Nottinghamshire

Focus on how one antiques centre survived and now thrives by being prepared to adapt

International Antiques and Collectors Fairs (IACF) kicked off its return to business with its first event after lockdown.

Revived by Ruth and Paul Thurman last year, the former Field Dog Fairs event held in the Magnus Sports Hall in Newark under the new organisers will run on Sunday, January 26.

Sellers and buyers hit the ground running to make the most of the early-morning bargains

A missing Pugin parliamentary letter box has been returned to the Palace of Westminster more than 100 years after it disappeared.

Well-known dealers Ruth and Paul Thurman were the long-term organisers of Field Dog Fairs, running antiques and collectors’ events across the East Midlands, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Northants.

A hunger strike ‘Fed By Force’ medal awarded to Suffragette Selina Martin (1882-1972) has been snapped up at auction by an Australian museum.

A former cake factory site near Southport is the base for dealer Brett Griffiths, who is also one of the big fans of IACF’s fairs.

“What’s the death on this snuff mull?” asks Tom Hurst, a dealer in African and Oceanic art attending Newark to buy for his online shop and in preparation for his first stand at Tribal Art London in 2019.

Though IACF Newark markets itself firmly as a trade fair, it ensures the public has access too, in particular die-hard collectors who similar to trade buyers, know the dealers they want to visit.

Though the organisation IACF is best known by its acronym, it’s hard to forget what the initials stand for. AA road signs guiding drivers into the Newark showground emphasise the word ‘international’ and the fair is known for its ability to attract overseas trade buyers.

This watercolour bearing the signature of Norwich School artist John Sell Cotman (1782-1842) attracted a flurry of bids when it went under the hammer in Nottingham.

British Horological Institute among exhibitors for ‘biggest of the year’ October showground fair.

The second annual clock and watch fair to be held at Upton Hall, HQ of the British Horological Institute, will run on Sunday, June 3.

IACF came up with some interesting leads this year and featured stories included Joe Mitchell, an event administrator for IACF who is an embroiderer, working for international costume designers.

An extraordinary piece of Edwardian shopping history, a window on a vanished world, is the 1400-page, 1907 catalogue for the Army and Navy stores in London.

It is modest both in size and venue but the annual Nottingham Tile Fair organised by the Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society has an important place in the diary for collectors in this specialised field.