For most of last year, trade press reports indicated that traditional furniture was showing signs of revival and so it comes as something of a surprise that the Antique Collectors' Club Furniture Index, always published in January since 1968, revealed that the index fell by 7% with falls in all seven classes of furniture. The index is now at the 1998 level. The cause is given as poor auction results and thin trade. Hence the best and the rest syndrome means that anything other than the best is still suffering. Leaving the Georgian furniture to the kids is not what it was. They just dont want it: the Regency period is less desired and Victorian is beyond the pale.
So, dismal news for the start to the antiques year but as reported here the Fairs programme for 2010 is ambitious. Enough has been said about the January weather so let's move on to tavern clocks.
None sold or newly offerred in January but two announced. One by Robert Lumpkins to be sold in Scotland and the other by Jos Gurney which Dreweatts are to auction in mid February. More on those next month. Several hitherto uncatalogued tavern clocks have come to my attention via contacts coming through the website http://www.tavernicus.co.uk/ . Now that the book is with the printers there will be time to update the site with addtions to the Clockmakers' Archive. So, you can follow update during February.
That's it for the opening to 2010.
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