lovely antique style bed for peanuts
I guess I've picked it up from my Dad who was a wood turner so we always had antique or older wooden furniture so to me it's normal and something I wanted when we moved to a bigger house. Last time we went out to an antiques place together he found some sets of posters form 4 poster beds being sold as mid 18th century he'd made about 20 years ago, he had lots of fun pointing out exactly how you could tell they weren't original and how little they were really worth vs what they were marked up as.
MDMetal said:
T
I guess I've picked it up from my Dad who was a wood turner so we always had antique or older wooden furniture so to me it's normal and something I wanted when we moved to a bigger house. Last time we went out to an antiques place together he found some sets of posters form 4 poster beds being sold as mid 18th century he'd made about 20 years ago, he had lots of fun pointing out exactly how you could tell they weren't original and how little they were really worth vs what they were marked up as.
I got dragged around so many antique shops as a kid... love spotting reproductions and the accompanying price. I guess I've picked it up from my Dad who was a wood turner so we always had antique or older wooden furniture so to me it's normal and something I wanted when we moved to a bigger house. Last time we went out to an antiques place together he found some sets of posters form 4 poster beds being sold as mid 18th century he'd made about 20 years ago, he had lots of fun pointing out exactly how you could tell they weren't original and how little they were really worth vs what they were marked up as.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff