Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Final lots from renowned dealer up at auction
28 May 2018T Crowther & Sons was founded in 1880 in Fulham and was well established before the First World War. The company was split into two sections in the 1940s: Albert Crowther trading from Syon Lodge and T Crowther & Sons in Fulham.
The Chippendale style and influence
24 May 2018Chippendale’s move to a modest Kensington terrace house in 1776 probably marked his partial retirement from business at the age of 58. He would remarry the following year but died in 1779 leaving under £29 (not much more than the cost of one of the Dundas giltwood armchairs which sold at £20 each).
A lifetime of Chippendale
24 May 2018As a name synonymous with English furniture turns 300 years old this year, dealers are hoping the Chippendale 300 initiative can raise the profile of good English period furniture and inject some fresh pride in an historical craft.
The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director – the book that made Chippendale’s name
24 May 2018Much of Thomas Chippendale’s renown is thanks to his forward-thinking approach to business in the first decades of consumerism – and in particular the creation of a pioneering catalogue of furniture designs in the style of the great architectural books of the period.
Opportunity knocks for the capital's salerooms
24 May 2018The London auction community is gearing up for the summer season – and this year there is plenty of action beyond the big four.
Pick of the Week: Rare birds sighted in County Durham
21 May 2018Catalogued simply as ‘a pair of English soft-paste porcelain models of parrots’, these rare 18th century figures by Bow sold at Thomas Watson in Darlington, County Durham, for £16,000 (plus 24% buyer’s premium) on May 15.
Final sale of architectural salvage and sculpture from T Crowther & Sons takes place at Cambridge auction house
21 May 2018Cambridge-based auctioneers, Cheffins is to sell the remaining collection from once renowned architectural antiques business, T. Crowther & Sons.
Lodgings to reopen with Gillows saved
21 May 2018Lancashire County Council is to reopen Lancaster Judges’ Lodgings, home to a key collection of Gillows furniture.
Pick of the Week: Price is right on the gunmoney
14 May 2018A rare James II ‘gunmoney’ half-crown sold for €10,500 (£8850) at Whyte’s sale titled the Eclectic Collector in Dublin.
French rooms to team up for Aristophil sales
14 May 2018Three extra French auctioneers are to assist in the mammoth disposal of the Aristophil collections of historic manuscripts.
White-glove Rockefeller auction enters the record books
14 May 2018The epic white-glove sale of the David and Peggy Rockefeller collection at Christie’s New York has established a new high for a single-owner auction.
Hamilton collection proves near sell-out in Philadelphia saleroom
14 May 2018Unusual in the post-internet age, Freeman’s first-floor gallery in downtown Philadelphia was standing room-only for the April 29 auction of the collection of Dorrance ‘Dodo’ Hill Hamilton (1928-2017).
Perfect look for the Florida beach house
14 May 2018If pictures provided the backbone of the Dodo Hamilton collection, then there was no denying the sale’s most popular entries: a large selection of polychrome painted rattan and wicker conservatory furniture, perfect for the Florida beach house.
Stakeholders consider legal action on ivory
07 May 2018Trade bodies whose members will be affected by the government’s plan for a near-total UK ban on the sale of ivory are seeking legal advice on challenging the proposals before they become law.
Colt Clavier to be dispersed in Canterbury
07 May 2018The Colt Clavier collection of historical keyboard instruments will be offered on June 7 in a sale held by Canterbury Auction Galleries in association with London specialist Piano Auctions.
Exceptional ways to travel in style
07 May 2018The travelling compendium reached its apogee in the late Victorian and Edwardian era. Two exceptional examples appeared on the market in quick succession in recent days.
The Kelmscott Chaucer: four years in the making
03 May 2018Kelmscott’s finest achievement is probably its edition of 'The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer'. It is described in Printing and the Mind of Man as “perfect… both in design and in the quality of the printing”.
Ashendene Press: the rarest copies
03 May 2018Limited to 111 copies (105 on paper and six on vellum), ‘The Ashendene Dante’ is the rarest of the three magnum opi of the English private press movement.
How the private press movement created a collecting niche
03 May 2018Night after night in the summer of 1916, the artist and bookbinder Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson (1840-1922) visited the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge under cover of darkness, each time laden down with a package wrapped in brown paper and string.
Sotheby's to 'vigorously defend' sale of famous Egyptian bronze in court case
01 May 2018Sotheby’s is involved in a court case surrounding the dating of a bronze sold at auction two years ago.