W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd

News from Harvey's

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Posted by David Harvey, Saturday 14 January 2012

Two from a superb set of six Chippendale period Mahogany Dining Chairs

Today has been a day for catching up on all those things which need to be done before we de-camp to the NEC at Birmingham for the National Fine Art and Antiques fair on Monday. As far as possible all the stock which has been coming in for the past few weeks has now been photographed and is shown here whilst all those pieces sold over the last month or two have been archived.

You may remember back in September I mentioned the most wonderful set of 6 Chippendale dining Chairs which came our way as they have the most incredible patina. It has taken a little while to find the right material to cover the drop in seats but I think we have been successful in selecting a loom woven silk damask which is produced in tiny quantities to an 18th. century pattern. and I am delighted to show two from the set and hope you will agree that they just look right!

Even these only came back from my upholsterer yesterday and there are a handful of items for Birmingham which still need to arrive here. Amongst them is a wonderful Regency Rosewood and Burr Elm Inlaid Sofa Table and a very bold Chippendale Period Chest of Drawers with all the original handles, escutcheons and backplates. I will have to wait with photographing these until after the fair which opens on Wednesday and runs through to Sunday always assuming they are not sold at the NEC.

A couple of weeks ago I illustrated the mounts from a Gillows Wine Cooler in my news update here and promised to put pictures of this in all its glory on this website and I am delighted to inform you that this exceptional item is now on display listed under the stock heading of "Miscellaneous". I am looking forward to next week and hope to see you at the NEC. If you are unable to come to the fair, do stay in touch and let me have your further news.

As ever,

David

We'll be at: The Cotswold Antique Dealers Fair at Blenheim Palace, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England (20th. to 22nd. April 2012)

New Year, New Stock.

Posted by David Harvey, Saturday 31 December 2011

Brass Handle from Gillows Wine Cooler

What a week this has been, anchored at one end by Christmas and the other end by New Year's Day. Maybe it is the sure knowledge of certain things happening that help us all to enjoy the festive season. Turkey (or in our case a capon) Brussels Sprouts, Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies at one end and the Vienna New Year's Day concert in front of the open fire tomorrow. The in-between bits have been quite extraordinary as well. Richard, our website technical genius, has been busy adding all manner of additional facilities to this website and there will be more to follow which meant my spending a whole day adding lots more information to hopefully make your viewing/buying experience even better. What bliss to be able to do all of this without the phone ringing constantly.

James, my invaluable Gallery Manager, took a day out of his holiday to join me on a buying trip. We viewed 2 major collections that we have been offered and one may yield a George III Breakfront Bookcase in due course but the other yielded a superb 12 foot long Mahogany extending Dining Table with 5 leaves, an excellent Chippendale Period Mahogany Chest of Drawers and a Mahogany and Brass Bound oval Wine Cooler/Jardiniere. Every true dealer knows that extraordinary feeling when one looks at a piece for the first time and your stomach is full of butterflies because you have uncovered a secret. That turns into an adrenalin rush which runs up and down your spine as bells start ringing throughout your brain. Is this really what you think it is? Where have I seen this pattern before? Does it all tie up? If the answer is yes,yes,yes! Then try not to give too much away because this is why you are in this business!

I have spent two hours this morning carefully cleaning 235 years of grime from the metalwork on the wine cooler. You can see the results above. Those of you familiar with Susan Stuart's wonderful two volumes on Messrs Gillow of Lancaster and London will shriek and rush off to arm yourselves with your copies but "calm down dear" as someone once said, I have beaten you to it. Gillows fans around the Globe from La Jolla to Lancashire, relax, this is the identical handle as on the Wine Cooler made by Gillows in 1774 for Williams Hassell of Dalemain, Penrith and the Pair of Vases and Pedestals ordered by the Bell family at Thirsk Hall, Yorkshire by Gillows and also dating to the 1770s to say nothing of the Pair of Vases and Pedestals made by Gillows for the Welds at Stoneyhurst, Lancashire.(See vol. I pages 306 to 316) I can now firmly attribute the Wine Cooler which I have to Gillows and will put the details on this website as soon as I have an opportunity.

What an exciting way to end 2011. What can we make of 2012? I actually believe we will see a much better year than many pundits expect. As I mentioned previously, our year kicks off at the NEC on January 18th. to 22nd. and with the news that the UK car industry is growing by leaps and bounds with massive capital injections in Jaguar/LandRover amongst others as the company grows, and as they are very much a Midlands based company, their success may well filter down to the NEC fair which is of course on their doorstep. The financial turmoils of the past year have shown some indices down a bit, some up a bit and some ending the year roughly where they started off. International meltdown has not occurred and none of the European partners has been thrown out of the Euro. You may remember the film "Dr Strangelove - how I learned to love the bomb" in which vein a possible adaptation for 2012 might be: "Dr. Merkozy - how I learned to love the single currency" or then again....

I really am optimistic for the Antiques Trade next year as I know what a painful time so many colleagues have experienced over the past few. Over in the US there are some much more hopeful economic indicators as well and there does come a critical time when many who have been reluctant to invest in Fine Furniture come back into the market place when prices start to rise again and there does appear to be some movement already. It will be interesting to see what the annual antique furniture price index published every February by the Antique Collectors' Club says in 2012.

I do hope you have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and wish you a Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.

David

Christmas comes but once a year!

Posted by David Harvey, Friday 23 December 2011

Regency Childs Chair for sale at Christmas - Wanted, one child! Bears not for sale!

Ho! Ho! Ho!,

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Peaceful New Year to you.

If you feel the need to get away from Turkey Sandwiches and Bubble and Squeak, we will be here for a diet of fine Antique Furniture and Works of Art over the holiday period though a quick call on 01993 706501 will ensure that we are not away visiting friends or relatives.

This delightful little Regency Childs Chair came in a couple of days ago and has found its place beneath the Christmas Tree and I am sure the first Grandparents-to-be who pass by will want to acquire it. Please note that the animals are not for sale and actually belong to Su-Su our Burmese cat.

I am sure we will manage to have a couple of days off and I know we are looking forward to a bit of a holiday and catching up with friends. All in all, the last year has certainly been challenging but with a number of new clients coming our way as well as all those existing friends we have come through 2011, now have a fantastic stock of pieces and are looking forward to an exciting year in 2012.

The International Fine Art and Antiques Fair at the NEC is just over three weeks away and has always provided us with a good springboard into the New Year and the invitations for the fair have already gone out. This might seem a little early but with the postal log jam that occurs at this time of year, it may be no bad thing. I have certainly been able to acquire several fresh items for next month.

April will be exciting as well with the new CADA Fair at Blenheim Palace. The list of exhibitors is terrific and the PR etc. will be getting under way almost immediately. I have also been told that prices are beginning to move upwards again after a period of being rather flat. Time will certainly tell.

May I conclude by just wishing you once again peace and happiness over Christmas.

David

One week to go but what a week.

Posted by David Harvey, Saturday 17 December 2011

Chippendale Period Carved Giltwood Oval Framed Mirror

Over the past few weeks we have all been just so busy that I may have neglected adding the latest news and comments. Almost all the items sold at the Olympia Fair have now been delivered and I have been very lucky in finding excellent pieces with which to replace them. I hardly thought though to find two absolutely gorgeous Georgian Mahogany Hanging Corner Cabinets within days of each other and hundreds of miles apart but also very different in styles though dating from within just a few years of each other. They will be shown here in due course. That is the Way of the World however, and I never know how or when different pieces are going to come my way

It must be some years since I last had a Sofa Table in stock but just this last week I found another one and was able to purchase it. On many pieces which have been left to get a little dusty and tired looking there is sometimes a clue as to the underlying quality of the piece and in this instance, the sabred legs terminate in just the finest quality chased brass oak leaf cups and castors, then of course I saw the oak leaf carving on the knees to the legs and all the line inlays on the legs and end supports tying in with the same work on the top and frieze with the final coup de grace being the exquisite burr Walnut or possibly Amboyna cross banding to the highly figured Rosewood top. All in all, a very satisfying piece to have secured and a delight for any collector. This fine example makes up for all the many ordinary or just uninspiring sofa tables I have rejected over the years and as soon as it is on display I will have it photographed and put the pictures on this website.

I will admit to being a mite envious of all those people who are able to plan their Christmas shopping months in advance and get all their Xmas Cards out by December the first. If only the life of an Antique Dealer could be so well organised! I suspect that much of the romance attached to my business is because of the entirely spontaneous nature of such large parts of it. But that is what makes it so exciting and makes me rush to work every morning.

In case you are wondering why I have chosen to show this fantastic mirror on my news section, let me explain. It is just a week until Christmas and with the tinsel and glitter of everything Christmas related along with the rich greens and reds which abound, I wanted to show a piece which is equally eye-catching and I do believe this has "it". In case I do not catch up with you before the 25th. may I take this opportunity to wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas as well as a successful New Year. If you are in the Cotswolds over the festive season I am happy to welcome you and will be open if you just call me on 01993 706501. Time now to chuck a few more logs on the fire!

As ever,

David

Christmas Lights and Olympia

Posted by David Harvey, Friday 25 November 2011

F Smythson, Oak and Brass Desk Top Letter Box

Tonight is the night - the night when Witney welcomes the Christmas Season with the switch on of its Christmas Lights throughout the town centre. Stilt Walkers, Ice Sculptors, Live Reindeer and many other attractions will abound with Elvis, The Dirty Earth Band, The Caledonian Pipes and Drums, Witney Town Band, The Gospel Choir, Father Christmas and The Winter Princess all appearing on stage with other very important people to turn the magic switch on. The air will be rich with the scents of mulled wine, mince pies, roasting chestnuts and woodsmoke and the town will be packed with thousands of happy, smiling children enjoying the happy event.

I could almost say the same about the Olympia Antiques Fair which finished last Sunday except that the audience were a little older and somewhat more reserved. We had a good fair and sold a good number of pieces which by and large have been delivered this week with the remainder going to their new homes in the next few days. We have been busy here getting all the paperwork finished and the showrooms back to normal after the fair but everything now looks fine.

Sometimes the World appears almost like a revolving door in that I sold our terrific Mahogany and Brass Oval Wine Cooler at Olympia and have just replaced it into stock with another of similar age and outstanding quality but hexagonal. This pretty George III Mahogany and Brass Bound Hexagonal Wine Cooler is just right for an exclusive Christmas Present for the person who already has everything. Harvey's without a wine cooler in the run up to Christmas - unthinkable!

Also just in is this useful and fantastic quality Smythson Oak and Brass Letter Box made at the end of the 19th. Century and bearing the makers brass plaque for F. Smythson 133 New Bond Street London W. which of course is something the Prime Minister might be interested in given his wife's connections to Smythsons as Creative Director. This is definitely just the job for any fans of Downton Abbey! We note Smythson's offering a brand new briefcase for Christmas at £1,400- which does rather put this letter box into perspective and makes one wonder which will still be around in another 100 years or more.

I shall be leaving shortly to partake of some of the festive spirits and I hope you will be doing likewise this weekend. Remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

As ever,

David