Like many others, Disley antique dealer Arthur ‘Bryn’ Brindley decided to use his local auction rooms to clear his old chattels. Although auctioneer Robert Stones could not recall whether Mr Brindley had purchased any of these consignments at Peter Wilson, there is no doubt the dealer would have appreciated the irony.
The buyer’s premium may be as inevitable as taxes and death in this age of auctioneering, but Bryn had managed to negotiate a decent seller’s rate (“true to form”, said Mr Stones) and with the proceeds going to Cancer Research he had probably secured a lower price of admission at the pearly gates as well.
Mr Brindley dealt mainly in oak and country furniture, and this was reflected in the 50 or so lots which comprised his estate. Mr Brindley had acquired two particularly fine mid-19th century examples of Windsor chair, the first in yew and elm with an original trade label for William Gilling of Worksop, which was sold to the country trade at £1300, and the second in yew and ash with the name I.Todd stamped to the seat, which rated £800.
Standing in the hallway of the dealer’s house, White Cottage, for several decades, resisting rather ill-mannered offers from many visitors down the years, was a George III mahogany miniature bureau of two short and three long drawers with ring handles. Measuring a mere 20in (50cm) wide, with a well-fitted interior of six small drawers and six stationery compartments, the bureau attracted interest from the trade and sold at a double-estimate £2600.
Elsewhere, the top price of the sale was tendered for a Victorian diamond brooch of floral and foliate design. Set with approximately 150 stones ranging from 1.25 carats to 0.02 and measuring 3in (7cm) long, the brooch sold the London trade at £5600.
A collection of silver from a Liverpool family featured an Armada pattern ewer measuring 15in (38cm) high, weighing 42oz and marked for Dublin 1898, the maker being possibly Charles Lamb, which brought £2600, while a collection of photographic equipment distinguished the conclusion of proceedings. The 25 lots had been entered by the sister of a professional photographer (deceased) and included a couple of good quality Leicas – an M3 bringing £820 from the trade and an M4.P Canada taking £700 – as well as a Technika III with five extra lenses which attracted an astonishing £380.
Peter Wilson, Nantwich, February 21-22,
Number of lots offered: 726
Number of lots sold: n/a
Sale total: £215,000
Buyer’s premium: 15 per cent
Bryn Brindley’s last deal
How a trade veteran fixed rate for his estate left to charity... UK: THE great question that every dealer must address when death approaches is what to do with all those antiques accumulated in the home after a lifetime of business.
