PROFILE Antique Collecting goes behind the scenes with experts from the world of antiques and fine art
TV personality and antiques expert Tim Hogarth, from Dickinson’s Real Deal and Secret Dealers, has been involved in the antiques trade for the last 35 years. He owns the Red House Antiques Centre in York
What was the first antique you ever acquired? I started young – around eight years old – when all I had was pocket money. One of my first purchases, which I clearly remember, was a bible. It cost me 20p from my local charity shop in Haworth. Everyone knows Haworth was the home of the Brontë Sisters and, unbeknown to me, the book contained a hidden secret. Folded between the pages was a letter from the local doctor to Patrick Brontë, father to the literary siblings, advising him to visit a warmer climate for his health. My modest investment started me on my way as it sold for an impressive £50.
Why and when did you start in the antiques trade? I always knew I wanted to be an antiques dealer, it was just getting enough money to get started. At school every time I told the careers teacher I wanted to be an antiques dealer, he asked if I’d ever considered the health service. I left school at 16 and began work at a local factory, which I hated, but allowed me to save money. I left the factory aged 18, started buying antiques and the rest is history!
Who influenced you most when you started out? My grandmother, who was born in 1905, was a huge influence on me, but not from an antiques point of view. She would tell me tales of her Edwardian youth and could regale me with where she was when the Titanic went down,World War I, the abdication of Edward the VIII (and the dreadful Mrs Simpson). She brought history to life and started my love of the subject – and more importantly antiques.
What item would you most like to find? I would love to be one of those very clever dealers who find a long-lost Turner or other masterpiece in a saleroom, that’s been lost for years and rediscovered. How wonderful that would that be – a sort of Miss Marple meets the Antiques Roadshow.
What’s your best buy and biggest regret? My best buy was a Fabergé photo frame from a Budapest flea market for around £200 which I later sold for £8,000.
A pair of 1970s diamond earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels, to be auctioned at Dreweatts’ fine jewellery sale on July 9, with an high estimate of £12,000
My biggest mistake – which still haunts me to this day – is buying a box of costume jewellery at a local auction (pre internet). I later sold it on my stall only to be asked later by an old-time dealer: ‘Have you never heard of VCA?’ When I told him that I hadn’t, he replied, ‘Van Cleef & Arpels.’ Lesson learned, I now look at everything.
What do you like most about today’s antiques trade? Without doubt, the antiques business of today is all encompassing. It’s very inclusive, not exclusive like it was many years ago. Online sales have helped keep the trade going and opened up a huge client base which at one time was not available to smaller dealers.
What do you dislike most about todays antiques trade? Perhaps my biggest bugbear in today’s antiques trade is the leading auction houses sidelining the trade in an attempt to be antique dealers. Not only do they receive at least 45 percent of the hammer price on sales and buyers’ premiums, they want our business as well! Without the trade the auction industry would be lost.
Do you attend fairs? I love Newark which I try not to miss. I also love The Horti – Matthew Adams’ Royal Horticultural Hall Fair, held in the centre of London at Lindley Hall. It has something for everyone and is well worth a visit.
Which reference book could you not live without? An invaluable tool for me is Judith Banister’s English Silver Hallmarks (W. Foulsham & Co Ltd, 1999).
Tim’s most treasured reference book
What is your favourite non antiques activity? I love spending time with my lovely wife and daughter and I love a good bit of culture, including galleries and country houses. I am also an avid reader of non fiction.
What is the single thing that would improve your life? I have thought about this question long and hard. Apart from being two stone lighter, I am happy with my lot.
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