2019-08-01_Homes_&_Antiques 2

August

AnneFrank’slastdiary

entry,a masterpiecegoes

missingandtheUK’srst

taste of a famous zzy drink

On1stAugust 1944 Jewish

teenagerAnneFrank

pennedthelastentryin her

diary,justthreedaysbefore

herfamilyhidingplacewas

discovered by the Gestapo.

On21stAugust 1911 an

Italian‘handyman’madeDa

Vinci’sMonaLisaworld-

famouswhenhestoleit from

the Louvre.It wasfound 28

months later.

On31stAugust 1900 Coca-

Colawasfirstsoldin theUK.

Thesonof thecompany’s

ownervisitedLondonwithfive

gallonsof syrup,whichhe

gave to a soda fountain owner.

This month in

Mylifehasbeeninantiquesand

mygodfatherrstinspiredme.

Hewasanantiquesdealerand

I admiredhisrelaxedlifestyle

andnicecars.I usedtogooutin

thedeliveryvanandthatgotme

interested.I begandealingin

antiquesin1964,andfrom 1978

to 1999 I wasdirectorofSotheby’s

furnituredepartment.In1990,I

publishedWo rl dMi r ro rs16 5 0 -

1900 – a referencebookthattook

three years to research and write.

AerSotheby’sI wascasting

aroundforsomethingelse

todoanddecidedonvintage

gardentools.I bookeda standat

HamptonCourtFlowerShowand

GardenArtefactswasborn.Now,

I gotoTheDecorativeAntiques

&TextilesFairatBaerseathree

times a year to meet customers.

I sellallsortsofgarden-related

items, fromborderspadesand

forks,tosmallhandtools,trugs

anddogcarts.Mystockisgood

quality– wateringcanswith

originalbrassorcopper roses by

HawsandBeldray,

andvintagetools

madebySkelton,Brades and

Burgon & Ball.

Everyyear,I doaround16,000

milesinmycar,listeningto

ClassicFMasI traveltofairsand

markets.I getthereearlyandcan

walkvemilesvisitingstalls.IfI

likesomething,I canaordit and

canliit,I buyit.OnceI’vegot

theitemshome,I clean them up

andwaxthem.

*VisitGrahamatthenext

DecorativeAntiques&TextilesFair,

1stto6thOct,decorativefair.com,

or browsegardenartefacts.com

GrahamChild,

owner of Garden Artefacts

Meet the Expert

ABOVEA rangeof vintageitems:

strawberryorplantingspade,£75;

onionhoe,£50;trowel,£45;handfork

bySkelton,£45.LEFTThisrarepainted

swanswingwillhavenewropesupports

andwillbeavailablefromGraham’s

standat thenextDecorativeAntiques &

Textiles Fair at around £500.

United Archives GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo; Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images; Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

August 2019 Homes & Antiques 109