Western Morning News, The

Tables for a Variety of Uses Are Offered

Close friend of Queen Victoria, Harriet (1806-1868), Duchess of Sutherland, was Mistress of the Robes from 1837 to 1861and is credited with having a table named after her. A useful little item, it has two large flaps and a thin top which, when collapsed, can be pushed away, so is a veritable godsend to anyone where space is at a premium. They were produced in various woods, such as mahogany, satinwood, rosewood, walnut etc., and the example on offer in Whitton & Laing's Exeter sale of antique...

Ship Model Graced Scillies Pub

There is a housing shortage in most parts of the country, we are warned by the politicians, but for anyone seeking a miniature alternative Philip Buddell in Ladock has no fewer than seven available today. From the smallest starting at pounds20, there is also one with electricity with a guide of pounds40-pounds50. However, star lot in this sale will be a diorama of a three- masted schooner, the Gwenllan, about which precious little is known so far. Even the vendor can offer no information on t...

Collectables Come in Many Guises

It is amazing just how varied and interesting collectables can be, if only for the enormous number of objects created to attract the first sale. Whoever would seriously sit at a table with the condiment set by Carltonware in the form of a large mushroom appearing in Eldred's Plymouth sale on Tuesday? Somebody obviously did as here is the living proof, with a guide of pounds30-pounds40, and the meal time theme is continued by the little treen thimble in the shape of an egg in its cup. Just 2.7...

Contemporary Art Showcase

Breon o'casey is one of the multi- talented individuals who seem to be able to master all they turn their hands to with effortless ease. A Londoner by birth, he is the son of playwright Sean O'Casey, moving to Totnes in 1937 when just nine and enrolling at Dartington. Since this time he has lived mainly in Cornwall, and been closely associated with the St Ives School of Art, benefiting from close friendships with several famous artists like Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O'Malley. For thre...

Family Cared Well for Boots Made by Dad

Auctioneers practising for years in the region soon get to know people and their families, often helping them move and dispose of unwanted chattels. The interesting part of the job is to find something really unusual which has unique provenance, just as Eric Distin found on a recent visit to a retirement bungalow. Perhaps the most unusual find here were the 24in (61cm) boots made by the vendor's father at the turn of the 19th/20th century. Both have astonishing details in the stitching and la...

Doulton's Lady in Blue Features in Attractive Array

A lovely figure by Royal Doulton, entitled The Cup of Tea sums up our fondness for tea all at once. It features an elderly woman in a full-length dark blue dress and grey cardigan, sitting on an ordinary kitchen chair with her feet raised slightly by a stool and seeming in seventh heaven while holding a cup and saucer in her lap. With grey hair tied in a bun on the top of her head, she will ask pounds40-pounds60 in Hampton & Littlewood's Exeter sale on Wednesday. With a similar guide is a ...

Goss Pottery Created the World in Miniature

So much of this country's industry expanded rapidly with little control in past centuries that it comes as no surprise to find that many once familiar man-made structures no longer exist. This is especially true in Staffordshire where a gradual amalgamation of several small pottery towns, linked mostly by trading routes, into a huge development area is now often referred to as "The Black Country", for obvious reasons. The smoke from constant kiln firings, first using wood and then coal, made ...

Summer's Day in the Garden

Thomas James Lloyd ROI RWS (1849-1910), who was known as Tom Lloyd, lived in London at various addresses before moving to Yapton in Sussex in 1894. He mostly painted landscapes, but also turned his hand to genre and marine views.

Fabric Fair Full of Hand-Made Treasures

Most machine-made fabrics will be flawless, and sold for their market value, but buying something hand-made gives far more scope to find something so much better and individual. There may be slight imperfections, though nothing to deter from the beauty of original fabrics woven in our country many years ago; indeed it makes them more attractive to collectors as a rule. An opportunity to enjoy some antique and vintage woollen blankets from Wales in wonderfully muted colours, created naturally,...

New Works On Show at Gallery

As specialists in marine paintings, Totnes-based Davidson Fine Art are delighted to announce the arrival of a stunning new oil painting by the late Brixham-based artist John Chancellor. Painted in 1975 and taking 225 hours, close inspection reveals a bewildering level of detail; the sea appears to physically heave and swell right before the eyes. The painting shows the little Bude- built two-masted tops'l schooner Annie Davey standing across Mounts Bay towards Penzance from the Lizard.

Gill's Engravings Prove Popular

Following the successful exhibition of lithographs by Franco- Russian master Marc Chagall, The Great Atlantic Falmouth Gallery is pleased to present some of the wood engravings and woodcuts of Eric Gill (1882-1940). This continues the gallery's intention to diversify and to exhibit a more eclectic range of art and artists.

Interesting Story Behind Hat Insignia

Hats are an important part of Chinese dress, and even today an official will not often be seen outside without one. They denote rank in both civil and military attire and their relevance is discovered in various regulations stipulating correct court dress, which is similar to this country, only our menfolk retain such insignia for military use alone nowadays. One of the most easily recognisable of all are hat knobs, which were originally made out of semi-precious stones. They first came into ...

Childhood Curiosity Led to a Passion for Carnival Glass

All too often children do exactly the opposite to what they are asked; at least, this is what the owners of a large collection of Carnival glass did many, many years ago. So when Mother put out a box of "bits for the rubbish" they were curious and rummaged through the lot - where, upon finding some brightly coloured orange glass that sparkled in the sunlight, they decided to keep it as surely they were far too good to chuck away. And so began a collection which entailed travelling hundreds o...

Beautiful Game Scores for Morale

There should have been plenty to talk about as football supporters all over Britain headed for the exits on September 2, 1939. On that second Saturday of the new season, Blackpool had beaten Wolves 2-1 at Bloomfield Road to lead the First Division with maximum points, while Ted Drake scored four times in Arsenal's 5-2 win over Sunderland. Yet on the trams and buses taking supporters home for tea on that stifling afternoon, no one said very much. It was the same in every dressing room for a f...

Celebrating the Ordinary in All Our Lives

Have you ever wondered about the impact of the toaster on British eating habits? Thought about how nylon sheets were marketed in 1966?

Intimate Exchange with Prized Artisan

I was about 14, I think. Now it feels like it was in 1847. But it wasn't. My parents had taken me to the theatre. The actor Roy Dotrice (remember him?) was in a one-man-show in Brighton, playing the 17th century writer John Aubrey. At one point he gets annoyed at the noise coming from the next- door lodgings. He shoots up from his chair and grabs a stick. He then proceeds to bash the wall in protest. I noticed then, and have never forgotten, the detail of the set design. The wall was pitted a...

Field Notes Come to Life

What was started for personal pleasure 12 years and 18 notebooks ago has now been distilled into an enchanting publication that chronicles the countryside throughout the year. Nature Diary of an Artist by Jennie Hale is filled with painted- on-the-spot watercolour sketches of birds, insects, animals and plant life along with hand-written notes about the seasons in the fields and forests around her. The result is an enthralling, informal peep at the secret world of nature few of us are privile...

A Price Beyond Money

When we heard from the floodwater victims Extricated by dinghies and slings,

Let's Get the Party Started

In spite of our unpredictable weather, many of us will be planning a summer party of one sort or another. Here lies an opportunity to devise a summery scheme to set the tone and even ring the changes in a tired looking interior. With the uncertainty of whether to entertain inside or out, you will, no doubt, wish to cover both options. The two schemes therefore need to flow with ease. A room or rooms that open out on to a deck, terrace or balcony, will offer the perfect party venue, enablin...

Rise to Challengeof Tranquil Tyrol

In the world of winter sports, the tiny Austrian village of Ischgl is synonymous with the full-on party atmosphere of apres- ski. Its legendary nightlife and stunning slopes have attracted the social elite, including Paris Hilton - a regular visitor who chose to launch her Rich brand of canned prosecco in the resort.