Letters to the Editor

How sad that the Olympia winter fair has been scrapped not only because of nearly clashing with the Berkeley Square fair but also costs and the ridiculous idea of the dealers of fabulous antiques having to mix their stands with all that Christmas stuff.

Following your reader’s letter regarding the identity of the portrait sold at Reeman Dansie (ATG no 2711), I have nothing to add to the discussion regarding the sitter’s identity.

Just out of interest, the snuff box illustrated [19th century miser’s snuff box] in Letters, ATG No 2711, is not Scottish, but from a group of boxes made of Karelian Birch from the Finnish/Russian area in the Baltic region.

I read with interest about the Carlton Ware Babylon pattern coffee set that has recently sold at Peebles Auction House for £7700, a great price indeed for recent times (Pick of the week, News Digest, ATG No 2711).

I was sorting through some old paperwork and came across ATG No 52 dated September 23, 1972, which we had kept being the copy we placed an advert in.

In your Auction Reports on April 5 (Art Market, ATG No 2687) you reported on Reeman Dansie’s sale of a portrait of a young British officer under the headline ‘Missing finger could point to sitter’s identity’. That portrait was the property of my late wife.

In Fairs, Markets, Shops & Centres, ATG No 2709, we ran a story about the South of England Postcard Fair which included mention of a postcard showing a WR Hayes.

Re: ‘Art and industry’ (Clocks & watches feature, ATG No 2708)– a most interesting article about Guilmet and similarly designed novelty clocks.

Your Letters pages have recently featured the elaboration of two items purchased from the “contents of a Sussex manor house” auctioned by Burstow & Hewett of Battle, East Sussex, on May 28-29: a Tudor oak stool and a coquilla nut snuffbox depicting Benjamin Franklin (see Auction Reports, ATG No 2702 and Letters, No 2704 & 2706).

I do hope that a good home will be found for the manuscript of Bernard Romans’ chart of Florida (‘Museum buyer sought to keep ‘outstanding’ £6m maritime chart collection in the UK’, News, ATG No 2706).

I enjoyed perusing your recommendations of museums’ special exhibitions to see in your annual Summer Supplement a few weeks ago (ATG No 2699).

There appears to be some confusion regarding the painting by Ethel Walker featured in Auction Reports (ATG No 2702), my letter (ATG No 2704) and the letter from Roddy Willis (ATG No 2705).

I thought your readers might like to know a little more about the coquilla nut snuff box I recently purchased at Burstow & Hewett [in Battle, East Sussex, UK, on May 28-29] illustrated on the front page of ATG No 2702.

A catalogue featuring Ethel Walker's artwork emerges.

Book dealer vents his frustrations with red tape

My local auction house Burstow & Hewett at Battle raised their status with remarkable singleowner collection (ATG No 2702).

I always enjoy Alex Capon’s excellent Art Market reports and was particularly interested in the Ethel Walker painting (ATG No 2702), which sold at at David Duggleby’s Scarborough saleroom for an impressive £24,500.

Reading your article on Lanto Synge (‘Needlework collection of former Mallett head goes to museum in £363,000 deal’, News, ATG No 2702), it reminded me of the time I first met him.

Further to the article by Milton Silverman (ATG no. 2702) which gave some positive news for those of us that use the temporary admissions procedure, I wanted to point out that the new system has also led to extra costs.

I acquired Sotheran's, the rare book dealership, last year and it has been a bit of an odyssey moving to new premises in Charing Cross Road and revitalising a business that has survived in various forms for over 250 years.