Antique Collection

If you want to collect on a modest budget, the vast array of small novel objects made from silver can provide an ideal collecting area.

The cupboard originated in the middle ages and was an open shelved structure used to display pewter, silver and other untensils. Styles changed and in the 17th century the lower section was enclosed. In Georgian and Victorian times there was a wide variation in designs.

SALTS, CASTERS AND CRUETS
In the past, salt was valuable and kept in elaborate containers. Beautiful medieval salts rarely appear on the market, but early 18th-century trencher salts are still quite common. These are small oval, circular or oblong salt cellars with a dished centre. However, most are now in poor condition as they were generally [...]

Once mistakenly regarded as funfair kitsch, carnival glass — charged with brilliant colour and a rich lustre — is now a worthy collectable.
By 1905 art nouveau was all the rage. Expensive ‘art‘ glass was in vogue, and American factories were soon mass producing affordable substitutes sold under exotic names such as Etruscan and Venetian.

Camera collecting is an increasingly popular field, with a wide range of both upmarket and run-of-the-mill models still to be found. Optical toys are rarer, and can offer rare delight with simple moving pictures.
After LOUIS DAGUERRE developed the first practicable method of photography in 1839, the taking of pictures quickly became a hobby among the [...]

Scientists, astronomers, sailors and the general public have long employed a range of microscopes, telescopes, and other magnifying instruments as diverse as the stargazer’s six-footer and pearl-encrusted opera glasses.

Stands of all kinds often find uses quite different from their original purpose. A butler’s tray, for example, makes a good drinks table.
Gueridons were among the first stands. Made in various styles, they were used from the 17th ‘century for supporting candlesticks or lamps.

Since they became an integral part of interior decoration in the 18th century, these items have been made in a diverse range of materials and styles.
Both mirrors and screens were origin- ally designed for a practical function, beyond mere vanity or decoration: wall mirrors to reflect the dim light of candles at night, and screens [...]

Cabinets have been prized possessions since the 17th century, and are among the most visually arresting and impressive forms of furniture.
The earliest cabinets made in Britain, in the mid-17th century, were used to store precious belongings and papers.
By the end of the 17th century, however, they had become objects of distinction and elegance in their [...]

The bureau neatly combines the function of a writing table with that of a decorative filing cabinet — features which make it doubly sought after.
The Bureaux’s distant ancestors were the medieval lectern and its more portable version the lapdesk, which had a hinged flap like the top of a bureau. By the late 17th century, [...]