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Bullards Beers enamel sign £620 [photo GazeHenry VIII mural in Milverton [photo BBCMardyn Street, Liverpool, will be bulldozed in 2011 [photo: http://gerryco23.wordpress.com Fred Dibnah died aged 66 in 2004, and was well known for bringing down chimneys without explosives. [photo BBCBoar statue removed because of Christmas damage [photo: Bromsgrove AdvertiserDemo Talk Radio is launched!The Sils Angel, in Welford Road Cemetery [Photo: This is Leicestershire
Old teddy bears from Collector's World, Norfolk [photo ChancellorsNT White House painted green to publicise opening of salvage yard and other thingsAndy Thornton's winter gazebo at the SavoyA white marble and porphyry fireplace, described as English, early 19thC, sold for £3,800 plus premium, which had a retail price of £98k according to the ATGFunding CircleAntique Christmas cardDennis Buggins in front of the Gherkin - the former site of the Baltic Exchange in 2006 [photo Salvo Llp
Dumfries House, built by John, James and Robert Adam for the 5th Earl of Dumfries, 1750-60 

Bullards Beers enamel sign £620 [photo Gaze
GAZE BYGONES - KINGFISHER TRAP SNARES £340
Among the results of Gaze's rural and domestic bygones sale last Saturday, a kingfisher pole trap with chain and spike sold for £340. Kingfishers used to feed at fish hatcheries and, prior to 1904 when these traps were outlawed, tiny gin traps baited with a small fish, were attached to poles used as kingfisher perches. Kingfishers, with their bright orange and electirc blue plumage, were also popular in Victorian ornithological stuffed bird collections. Pole traps were normally used to catch larger birds of prey as well as owls. A variation on the round bait plate is the ring for egg-baited eagle traps.

A glass minnow trap sold for £110. Other notable prices were a pair of iron scaffold board trestles at £140, Horlicks enamel sign £460, Fraser removals enamel sign £200. The top lot and enamel sign at £620 was one of 18ins by 10ins for Bullards Beers of Norwich which flourished from 1837-1970. It was taken over by Watneys and Sir Alfred Munnings original artwork of 1909, for the famous Bullard's posters and wall-plaques of which this lot was one, was re-styled in cartoon form by Watneys.

Next Gaze sale is for Architectural Salvage & Statuary on Saturday 26 February 2011.
TWGaze: Rural & Domestic Bygones 29 January 2011
Old Trap Collector: Pole Traps
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Large Victorian glass minnow trap £110 [photo Gaze Kingfisher pole trap £340 [photo Gaze Eagle, owl and kingfisher pole traps [photo Old Trap Collector Bullards Beers enamel sign £620 [photo Gaze

Location : UK > Norfolk
Category : News Stories
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User : 1 ; Antique/Reclamation/Salvage Trade ; (Administrator)
Date Created : 02 Feb 2011 13:35:18
Date Modified : 02 Feb 2011 14:34:37;

Henry VIII mural in Milverton [photo BBC
HENRY VIII MURAL UNCOVERED IN MILVERTON HOME
Angie and Rhodri Powell have discovered a 20ft high wall painting of what is believed to be King Herny VIII after they removed some panelling from a wall in their Milverton home which was used as a summer palace for Thomas Cranmer, Archdeacon of Taunton, who went on to became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533, and who helped the king break from the Catholic church. He recanted his protestant faith but was burnt at the stake anyway when England swung back to Catholicism during the reign of Queen Mary I. He famously thrust his right hand into the flames first for having signed the recantation.

The painting is by an unknown artist and is dated to c1530. Ms Powell, a children's author, told the BBC, "When we saw the eyes appear out of the plaster it was a real moment. It is a presence and you do feel there's just something there behind you looking over your shoulder. When people come in, he grabs the attention.'
BBC: Mural of King Henry VIII uncovered in Somerset
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Henry VIII mural in Milverton [photo BBC

Location : UK > Somerset
Category : News Stories
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Date Created : 01 Feb 2011 14:27:13
Date Modified : 01 Feb 2011 14:27:16;

Mardyn Street, Liverpool, will be bulldozed in 2011 [photo: http://gerryco23.wordpress.com
RINGO'S HOUSE NOT LISTED
The house Beatle's drummer Ringo Starr was born in will not be granted listed status by English Heritage. The Victorian terraced house is in Madryn Street in Liverpool, one of hundreds of houses that will be demolished this year.

Campaigner, Phil Coppell, said the house is of huge cultural significance and that English Heritage 'do not understand the reality of what is important to the ordinary people of Liverpool and to Beatles fans all over the world.'

English Heritage have dismissed the application on the basis that the 'house has no associations with the success of The Beatles as a group, was only lived in by Ringo Starr for four years after his birth and is not architecturally or historically significant enough to match listing criteria.'
BBC: Ringo Starr's former home not granted listed status
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Mardyn Street, Liverpool, will be bulldozed in 2011 [photo: http://gerryco23.wordpress.com

Location : UK > Merseyside
Category : News Stories
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Date Created : 26 Jan 2011 13:21:06
Date Modified : 26 Jan 2011 13:29:05;

Fred Dibnah died aged 66 in 2004, and was well known for bringing down chimneys without explosives. [photo BBC
FRED DIBNAH THEATRE SHOW
A new play about local legend Fred Dibnah will be shown at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. The show, called 'The Demolition Man', stars John Branwell from Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Holby City, and Doctors.

The Octagon Theatre says 'Many women have to deal with their husband's hair-brained schemes. And when Sheila comes home to find her husband has decided to build a 70ft mineshaft in the back garden, she somehow isn't suprised. But if you were married to Fred Dibnah, one of Bolton's best-loved sons, you wouldn't be either.

After appearing on television repairing Bolton Town Hall clock in 1978, Fred went from eccentric, engineer and steeplejack to local hero, celebrated broadcaster and national institution. But when he is diagnosed with cancer, it threatens to demolish his personal and professional life as easily as he had toppled chimneys throughout his illustrious career.

Despite his tragic deterioration, he determines to forge ahead with his project to get his beloved steam engine on the road. And along the way, Fred's relationship with Sheila is put to the test.'

'The Demolition Man' is at the Octagon from Thursday 7 April - Saturday 7 May 2011. Tickets are from £9.50 on 01204 520661
The Demolition Man at Octagon Theatre
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Fred Dibnah died aged 66 in 2004, and was well known for bringing down chimneys without explosives. [photo BBC

Location : UK > Greater Manchester
Category : News Stories
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Date Created : 26 Jan 2011 12:56:22
Date Modified : 26 Jan 2011 13:03:14;

CHANCE TO BUY SALVO GUIDE ON EBAY
An ebayer is selling a copy of the Salvo Guide for the bargain price of £2.20 including postage and packing. The book is described as 'The Salvo Guide, Thornton Kay, Very Good Book'. Five thousand copies of the Salvo Guide were printed in 2000. Salvo do not have any copies left in stock.
ebay: The Salvo Guide, Thornton Kay, Very Good Book
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Story Type : 831

Location : UK > Bristol
Category : News Stories
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Date Created : 21 Jan 2011 10:32:11
Date Modified : 21 Jan 2011 10:37:51;

Boar statue removed because of Christmas damage [photo: Bromsgrove Advertiser
UNSAFE STATUE REMOVED FROM BROMSGROVE HIGH STREET
A boar and dryad statue that has been situated outside Bromsgrove post office for more than thirty years has been removed by the council. Over Christmas, the stone base became damaged and the council decided the statue was not safe.

The boar is the emblem of Bromsgrove and harks back to a time when the town was surrounded by forest. The statue was made by the late Terry Simons of Bromsgrove Guild Concrete Products, and is a composite stone copy of the original made for Nettlebed Park in Oxfordshire by Louis Weingartner of the Guild.

Guy Revans of Bromsgrove council said "It's currently in secure storage while we investigate and while members decide how to proceed - especially considering everything may be repositioned in the pending High Street redevelopment."
Bromsgrove Advertiser: Bromsgrove boar statue
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Boar statue removed because of Christmas damage [photo: Bromsgrove Advertiser

Location : UK > Hereford & Worcs
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Date Created : 20 Jan 2011 22:10:20
Date Modified : 21 Jan 2011 09:50:41;

Demo Talk Radio is launched!
DEMOLITION NEWS RADIO IS LAUNCHED
The first new talk show by Demolitionnews.com has been made live. Listeners can play the show on the website or download it to listen to later. The programme features interviews with John Cuddy of Cuddy Demolition, Liz Bridge of The Tax Bridge on the higher rate of VAT, Sophie Francis of the National Demolition Training Group, John Woodward of C&D Consultancy discuss the new Demolition Managers training course and a contribution from Comley Demolition.

"The switch from written word to spoken word was always going to be challenging and we did have some issues with recording levels and the like," says DemolitionNews.com founder Mark Anthony. "But we're delighted with the content of this first show and even more so by the support shown by the guests and sponsors that helped us produce this pilot show. We have all learned a great deal and we're now looking forward to applying those lessons in producing our second show."
Demolition News: Welcome to Demo Talk radio
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Demo Talk Radio is launched!

Location : UK > Surrey
Category : News Stories
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Date Created : 20 Jan 2011 10:24:48
Date Modified : 20 Jan 2011 17:02:30;

The Sils Angel, in Welford Road Cemetery [Photo: This is Leicestershire
HAS STOLEN ANGEL BEEN FOUND?
An investigation could get underway to find out whether an angel that has stood over the entrance way to Cafe Bruxelles in Leicester since the mid-1990s is actually the stolen angel of a family memorial that went missing more than twenty years ago.

The memorial angel was bought for the family of Edward Sills, a builder and tiler in Leicester, around the turn of the century, and was stolen from its siting in Welford Road cemetery.

A similar angel is placed in the balcony over the doorway of the Cafe Bruxelles. The previous owner of the bar, Jhan Husain, said "I can't remember where we bought it, but it would almost certainly have been an antiques fair or a dealer. Had we known it was stolen and a well-loved memorial when we still owned Bruxelles, we would have been happy to see it restored."

The Friends of Welford Road cemetery heritage group and staff at Leicester county council would like to examine the angel to check if the footprint would fit that of the stolen one, and to see if the there is a hole that would fit the eighteen inch spike left on the memorial.
This is Leicestershire: Could statue above bar entrance be angel stolen from Leicester cemetery?
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The Sils Angel, in Welford Road Cemetery [Photo: This is Leicestershire

Location : UK > Leicestershire
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Date Created : 18 Jan 2011 12:10:00
Date Modified : 18 Jan 2011 12:10:27;

Old teddy bears from Collector's World, Norfolk [photo Chancellors
FEVER BEARS
I recently bought quite a lot of things from the auction that was held owing to the closing of the Collectors World Museum in deepest Norfolk. My motivation was the large amount of church furniture that was for sale; the museum had its own chapel, a religious themed library, a Dickensian Parsons cubbyhole and a cafe fitted with church pews.

That was the initial plan, once there however, I got sucked into buying ever more random pieces of flotsam . . . aircraft propellers, boars heads, 1930s track bikes, 1960s mannequins and Napoleonic ships wheels. As I raced hither and thither, bidding on increasingly incongruous off-topic items (Fijian throwing clubs, anyone?), trying to load my rental van at the same time which had to be returned 3 hours later to a depot 150 miles away, and also trying not to think about getting to this dinner party 5 hours later 250 miles away, I found myself repeatedly getting lost in the museums 'Time Tunnel'. This was a maze of passageways in the main building, many only a couple of feet wide, with various booths and displays showing everything from dangling clowns to a mocked up ancient dentist practice complete with screaming patient.

The teddy bears shown above were in their own little dead end which I kept inadvertantly returning to. The roof above them had holes in so they were all soaking wet and the fairy lights that provided light flickered on and off as the water streamed over the electrics.

I got back in time for my various appointments and only had to leave a few very small and a few very large items behind (the small items were all stolen before our driver was able to collect, but at least the giant urns, church doors etc were still there).

That night, worn out and wasted I suffered an attack of recurrent malaria which knocked me out for the next two days. If you have ever had this you will know that the delirious half-waking nightmares are the worst part, never mind the sweats and the chills. For me, it was the soaking wet, clammy old teddy bears. Surrounding me, covering me up and making sure that I never got out of that particular cul-de-sac of The Collectors World 'Time Tunnel'.
Chancellors
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Old teddy bears from Collector's World, Norfolk [photo Chancellors

Location : UK > Surrey
Category : News Stories
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ID : 57080
User : 173 ; Antique/Reclamation/Salvage Trade ; (Salvo Code Dealer)
Date Created : 14 Jan 2011 13:43:32
Date Modified : 14 Jan 2011 13:43:35;

NT White House painted green to publicise opening of salvage yard and other things
NATIONAL TRUST TO OPEN A VOLUNTEER SALVAGE YARD ON JERSEY
One of twelve pledges by the National Trust to make its properties on Jersey more environmentally friendly, is to open a salvage yard run by volunteers. The White House at St Ouens Bay was painted green to publicise the pledges.

The National Trust for Jersey is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and a key promotional event will take place on 2nd and 3rd July this year.
Channel Online TV
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NT White House painted green to publicise opening of salvage yard and other things

Location : UK > Jersey
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Date Created : 13 Jan 2011 13:31:06
Date Modified : 13 Jan 2011 15:56:06;

NEW MEANING FOR DECONSTRUCTION AS ROBOTS DEMOLISH EDINBURGH BUILDING
In the BBC account of a demolition of an Edinburgh building to make way for a new Primark store, the use of the word 'deconstruct' by the demolition contractor Safedem, describes the breaking of concrete to create rubble, not the careful removal of building components for reuse.

The BBC wrote that Andy Smilie, Safedem operations manager, said: "It's a very precise method of deconstruction that is much more efficient than having teams of contractors demolishing the structure by hand."

Deconstruction is a term, started in USA, that was used to describe a green and eco-friendly way to dismantle a building. Wikipedia defines deconstruction as 'the selective dismantlement of building components . . . It differs from demolition where a site is cleared of its building by the most expedient means. Deconstruction focuses on giving the materials within a building a new life once the building as a whole can no longer continue. Deconstruction is a method of harvesting what is commonly considered "waste" and reclaiming it into useful building material.'
BBC: Robots demolish key retail site in Edinburgh
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Location : UK > Lothian
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Date Created : 13 Jan 2011 13:21:08
Date Modified : 13 Jan 2011 20:19:31;

Andy Thornton's winter gazebo at the Savoy
ANDY THORNTON AT MANCHESTER AIRPORT AND THE SAVOY HOTEL
After a six and a half weeks working for Epernay at Manchester Airport, Andy Thornton have successfully completed a £300,000 fit-out of a half hexagon shaped bar with views over the concourse. Local reclaimed bricks and a pale granite worktop were used for the bar. An eleven metre long oak drinks shelf extends the length of the glass wall, allowing customer to watch planes taxiing the airport. Andy Thornton also worked for Epernay in Manchester and Leeds city centres.

Two of Andy Thornton's employees were recognised for their contribution towards the £220m renovation of the Savoy Hotel, London during the official reopening presented by HRH Prince of Wales. Andy Thornton's architectural metalwork department supplied the Savoy's Thames foyer with a seven and a half metre stained glass and metalwork dome, designs for which were copied from the hotel archives. They also made an impressive five metre diameter and four metre high decorative gazebo, designed by interior designer, Pierre-Yves Rochon. The gazebo sits perfectly under the domed glass roof in the centre of the room, and houses a grand piano.
Hotel Designs: Andy Thornton Supply Centrepiece at The Savoy
Hotel Designs: Andy Thornton at Epernay, Manchester Airport
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Andy Thornton's winter gazebo at the Savoy Reclaimed bricks used in Andy Thornton's bar fit-out

Location : UK > Greater Manchester
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Date Created : 13 Jan 2011 13:11:44
Date Modified : 13 Jan 2011 13:15:14;

A white marble and porphyry fireplace, described as English, early 19thC, sold for £3,800 plus premium, which had a retail price of £98k according to the ATG
£98,000 MARBLE CHIMNEYPIECE SELLS FOR £3,800
The sale of some of the stock of John Hobbs took place at Dreweatts on 15 December 2010 when lots sold for a fraction of their retail ticket prices at Hobbs' Pimlico Road showrooms.

Mr. Hobbs was taken to court by Dennis Buggins for refusing to pay some restoration bills. After three years of battling, Hobbs finally settled out of court (for an amount rumoured to be a six figure sum) in December 2010, after an incredulous high court judge suggested that to continue with the case would be madness.

The case left Buggins without an exceptional antiques restoration business, and Hobbs in debt, discredited, and ejected from the UK's prestigious antique dealers association, B.A.D.A.

David Patrick Columbia of the New York Social Diary, whose readers typically bought from Hobbs stated (27 May 2008):
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'A popular topic among cognescenti . . . is the article in the New York Times by Christopher Mason about top antiquaire John Hobbs, and a lawsuit filed against him by a British furniture restorer, Dennis Buggins. The suit has implications that are rocking the world of antiques, auctions and interior decoration. Mr. Buggins has been doing business with Mr. Hobbs for more than 20 years. Mr. Hobbs, according to Mason, has many big name clients such as Oscar de la Renta, David Koch, Valentino, Leslie Wexner, people who can pay - and do - for the best of the best to decorate their gilded halls. In the last 16 years, he told Mason, his workshop has "handled about 1,875 items for Mr. Hobbs, more than half of which involved major alterations or outright inventions." Mr. Hobbs sold some of these pieces to obviously wealthy clients for prices like $450,000 and $1.2 million, indicating that the client thought he or she was getting authentic antiques of exceptional value. The $450,000 item cost, according to Buggins about $55,000 to put together. Hobbs, according to Buggins, referred to the original pieces as "blank canvases". So that's quite a bit of jack for something not-so-old. The shock of the new has taken on a new meaning.

The lawsuit has come about because the very talented Mr. Buggins claims Mr. Hobbs is in arrears to him for $840,000 and this debt has hobbled him financially forcing him to sell property including the buildings that housed his workshops. Mr. Hobbs has filed a counter-claim and questioned Mr. Buggins' veracity. However: Mr. Buggins has quite a bit of photographic evidence of the process of "making" these precious antiques.

I was reminded of a story told to me recently about a Wall Street banker who was having a confab with some clients one Saturday afternoon at his house in Southampton. The boys were all sitting around the dining room table with their pads and their pocket calculators, furiously writing down the details of their deal when the host's wife suddenly interrupted him. She needed a word with him privately. The man went into the kitchen where his wife asked if they could put something down to cover the dining room table since she'd paid $150,000 for it when they decorated the house. "150 grand?!" The banker was shocked. He apparently never knew how much he laid out to dine in his own house. He wrote a check for a budget and so great was the decorating budget that 150G's must have been a drop in the bucket.

Back in the early 80s, I made my first trip abroad, to London, invited by an old friend Stan Mirkin, who had an antiques business in Pound Ridge, New York. Stan made several buying trips abroad every year, and he always invited a friend to accompany him as he wasn't in great health and liked to have someone nearby. "How would you like to go to London, all expense paid, first class, for two weeks?" was how he asked. Then in my struggling writer mode, what could I say but "yes." Stan was a great travel companion. He loved England, he loved to eat., he loved to tour, and he loved to laugh. He was also a shrewd and successful businessman. He rented a spacious three bedroom flat off Kensington High Street for 100 pounds a night from two American dealers, Jean Amory and Sandra Feigen. Every morning at 8:30 a "courier" (a car and driver hired specifically by antiques dealers) would pick us up and drive us out to the countryside where Stan would make the rounds. Stan was a great success for several reasons, one of which was he knew his customer and he always bought with them in mind, and sometimes even specifically. The first expedition we made on this trip was to a great old revived Victorian pile out in Essex called Durwards Hall which was owned by a crisply chic octogenarian woman named Dora Ratcliffe. We arrived shortly after eleven in the morning and Dora met us in her library - a large room with towering bookshelves and an excessive amount of 18th and 19th century furniture. The whole house, I later learned was a storeroom (or showroom) of Mrs. Ratcliffe's furniture. Shortly after meeting, we all sat down and a maid wheeled in a cart with a large silver tray that was filled with Smoked Scottish Salmon, the garnishes, caviar with garnishes, hams, turkeys, breads, cheeses and Bloody Marys. And so there we sat on this chilly and grey November day, in front of the crackling fire in the marble Victorian fireplace, enjoying Dora Ratcliffe's repast. While Stan and his hostess talked about "what" he was looking for. He had a list. Mrs. Smith out in New Canaan needed a Queen Anne dining table with twelve chairs. Mrs. McNaughton over in Wilton wanted a Chinoise secretary, Mrs. Noonover in Greenwich wanted a George II bureau plat. Uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh, went Dora Ratcliffe (well, not uh-huh, but something like it). Presently, luncheon over, Bloodys swilled, tea drunk, we went out to "the stables" to have a look. The stables were several brick one story barns a couple hundred yards from the big house. They were once for the horses, and the carriages, and later the automobiles. Now they were for the workmen - craftsmen, actually - who "created" furniture for Dora Ratcliffe's inventory and her clients. And Mrs Goodbody over in Darien who wanted the Regency commode for her guestroom. It was fascinating to see.

Stan explained that these very talented men would take old (antique) furniture pieces acquired here there and everywhere - all over England, and restore it or even remake it, using original pieces and adding whatever needed to be added to make it whole again (or for the first time). A kind of glorified re-cycling, they took something broken (but formerly wonderful) and put it back together again. Even more wonderful was that when Mrs. Smith ordered her Queen Anne diningroom table, she had the perfect length for the perfect proportion of her soon-to-be perfect dining room in New Canaan. In the almost two weeks, we covered much of the countryside all the way to Yorkshire and down to Cornwall visiting antiques dealers of all interests and styles. There were many other dealers, I soon learned, who employed Dora Ratcliffe's accommodating techniques in their own workshops with their own brilliant (or at least very talented craftsmen). Not everyone we visited operated this way, but quite a few did. It wasn't a secret; it was the way men and women kept their businesses alive.

Stan Mirkin was a jolly and generous fellow. If he had a very good client who was especially enthusiastic about their houses, he'd sometimes take them along on a buying trip. On my trip, we were also joined by a beautiful, raven-haired wife of a very famously successful New York fashion photographer who had lots to spend. Her name was Linda Horn and her interest became a passion and her passion eventually became a very successful antiques business here in Manhattan. Linda saw everything that I saw. And probably more. I learned on that trip, thanks to Stan, the inside workings of the international antiques business. There are different levels of price points - and different levels of high clientele -- from the low five-figures to the high seven-, eight-, and nine figures that people pay for the things they like. No matter, all of it is basically very expensive furniture. This is not to be confused with the furniture that you might find in the Wrightsman Collection at the Met. That is priceless furniture. I'm talking about the stuff that the rich (very often newly rich) buy for their houses today. Thorstein Veblen explained it succinctly in 1899 in his "The Theory of the Leisure Class": While men may have set out with disapproving an inexpensive manner of living because it indicated inability to spend much, and so indicated a lack of pecuniary success, they end by falling into the habit of disapproving cheap things as being intrinsically dishonorable or unworthy because they are cheap. A century later, has anything changed? Well, yes, the technology has advanced to stages where detection is easier and so is high toned amalgamation. But the heat to acquire has not lessened.'
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So there you have it. An outsiders take on the UK antiques trade. Although some of the trade is completely untruthful all of the time, and most of the trade is untruthful some of the time, some of the trade is meticulously honest all of the time. A problem for some buyers is how to work out who is which, but not all buyers care. Some see antiques merely as decorators objects. Kirstie Allsopp, trawling around Newark or Ardingly on her show before Christmas, said that it did not matter whether an object was repro or genuine, the important thing was whether the buyer liked the object. It is important to like the object, of course, but many buyers also want to know that the seller's description of the object is a hundred per cent accurate too.
Dreweatts: Interiors by John Hobbs
New York Social Diary: Memorial Day in the City
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A white marble and porphyry fireplace, described as English, early 19thC, sold for £3,800 plus premium, which had a retail price of £98k according to the ATG

Location : UK > Gloucestershire
Category : News Stories
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Date Created : 13 Jan 2011 13:11:33
Date Modified : 13 Jan 2011 13:11:38;

COMMENTS SOUGHT ON DRAFT BRITISH STANDARD FOR SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
The British Standards Institute has drafted a new standard entitled 'BS 8905 - Framework for the assessment of the sustainable use of materials - Guidance'. The guidance covers life cycle and environmental sustainability, as well as social and economic sustainability. All materials are covered by the standard, not just reclaimed building material.

Comments are sought by interested parties by 28 Feb 2011.

The drafting committee, which met throughout 2010, included Thornton Kay of Salvo Llp.
BSI: BS 8905 - Framework for the assessment of the sustainable use of materials – Guidance
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Date Created : 06 Jan 2011 13:22:14
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LONDON ANTIQUES MARKET ATTRACTIVE TO US BUYERS
Rita Konig, an interior decorator and journalist in New York writes for the Wall Street Journal about 'London's Best-Kept Decorating Secrets'. Included in her tour are antique shops on New Kings Road, Pimlico Road, in Notting Hill and Chelsea.

Rita argues the case the Americans buying in London. "Being older than America, Europe naturally has a far greater source of old stuff. (Personally, I have exhausted my interest in midcentury furniture.) In London, one has the chance to find things at the prices American dealers pay before they bring pieces stateside, which puts consumers way ahead of the game. Sometimes my eyes nearly drop out of my head when I glimpse New York price tags that are four times what one would pay in London."

"I also love the unpretentiousness of these shops here, most of which are manned by their passionate owners, rather than hired salespeople. They actually help you, unlike sales associates who can be a little snooty and more interested in their dinner plans than your purchases."
Wall Street Journal
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Date Created : 06 Jan 2011 13:17:31
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CAMPAIGNERS UNABLE TO SAVE BIGGEST POSTWAR PREFAB ESTATE
The majority of a historic housing estate in Catford built by German and Italian prisoners of War in 1945 and 1946 is set to be demolished as the local authority argues it is 'virtually impossible to bring up to modern standards'. The Excalibur estate, with it's streets named after Arthurian legend, is the biggest surviving part of an ambitious project to create 160,000 dwellings during a postwar housing shortage.

Campaigners say the demolition will destroy a piece of WII history, and that keeping just six of the prefabs, which will end up surrounded by modern houses and flats, is pointless. English Heritage recommended that twenty one of the prefabs be listed, even though buildings with modernisations are not normally and most of the estate has had windows and doors replaced.

Six of the 187 houses were grade II listed by the department of culture in September last year. Ultimately the decision lies with the council and local residents. Fifty six percent of local residents were in favour of redevelopment, but campaigners say the 'yes' vote was skewed by the fact the council are not offering any modernisation on existing Excalibur housing.
Guardian
Photos of the Excalibur estate on Flickr
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Date Created : 06 Jan 2011 12:49:07
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Funding Circle
SALVO STARTS A LOAN GROUP FOR SALVAGE BUSINESSES AT FUNDING CIRCLE
Salvo Llp has started a UK loan fund group at Funding Circle Ltd for the salvage trade and other businesses which need to borrow money in order to help reuse more antique, reclaimed or salvaged building material.

As The Economist put it, Funding Circle is a new source of finance aiming to compensate for the inertia of big banks. It is a social lender which allows lenders and borrowers to sidestep banks using an online marketplace, backed by Jon Moulton, the former head of private equity group Alchemy Partners. Cofounder Samir Desai said it was a viable alternative to bank lending, offering lower costs for borrowers and a better deal for savers.

Businesses wanting a loan need to have been trading for two years and are credit checked through Experian, the finance agency. Funding Circle also checks directors through Cifas, the fraud prevention service. Loans are for one or three years and interest rates are set by online auction, similar to eBay. Borrowers are charged an upfront fee of 2 per cent. Funding Circle's default rates are 0.6 - 1.5 per cent.

Lenders divide their funds between a range of businesses, limiting their exposure to individual companies to £20 - £2,000. Lenders can also sell their loans if they wish to recover their capital before the term ends.

The fund started by Salvo is named 'Salvo Angels' at Funding Circle which lenders are cordially invited to join. The word angels was chosen because it alludes to business angels which traditionally support and invest in small businesses.

Note to the salvage trade: The UK government grants funds to support the crushing of old reusable bricks and the burning of reusable wood, but does not help fund the reclaiming of building material for reuse. Salvo has taken this initiative in order to try to help redress the balance for the hundreds of reclamation businesses which find it hard to borrow from banks, pay taxes, reduce global warming, and get no government recognition or support. Please tell your local MP about this initiative, invite them to your yards and showrooms, and ask if they think that reclaiming building materials is a good idea and if they would be prepared to support a campaign to increase government support for the salvage sector.
The Economist: New sources of finance aim to compensate for the inertia of big banks
Funding Circle: Salvo Angels
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Funding Circle

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Date Created : 02 Jan 2011 21:34:22
Date Modified : 07 Jan 2011 11:43:36;

Antique Christmas card
MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL
Season's Greetings to all our readers.

It's been a tough year for some, a great year for others, and an up and down year for, it seems, most with patchy highs and lows with no rhyme or reason. We wish everyone a prosperous 2011.

Salvo has pottered along with our main changes in 2010 being in personnel. Colleen Gowlett, who helped with, among other things, the website, Salvo Fair, eSalvo and Salvo magazine, left in September to teach art in a school local to her home in Waddesdon. Terry Garrett, who did our accounts, left for a post at a web design company in Chiswick. We wish both of them well and thank them for their valuable help in recent years.

This left a staff gap which has been filled by Shirley McConnachie who has been recruited initially to do accounts, moderating and admin. Salvo's London office will close at the end of January and the main postal address will be the Bath office run by Ruby Kay who, after seven years of being married to Oli Hazael, will from now on be using her official married name of Ruby Hazael. And, after seven years of living in London, at the end of February Thornton Kay will be moving to Canterbury.

In 2011 Salvo plans to change SalvoWEB to include micro-sites by default, recruit more writers for eSalvo and SalvoNEWS with the aim of producing more salvage features, and beef up the trade day on the Friday at the Salvo Fair.

Salvo's postal address is now Salvo Llp, PO Box 4111, Bath BA1 0FL.
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Antique Christmas card

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Date Created : 20 Dec 2010 12:03:00
Date Modified : 24 Dec 2010 16:52:47;

NEW UK BRIBERY ACT WILL OUTLAW SECRET DOUBLE COMMISSIONS
The unethical practice of an intermediary, for example an interior designer, who is paid to act for a client in the client's best interest to secure a good price for decorative antiques because he has a relationship with that dealer, and who is then, unbeknown to his client, paid another commission by the dealer based on the amount bought (a secret commission or 'backhand'), looks to be outlawed under a new UK law next April. The principal change seems to be that such an arrangement will become criminal if it involves secrecy.

Secret arrangements of this type used to happen in the distant past in the UK architectural and garden antiques trade, and some new to the trade may be shocked to know that it happened. But many dealers refused to cooperate in such practices, to the detriment of their businesses, but not their integrity.

There are some grey areas. Does the Bribery Act apply to a concierge service which takes a group of foreign buyers around certain UK dealers who then 'backhand' the concierge? Ask a lawyer. Transparency seems to be the key.
UK Ministry of Justice: Bribery Act 2010
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Date Created : 17 Dec 2010 11:35:26
Date Modified : 17 Dec 2010 11:50:11;

MASCO WALCOT FACE TESTING TIMES
A degree of turmoil hit Masco Walcot this week due to a turn of events which Steve Tomlin explained on his website. He stated: 'It is easier to write this blog than continually try to explain the detail of the Walcot Saga to kind enquirers.'

The outcome was serious: 'We have three months to either change our ideas or resurrect our plans with fresh investors in a very difficult and cautious economic marketplace. It is hopeless to even contemplate bank support or an imaginative venture capitalist coming to our rescue, we are however intent on saving the healthy core parent company at Minchinhampton that Debbie Kedge and I have operated for twenty-five years.'

Masco has been a flagship UK salvage businesses over the past two decades. Also, Masco boss, Steve Tomlin has been instrumental in many initiatives to help the trade. Masco has also been staunch supporters of Salvo over the years. We wish him well in resolving these troubling issues.
Masco Blog: A Tragic End to a great idea?
Bath Evening Chronicle: Architectural salvage firm pulls out of city
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Date Created : 11 Dec 2010 14:19:26
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Dennis Buggins in front of the Gherkin - the former site of the Baltic Exchange in 2006 [photo Salvo Llp
DENNIS BUGGINS SETTLES HIS DISPUTE WITH JOHN HOBBS
Dennis Buggins, former Kent-based fine furniture restorer and owner of Extreme Architecture architectural salvage, has settled his long-running dispute with semi-retired London fine antique dealer John Hobbs.

Roland Arkell of the Antiques Trade Gazette reported that Hobbs v Extreme Architecture came before the High Court in London last week but, on the strong recommendation of the judge, the two parties settled out of court. Hobbs sued in December 2007 for the return of £2m antiques plus interest and damages, although most of these claims were abandoned earlier this year. Buggins was countersuing for £400,000 for fees, materials and storage charges for which he had invoiced Hobbs shortly after the termination of their relationship in August 2007, but which remained unpaid.

Following summary submissions in the High Court, Mr Justice Field said: "This should never have come to court. I don't know what madness has seized the parties but you are now in a situation where costs are very, very high and where much depends on the credibility of the witnesses. I hope I don't trivialise the process by saying that cases like this are something like a roll of the dice. This is nuts. There must be a basis for a settlement. What's happening in front of me makes no sense at all."

Talks took place during the lunch adjournment, but failed to produce a deal. The hearing resumed, but immediately before he was to be called for cross-examination, Hobbs requested a further adjournment in the course of which a settlement was reached. The settlement was undisclosed but is understood to include payment of a substantial cash sum and the transfer of items of furniture which had been in joint ownership. The legal costs of both sides are thought to total more than £1m.

Cahal Milmo of The Independent wrote that the settlement, which left Mr Hobbs with a six-figure legal bill, follows a three-year wrangle during which Mr Buggins lifted the lid on what he said was a production line at his £2m farm, dedicated to manufacturing high-quality copies of work by great cabinet-makers such as Chippendale or the Russian craftsman Christopher Meyer. In a storyline which would doubtless have been rejected by the writers of BBC's Lovejoy for being too far-fetched, the restorer said he employed a team of up to 30 craftsmen to make or adorn antiques using a store room of salvaged materials including brass fittings, old doors and second-hand olive wood and wall panelling. Mr Buggins, who sold items to dealers around the world, claimed that his work - or "knock-ups" - had been misrepresented to potential buyers as original antiques, saying: "I would call them inventions or fakes." He made claims about a number of pieces offered for sale by Mr Hobbs, including two mirrors described as "1740 George II looking glasses" which he said had been made from wooden panels that had been taken from a church. In 2008, Sotheby's was forced to withdraw from sale two antique commodes which had been described by the auction house as "German Neoclassical, circa 1800" with an estimated price tag of £150,000 after Mr Buggins said they had been fashioned from old wardrobes. The restorer said another auction house sold a Georgian mahogany desk in 2007, attributing it to John Hobbs, when it had been made from another wardrobe. Mr Hobbs, 64, who resigned from the British Antique Dealers' Association after it announced an investigation into his business, has insisted that while he knew Mr Buggins made replicas, any such items sold in his shop were labelled as imitations.

On 15 December Dreweatts will auction the remaining stock of John Hobbs, thought to have been originally valued at £5m, with a reserve figure of around £500,000. A pair of heavy tables perched on carved griffins which the dealer paid Mr Buggins £40,000 to produce has an estimate of just £8,000 to £12,000.

The auction house, which is marking each item with a stamp "John Hobbs" to show its origins, said it was being careful to attach no date or attribution to the items unless they had already been vouchsafed by a major auctioneer. Stephan Ludwig, executive chairman at Dreweatts, said: "There is no intention whatsoever to deceive potential buyers."

Mr Hobbs is currently writing an autobiography about his career as an antiques dealer, entitled Honest John. Dennis Buggins, who is famed in the architectural salvage world for his sale of the remains of London's bomb-damaged Baltic Exchange for £800,000 to two Estonian businessmen, was not available for comment.
The Independent: The A-listers' antique shop and the fakes made from wardrobes
Antiques Trade Gazette: Dreweatts to offer John Hobbs’ stock ‘as seen’ in December auction
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Dennis Buggins in front of the Gherkin - the former site of the Baltic Exchange in 2006 [photo Salvo Llp

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Date Created : 09 Dec 2010 16:04:27
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MASCO SCALING DOWN WALCOT YARD
Masco's plans for Walcot Yard to be turned into a centre for for design and sustainability excellence have been put on hold, according to the Bath Evening Chronicle, when their architect partners decided to expand their practice by opening a new office in Bristol.

Managing director Steve Tomlin was reported to say, "This is the hardest decision I have made in forty years of business. Without a strategic partner, or alternative investor, we cannot proceed with our Walcot endeavour. We are actively trying to attract a new investor and talks are taking place in London to enable us to continue with a presence in Walcot Street. Our experience in Bath has been positive and we have made many good connections."

Masco took over the premises in May, after the collapse of Walcot Reclamation a year ago. It has hosted a number of arts events there and Mr. Tomlin hoped that the yard would continue to exist in some form, and that it would try to redeploy staff to its main site at Minchinhampton in Gloucestershire.

Stop Press: To compound Masco's problems Twitter seemed to have closed its account on 8 December. Hopefully this will be back in action soon.
Bath Evening Chronicle: New owner of Walcot Yard to scale down presence in city
Masco Salvage: Twitter Disaster
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Date Created : 09 Dec 2010 14:07:58
Date Modified : 09 Dec 2010 14:09:19;

OLD DAIRY IN NORTHUMBERLAND OPENS A CAFE
Keith and Lynne Allan moved their architectural antiques business from Scremerston near Berwick to a former dairy opposite Ford Castle a year ago, and changed its name from Woodside Reclamation to The Old Dairy, which is where in Ford Village the new business is now based. They have now attracted other businesses to the old stables including a stone mason, vintage clothing and a maritime antiques dealer.

This week they have opened a coffee shop too.

Keith told The North East Journal, "From the moment we came and saw these charming buildings we fell in love with them. We have the castle and the river and the view of the Cheviots and we hope that with the coffee shop and the craft workshops more people will want to come and make a day of visiting us here."
The Journal: Northumberland Couple hope to attract more visitors
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Date Created : 09 Dec 2010 13:38:26
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Dumfries House, built by John, James and Robert Adam for the 5th Earl of Dumfries, 1750-60
JOHN BLY WARNS PRINCE CHARLES' CONSERVATION TEAM OVER DUMFRIES HOUSE
BBC Antiques Roadshow furniture expert John Bly is in a battle royale with the Sir Hugh Roberts and the conservation team engaged by Prince Charles to supervise the conservation of Chippendale furniture at Dumfries House, reported Christopher Wilson of the Daily Mail.

Bly says some of the unique and rare Chippendale furniture at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, built by the Adams brothers, has started cracking and shrinking because managers there may have failed to look after the collection properly. He also says he is concerned that the Prince's advisers could employ conservers who would ruin what he calls 'untouched' masterpieces by over-restoring them and making them look like new shop items.

He was so concerned that he wrote the conservation team a letter warning that 'damage manifests itself in cracking and distortion of veneer due to timber shrinkage. This has been caused by a lack of circulation of air. We are in summer and the house is currently over-warm and yet, apparently, the windows are now permanently closed. The furniture needs to breathe, as it has been allowed to do throughout the preceding centuries. Of even greater concern is to learn that restorers are being called in to remedy recent damage and restore other items. I hope all of this will be undertaken with the greatest possible restraint, for in these circumstances careful and sympathetic conservation is needed, rather than enthusiastic renovation. What they are doing at that house is misguided, in my view. There's misplaced energy and experience. In my opinion, anyone who allowed the furniture to deteriorate is not the best person to recommend which restorers to use. I would hate it if the Prince's advisers used conservators who thought everything should look as though it's come out of a West End dealer's window. That's just completely wrong. I would be unhappy if I upset the Prince, but I must speak out because he seems not to understand the damage that might be done. I'm deeply disappointed by the response I've had from Clarence House, but I do believe in the power of public persuasion. If enough people get to know what's going on, then maybe we can save this collection.'

Sir Hugh Roberts countered, 'Mr Bly's criticisms and concerns are completely unfounded and I strenuously refute them. The furniture and fabric at Dumfries House is being conserved with the greatest care and attention and to the highest possible standard. I am absolutely satisfied, with my experience of 40 years in this field, that the approach we have adopted is rigorous, appropriate and above all cautious. The firms we are using are the very best in their field: both Arlington Conservation (for the mahogany and veneered furniture) and Carvers and Gilders (for the giltwood pieces) have international reputations, and nothing that is being done in any way supports Mr Bly's view that we are damaging the great collection in the house. Quite the contrary; we are protecting and conserving it for future generations to enjoy and if Mr Bly were to come and see the first pieces of furniture we have conserved, which I believe he hasn't, I am confident he would be reassured that these Chippendale masterpieces are in safe hands. As for the ventilation and heating of the houses, it is being managed with the utmost care. Over and above the housekeeping practice of regular ventilation other protective measures such as UV filters, light-reducing films and a system of double blinds have been put in place to minimise any environmental risks to the collection. There is also an electronic environmental monitoring system which allows the curator to analyse any changes and respond accordingly.'

Prince Charles stepped into to preserve the Chippendale collection as part of Dumfries House after Johnnie Dumfries, a racing driver, Marquess of Bute, and owner of the house put it on the market with its contents for £43m in 2007. A campaign was launched to save it and donations had reached £12million when Charles weighed in, persuading others to pledge a further £12million. Charles then made up the rest of the total from his charities. The Prince controversially gambled £20million of his charities' cash on buying the Palladian country house in 2007 from the Marquess of Bute - even though he had never set eyes on it. According to the Prince, the house's most notable feature is its 'unrivalled' collection of 'exquisite' 18th Century furniture - much of it specially made by Thomas Chippendale - which has remained almost entirely in its original state.
Daily Mail: Prince Charles the £30m furniture wrecker, by furious Antiques Roadshow expert
Sir Hugh Roberts: The restoration of furniture at Dumfries House
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Dumfries House, built by John, James and Robert Adam for the 5th Earl of Dumfries, 1750-60

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Date Created : 02 Dec 2010 18:47:37
Date Modified : 02 Dec 2010 22:19:36;

LETTER: SURPLUS SALVAGE CENTRES WITHIN EXISTING TRADITIONAL SALVAGE YARDS
Letter from
Peter Watson
Gloucestershire
1 November 2010

Thornton,

First thing that springs to mind (well the mind of an old cynic anyway) is rose tinted spectacles! Lovely idea but practical - ? 80% rates reduction - pigs would fly!

Free yards - yes please. Bring it on! May be possible in towns with derelict areas but with the Brit's obsession with high land values it certainly won't happen round here. In the past, yards often had areas devoted to loads of small pallets of 50 of this, 20 of that, 116 assorted blue slates of odd sizes etc etc. No longer. It takes a lot of space and space is money. In the States, even in France space is readily available. Here we are an increasingly overcrowded little country. That's one of the major problems for business here today. Everything costs a bomb. Rent. Rates. Labour. NIC. Fuel taxes. Maternity/paternity/ equality laws, all sorts of 'itys continually being introduced to make this a better, fairer but increasingly totalitarian state and so on and on and on. There would have to be substantial subsidy without comeback or obligation to get involved. Extra paperwork that your record keeping would want to justify such subsidies - no more paper work please. Paper work doesn't earn money. People might get paid for producing paper work and authorities might employ more staff to file it away but it doesn't make the nation any wealthier.

Local advertising - b----- expensive and we can't even get a roadside sign here. But we could if it was council run. One rule for them that don't have to earn money and one for those that do.

Why is it that CEOs of Councils earn huge salaries? They argue that they pay the going rate to attract the right folks away from industry. Do they heck? Remember a CEO of a council only has 1/2 a job to do. They get given their money without any sales effort. Sales are the blood of any competitive industry. Don't see much sales effort going into running a council. So don't pay them so much - they only do a fraction of a proper job!

Back to the subject.

Nimbyism - phew think of the reaction if we started employing marginals, down and outs, druggies what have you. Plus "I don't want all those builders' trucks and the increase of traffic, dirt, noise, dust, pollution going passed my house."

Back to those rosy spectacles. You suggest a few financial perks/advantages that might be available but if you think about it, they will all require forecasts, fantasy football guesswork, self justification and brown nosing. Am I prepared to go through all that hassle? No thanks, I've better things to do with my time. But without the subsidies it's dead in the water.

I think the basic idea of the scheme is laudable and a good thing. Reuse makes sense economically and for the planet, as we in the trade have always preached. The practicalities are that it won't work unless it has local/national government sponsorship. Can we afford to introduce more spending when we are all desperately hoping to see reductions in government waste at all levels. No I don't think we can.

Mind you, your mate did a good job of screwing £500k out of some one to set a yard up. What's he going to use that for if he expects the stock to be donated? It just shows how out of touch most authorities are from the day to day struggle of life out here in a cruel hard world if they can afford to do that. I doubt if there are any commercial salvage yards set up with that sort of capital initially.

But keep up the good work. I'll certainly, keep an eye on developments and most certainly be at the front of the gravy train when CDC put the idea out to tender round here along with half a dozen other local yards trying to get a slice of yet another lucrative green initiative.

Bring back proper apprenticeships but only in manufacturing not in media studies. Do away with all these mock university courses - bring back technical colleges where practical, commercially-useable training went on. And so on. The old days were the best days, beer was cheaper, skirts were shorter. it never rained and the seasons were clearly defined.

Free places - I might just try the job centre tomorrow.

I might also try the CDC and throw the rec. yard idea at them! You never
know.

Best wishes to you and the team

Peter

Moreton Architectural Reclamation Yard Ltd
Cox's Yard
10 Fosseway Business Park
Moreton-in-Marsh
Gloucestershire
GL56 9NQ
Tel: 01608 652505
Fax: 01608 652881

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The proposal to which Peter Watson is referring was sent out in eSalvo on 29 October 2010 and follows below. One dealer outside Manchester responded positively and Salvo will be following this up. There is still time for others to join in. Read on . . .

Salvo's proposal: Surplus Salvage Centres within existing traditional salvage yards.

With respect to Jonathan Essex's report, Salvo would like to encourage traditional salvage yards to start their own small social entreprise Surplus Salvage Centres which would be separate entities embedded within their existing salvage operations, under a charter agreed by members, and operating as part of a national network. Salvo would help to organise the network.

How would it work?
- An area would be set aside for the Surplus Salvage Centre within part of the traditional salvage yard, either as exterior or internal space which could be small or large, and clearly demarcated.
- Local builders, construction projects, and local authorities would be contacted to be asked for unused building material which would otherwise be skipped - such as new surplus bricks, drains, roof tiles, timber, doors and windows - and which would be donated to the Surplus Salvage Centre.
- The transport and labour costs of moving the material from site to salvage yard would be paid by the donor
- The Surplus Salvage Centre would be advertised locally and will be on an internet network set up by Salvo.
- Money from sales would be ploughed back into Surplus Salvage Centres.
- Local authorities and social procurers would be asked to buy material from the Surplus Salvage Centre instead of buying new.
- The Surplus Salvage Centre would employ people at the margins of society.
- A record of material saved and reused would be kept, together with a record of types of people and numbers employed.
- Salvo will aggregate the totals from all Surplus Salvage Centres and present that information to local and national government to claim payments to offset the network's costs.

What's in it for the salvage yard?
- Better communications with the local construction network which could result in more purchasing and sale of traditional reclaimed material
- Kudos with the local social services, local authority, local press radio and TV may result in more sales for the traditional reclaimed material for that salvage yard
- Possibly 80% rate reduction on part of the salvage yard used for the Surplus Salvage Centre, and even the possibility of free or cheap premises rental.
- Financial assistance for training and employment development as part of a sustainable management strategy.
- Grants or payments for landfill diversion and carbon emissions reduction.
- Benefits of being part of a national network of Surplus Salvage Centres

In the text above 'salvage dealer' is defined in the broadest possible sense. All are welcome to join, from the high end Bond Street showroom to the smallest demolition yard, but you must have a fixed premises of some sort.

Salvo is looking for expressions of interest from twenty or more salvage dealers. Please contact Thornton Kay by email or on 020 8400 6222 in the first instance.
SalvoNEWS.com: UK social entreprise building material reuse networks
eSalvo weekly: Friday 29 October 2010
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