The new Antique & Collectors auctions will be led by George Champ, whose experience includes an internship at Spink & Son, which led to a job offer, and later roles at Bonhams’ sporting guns, Busby Auctioneers in Bridport, Dorset, and online Dutch auction house Catawiki.
C&T, now based in Ashford, was formed on a specialist basis in October 2013 by dealers Matthew Tredwen and Glen Chapman, experts in militaria and toys respectively, and concentrated on those two collecting fields at first. They have since been joined by further specialists in dolls, toy soldiers and ephemera, such as toys expert Leigh Gotch and toy soldier specialist James Opie.
Calls to action
Tredwen said that although C&T launched on a specialist basis, “we were constantly going on calls, especially for deceased estates, and being asked by the families if we knew any auction houses which could deal with other antique and collectables. We would often recommend other auction houses, but in the back of my mind I always thought that this is silly, as we should be able to deal with these items.”
Champ’s new role bucks the recent trend of auction houses concentrating on specialist sales, while more general formats are generally being downgraded. However, Tredwen said that his specialities with coins and silver means “the plan is to establish general Antique & Collectors sales, which eventually will sprout into dedicated specialist auctions of coins and silver. So, although we are going down a more general route to start, the eventual goal is to spin off into the specialist areas.”
C&T holds auctions at The Spa Hotel, Tunbridge Wells, but Tredwen added: “We are actively seeking new premises to be able to hold our auctions in-house – this is all part of the expansion plans of the company.”
