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Antiques have a unique way of evoking memories and none more tangible in my opinion than medals. I bought this set of medals recently that particularly touched me. They weren’t the most special set in terms of the actual medals but they did come in their original box with the medals in their original wrappers and the ribbons unworn. This was nice to find but what was particularly special was the letter that came with them. It read as follows : “The Under-Secretary of State for Air presents his compliments and by Command of the Air Council has the honour to transmit the enclosed awards granted for service in the war 1939-1945. The Council share your sorrow that Flying Officer Easson in respect of whose service these awards are granted did not live to receive them”. It really struck me that the brave airman who earned these medals never got to wear them and his family, for one reason or another, never took them out of the box. Perhaps the medals were too painful a reminder of what they had lost. Their father, son or husband never returned from War, the only thing to come home were his medals. Whilst I can understand how painful this must have been, it seems a shame that this brave man’s medals were not on display and so I hope I will now able to sell them to someone who will appreciate them and his memory will live on and his story will continue to be told for generations to come.

When people come in to the shop, I’m often asked ‘where does it all come from?’. There’s no simple answer or magic formula and we work very hard to source fresh and interesting stock from all over the country. There’s a common misconception that most of our stock probably comes from auctions but in truth hardly any of it does. Most of the pieces are sourced privately and I’m very privileged to be invited to some fabulous houses, estates, businesses and, this week, even a church! Historic buildings such as churches can be great places to buy stock. Although places such as this will want to keep a lot of their historic items there also comes a time when items are no longer functional and need to be sold so that newer pieces can be bought and important funds can be raised for the upkeep of the building. I never quite know what I’m going to find but I’m nearly always guaranteed of some chapel chairs or pews. They are a simple design instantly recognisable and always very well made and sturdy. Of course they were made in large numbers so I can usually buy them in bulk and this makes them great for restaurants and cafes as well as for homes. I was also able to buy some more interesting and unusual pieces such as this collection pot. It is made of oak and probably dates from the late Victorian era and even comes with its original key. It would have been passed down the rows at the end of the service and the felt lining would have muffled the noise of any coins dropping (or not dropping!) inside. Nowadays it is really just a decorative or novelty item but it is so tactile and full of history. I’d love to put it by my front door and see people’s reactions when they come in. Or maybe I should save it for a quiet day in the shop!

The official definition of a proper antique is something that is over 100 years old and the vast majority of what we sell is indeed that age or older. However I don’t stick to any particular rules - if I like something I buy it and sometimes good design shines through. The Anglepoise lamp is one of the most recognisable designs of the 20th century and the unique ‘4 spring’ design has remained largely unchanged since it was first invented in the 1930s. It was a car suspension engineer who first thought of putting the springs into a lamp and this meant that the lamp could be easily repositioned without having to be clamped or moved. The idea quickly took off and the Anglepoise lamp was used everywhere from factories to hospitals and even in military navigation rooms during wartime. I have bought and sold many Anglepoise lamps over the years and most tend to be cream or black in colour so I was pleased to be able to pick up this more unusual red coloured one recently. This particular model dates from the 1950s and even has its original bakelite bulb holder which is rare to see. Old light bulbs got very hot when used and often this would eventually cause damage to the bulb holders. We were able to re-wire the lamp with modern cable whilst keeping the original bulb holder. Modern bulbs emit far less heat now so there’s no reason why this lamp shouldn’t continue to be enjoyed for many years to come. The great thing with these timeless design icons is that they can be mixed so effortlessly with any interior, modern or classic, and they never seem to look out of place.

I'm often shocked just how affordable antique glassware can be. In particular decanters - a good Victorian decanter can sometimes be worth as little as £10 to £20 which seems crazy when they are just as good as modern ones, if not better. These antique decanters have been beautifully hand made by skilled craftsmen who have meticulously cut and polished the glass. Even those with a silver collar can be worth as little as £50. Why is this? Trends and fashions in society change and people just don’t use them as often now as they used to. I personally think they’re great - there is such pleasure in decanting a bottle of wine or spirits into a decanter, which could be over two hundred years old and wondering who may have used it in the past. They also serve a practical purpose, designed to promote the proper aeration and ageing of the alcohol. Of course, as with any market, there is a higher end too and early 17th and 18th century examples or those with unusual etchings or rare shapes and colours can be very sought after and fetch many hundreds of pounds but the lower end of the market really leaves no excuse for us all not to own a decanter or two! Antique glasses themselves can be very good value as well. We frequently sell Victorian rummers for as little as £20 or £30. The name ‘Rummer’ covers a broad range of drinking glasses from across many centuries but all of which are generally characterised by a large bowl, short stem and wide foot. Again, price varies depending on age and style but some of these basic hand blown examples can be very affordable. These older glasses are such good quality with a reassuring weight that always makes the drink inside taste better - whether that’s water or wine! It can be difficult to tell the age of glass sometimes and distinguish new from old. One key thing to look out for is wear and this can often be hard to spot because the only real place a glass gets worn is on the bottom where it has been placed down and moved around. Most old glassware will have a degree of age-related wear such a scratches and rubbing where the bottom of the glass has touched different surfaces and this is a good indicator that a piece is genuinely old.

I recently bought a large collection of Dartmouth Pottery “Gurgle Jugs” and was fascinated to find out some of the history behind these iconic pieces. We’ve probably all seen them - the distinctive fish shape jugs with a wide open mouth and tail for a handle. I bet many of us have heard them too. They get their name because their design means that they make a “glug glug’ sound when pouring. Dartmouth Pottery began producing them in the 1940s right up until the factory closed in 2002. I’ve bought and sold a number of them over the years and knew they came from Dartmouth but I’ve now learnt that they have a much longer history than this. They were first produced in Staffordshire in the 1870s and various makers and manufacturers handled the production over the years, staying true to the original design. After WWII there were restrictions imposed on many of the large ceramic factories due to shortages in materials but Dartmouth Pottery, being newly established and quite a small factory, were able to take over the production without these restrictions. The other good thing about buying a collection is that they usually contain some rarities. Some of the most common Gurgle jugs are green in colour but this collection has some rare colours that I have never seen before - bright yellow, baby pink and powder blue were all produced in small numbers and are hard to come by. The collection also contains some limited edition jugs made in collaboration with Plymouth Gin and Scotch Whisky as well as some made to commemorate the Silver Jubilee and the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. However the very pinnacle of the collection was something very rare indeed - a pair of Gurgle jugs commissioned by Dartmouth Naval College to be made in honour of a visit by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1958. It is believed that only 8 pairs were made - one to be presented to the Queen, another to be kept in the naval college, a couple for other high ranking individuals and of course a few spare in case of any damages or malfunctions during production. Once these jugs were made the moulds were destroyed so no more could be produced. Sadly Queen Elizabeth never actually made the visit after being taken ill but the jugs were still sent on to the palace for her. They are in a traditional green colour and one has Queen Elizabeth’s royal monogram and the other has Prince Philip’s. They are dated 1958 and marked BRNC for Britannia Royal Naval College. Who knows how many of the original 8 pairs have survived these last 65 years and it is truly wonderful to be able to buy such a rare item with great local history too. From a small factory in Dartmouth these fish have really stood the test of time and are still immensely popular today for serving water, wine or even just as a decorative vase.

I’m pleased to say that modern medicine has come on leaps and bounds in the past couple of hundred years but old medical antiques can give us a real glimpse into a time when science and medicine were not so advanced. If you had to call a Doctor out in the 1820s he’d have turned up at your door carrying a medicine chest or ‘Apothecary’s cabinet’ just like this one. In it were a range of tinctures, herbs and chemicals from iodine to morphine and everything in between. It also contained items like scales, measuring beakers and a pestle and mortar so, once diagnosed, the Doctor could make up a suitable remedy for you there and then. The back of this particular cabinet has a secret sliding compartment which could only be unlocked from the inside and this contained the more dangerous and poisonous medicines such as the acids and arsenic. It is beautifully made from solid mahogany and cabinets such as this are hard to come by now, especially ones with their original contents. They are prized among collectors for their rarity and historical significance and can fetch upwards of a thousand pounds depending on condition and size. However even the smaller items such as individual bottles, jars and equipment can still be very collectable and are enjoyed for their decorative and historic appeal.

The Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction, almost a protest, against the industrialisation and mass production seen during the Victorian era. It promoted traditional craftsmanship and the use of high-quality materials. It emphasised the value of handmade objects and sought to revive traditional techniques and aesthetics. Arts and Crafts showcased simplicity, honesty, and functionality, with an emphasis on solid construction and natural materials. One of the most well known Arts and Crafts manufacturers, Shapland and Petter, were actually based very locally in Barnstaple and I often see their pieces crop up. Newlyn Copper is another well known Arts and Crafts associate, named after the town in West Cornwall where it was made. The quality and attractiveness of the designs has made items by these makers very sought after and there are collectors all over the country for these local items. I come across a wide range of Newlyn Copper items including trays, bowls, mirrors and plates. This copper charger was made by John Pearson of the Newlyn School. The copper has been decorated in a repoussé style which refers to the method of shaping the metal by hammering from reverse to push through a design onto the front. In the late 1800s the income from the fishing industry in Cornwall was unreliable and due to bad weather and seasonable fluctuations there were large periods when the fishermen were unable to work. The local craftsmen in Newlyn set about training the unemployed fisherman to produce items from copper. This new skill not only gave them an income but was also said to have kept them out of trouble! You’ll often see Newlyn pieces with a nautical theme featuring fish or boats which reflected the history and roots of the fishing town and the people who made them.

In a welcome break from buying my usual large and heavy pieces of furniture I’ve bought some nice pieces of ceramics recently including some Moorcroft Pottery. Moorcroft is a renowned British pottery company and a name that a lot of people will be familiar with. The company was founded in 1897 in Staffordshire by William Moorcroft and generations later they are still producing top quality handcrafted pottery. William Moorcroft's love for nature and his fascination with the Art Nouveau movement greatly influenced the early designs and the company have stayed true to these roots to the present day. William Moorcroft drew inspiration from the English countryside and Moorcroft Pottery is known for its nature inspired motifs incorporating flowers, leaves and other botanical elements. One of the defining features of Moorcroft Pottery is its vibrant and intricate tube-lining technique. This technique involves applying thin lines of clay onto the surface of the pottery, creating raised outlines. These outlines are then filled with coloured glazes, resulting in a distinctive and eye-catching almost three dimensional effect. You can see this raised detail on this bowl which is decorated in the ‘Orchid’ pattern and dates from around 1940. The dark blue is also a preferred colour which we see used a lot on Moorcroft pieces. It’s fairly easy to identify Moorcroft Pottery as it will always be stamped. This stamp can also help to date a piece as it changed over the years, gaining a Royal Warrant in 1928 and moving to the signature for Walter Moorcroft, William’s son, in the 1940s. Sometimes pieces can be signed by the artist too and numbered if it's a limited edition. More modern pieces are also stamped with symbols for the exact year of manufacture There’s a strong following of Moorcroft collectors worldwide and older pieces as well as some of the more modern limited edition pieces can be just as sought after. As with any ceramics, condition is key, and any damage will drastically reduce the value of a piece. One thing to watch out for with Moorcroft in particular is seconds. Every piece made in the Moorcroft factory is checked for quality and graded. Any pieces which are not found to be top quality - say for example the colours might have run or faded or there may be some firing flaws - are graded as ‘seconds’ and sold at a reduced price. It can sometimes be hard to spot a second but they are always marked in some way so it’s worth checking as these are of course worth less than first quality pieces. .