On the Saturday, a customer showed interest in a c.1790 small Derby milk jug designed by William Billingsley and priced at £115 on Valerie’s stand, which at the time was manned by her partner, John Bacon.
The customer, who knew a bit about Derby, told Mr Bacon he thought the decorator of the jug was Joseph Stables and suggested this made it a rare piece, although he could not afford it.
During the course of the conversation, the Derby admirer described himself as the best sheep farmer in West Yorkshire with the best quality lambs on the market. Mr Bacon wondered what the jug was worth in lambs and the farmer replied about one and a half beasts.
A bit of bartering took place and a deal was finally sealed. The farmer got his jug and a receipt confirming the selling price as two lambs.
Incidentally, while John Bacon may be able to cut a deal he is not a dealer. He owns a country pub in the Yorkshire Dales. Its name? The Shoulder of Mutton Inn.
Fair exchange
THE currencies of the world will be traded at Maastricht, but no exchange is likely to match that seen on the stand of West Yorkshire porcelain specialist Valerie Clark at Robert Bailey’s Winter Fine Art and Antiques Fair in Harrogate over the weekend of February 4 to 6.
