The Blog Has Moved!

From now on the Collinge Antiques blog will be hosted on our new website collingeantiques.com which is launched today! Follow the link to check it out or reset your bookmark to http://www.collinge-antiques.co.uk/blog/
Hope you like the new look. Let us know what you think.

New Website - CollingeAntiques.com

If all goes to plan the new website at collingeantiques.com will be up and running tomorrow (Friday)afternoon around 4pm. As well as images and details of lots of our current stock it will also be the new home for the blog so if you have this page bookmarked you will need to redirect it. All the old blog posts will we hosted there too. Our old web address collinge-antiques.co.uk will also take you to the new site.
Fingers crossed for a smooth transition - see you on the other side!

Late 19th.c. Burr Walnut Card Table c.1880.

Good quality late 19th.c. burr wlanut fold over card table c.1880. Superb figured grane to the top which rotates and opens to reveal the baize playing surface. Supported on a higly decorative base featuring turned colums, carved legs and large finials. Excellent condition, restored and French polished in our workshops.
width 29", depth (closed) 18" height 28".

Victorian Mahogany Coffee Table.

This Victorian mahogany pedestal 'loo' table has been reduced in height to make a good sized antique coffee table. Excellent colour and condition having been newly French polished in our workshops.
Dimensions: diameter 45", height 21"

Edwardian Triple Harvard Bookcase.

We have had pairs of these Wernicke style 'Harvard' bookcases before but never a set of three. By the well known early 20th.c. manufacturer Minty they are identical triplets and can be used individually or stood together to fill a wall. Restored and repolished.
Individual dimensions: width 35", depth at base 11", height 62".

George II Supper Table. c.1750.

At first glance it seems like just another fold over tea table, albeit on of unusual design. Look a little more closely and you'll notice the pleasing lines, the pierced detail and the early, Chippendale style foot. Try to lift it and you'll be aware of the quality of the timber used. Spend a little more time with it and you might just fall in love with this table.
A wonderful piece of Georgian furniture dating from the middle of the 18th century. The back legs hinge open to support the top which folds over to make a very elegant square supper table. Rare, beautiful, practical and small - what more could you want?
Dimensions closed - width 34", depth 17", height 29".

New Stock & Mystery Solved

Hello again everyone and happy Saint David's Day. Plenty of new stock to catch up with and we hope to have the new website go live by the end of the week.
Regarding the last week's mystery item I am very grateful to one regular blog reader who identified it as a pewter 'Gibson Spoon'. Invented by Charles Gibson in 1827 it allowed medicines to be given to those who couldn't , or wouldn't keep still including children, the mentally ill and even animals. A dose was placed in the chamber and the lid closed, with your thumb over the hole in the handle the spoon was placed in the patients mouth and when the thumb was removed the medicine was dispensed (how you got them to swallow it was another matter!) . Here is a link to another one on the website of the Science Museum in London.


New for today is this elegant late Victorian inlaid mahogany dressing table and matching marble top two drawer washstand (though it would make a very nice side or hall table) which have just arrived this morning. Superb quality manufacture and in good unrestored condition with original handles and casters.
Dimensions: Dressing Table - width 48", depth 21", height 62". Wash Stand - width 48", depth 21", height 30".

Mystery Item.

This we be the last post for a week as the blog is off to the Lake District for half term with the bloglettes. Get ready for launch of our new website upon my return. In the meantime you can ponder on the uses of this mystery item.

Edwardian Mahogany Bookcase c.1900.

More images here of the Edwardian mahogany sliding door bookcase first featured on Tuesday. Fresh out of the workshop this afternoon it is restored and repolished and looking great
Dimensions: width 55", depth 19", height 91".
£1195.

New Stock - Collectibles.

A couple of pieces of new stock here which have both turned out to be more interesting and (hopefully) collectible than first thought. You can follow both on ebay here.
First up is a delightful mid 19th.c. Pratt ware paste jar with wonderfully detailed polychrome printed scene of the British fleet at anchor.

Despite the poor condition, with various chips, cracks and bumps, most noticeable around the neck it seems this is a rare and sought after pot. The design is largely unaffected bar extensive crazing. Not sure of the manufacturer. There is a small impressed mark to the base.
Dimensions: height 8cm, diameter at base 7.5cm, diameter at mouth 6cm.

Next is an attractive and good sized King's pattern salt spoon which when it came in black with tarnish was largely ignored by us all. After it was given a good clean we realised that the marks on the reverse were in fact Irish hallmarks (hence the lack of a lion mark) dating the piece to the Dublin assay office in 1804 . Of potentially even further interest is the unusual crown and thistle crest on the handle.

Stars & Stripes Sea Chest.

I would love to know the history of this item, a new arrival here this afternoon. A good 19th.c. hardwood seaman's chest. Whilst it has lost it's original hinges and locks and the outside has probably been stripped, inside the lid it retains a great painted detail combining the British red ensign with the US stars and stripes. An evocative detail perhaps recording the origins of its original owner.
Dimensions: width 40", depth18", height17".

Oak Side Table.

Another of today's new arrivals. This is a nice example of an early 19th.c. single drawer side table or 'lowboy'. With a pierced and shaped frieze below the drawer, shaped sides, carved brackets below the top, oak drawer linings and original brass handles. Good colour and condition having been previously restored.
Dimensions: width 34", depth 20", height 30".

The Big Cheese!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist that. This splendid mid 19th.c. majolica stilton dish and cover stands an impressive 11" tall with a diameter of 12". Modelled as a coopered barrell and decorated with primroses with a stem for the handle. Unmarked but almost certainly by the noted British majolica manufacturer George Jones.
£495.

Early 19th.c. Mahogany Side Table.

Newly restored and French polished in our workshops, this useful early 19th.c. mahogany side table c.1820 is new on the shop floor this afternoon. With a bow front, turned legs and a single oak lined drawer.
Dimensions: width 36", depth 20", height 31".

Arts and Crafts Hall Robe.

An exciting new arrival here this afternoon in the unconventional shape of this Arts and Crafts oak hall robe c.1910. Loads of nice details here including the tapered shape, the flared cornice, glazed cupboard door and original hinges. Very much in the style of Liberty & Co, we have not yet been able to establish the maker. In need of a little TLC, I shall post again when it is on the floor.
Dimensions: width 47", depth 18", height 74".

Large Edwardian Lawyer's Bookcase.

A glimpse here of a new arrival before it goes into the workshop for a polish. An unusual Edwardian mahogany 'lawyer's' office bookcase. Loads of space for books of various sizes and four glazed sliding doors - a practical innovation for potentially cramped office space. Good quality and condition.
Dimensions: width 55", depth 19", height 91".

Large Early Victorian Mahogany Half Tester Bed.

Last of this week's new stock is a highlight. We are waiting for drapes but I couldn't wait to show you this majestic 5' x 6'6" mid 19th.c. mahogany half tester double bed c.1850. With extravagant carved and shaped foot board, quality veneers, good colour and freshly upholstered head board.
£3295.

Small Early 19th.c. Longcase Clock.

One of the highlights of the week was this early 19th.c. longcase clock with an 8 day movement by Walker of Nantwich. With a good oak and mahogany case standing just 85" tall, quite a bit shorter than most longcases. The attractive face features a working date wheel, quality painting and original hands. The case has been newly French polished and the works have been cleaned and overhauled and are guaranteed for 12 months.
Dimensions: height 85", depth 9", width 19".
£2195.