REGULARS 3 Editor’s Welcome: Georgina Wroe introduces the Christmas issue packed with festive fun and collecting tips

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ContentsVOL 59 NO 7 JAN/DEC 2024-25

SALE RESULTS MARC ALLUM'S UNUSUAL CHRISTMAS PUZZLES

6 Antiques News: Out and about shopping this month? Make sure you make the most of all the events taking place with our guide to events and exhibitions

10 Your Letters: One subscriber is seeking details of a sale of medals, while another is after details on church commissions by Robert “Mouseman” Thompson

11 Lots to Talk About: Catherine Southon lifts the lid on a presentation silver charger appearing in her saleroom made by the well-known maker, Omar Ramsden

PITCHER PERFECT Why 17th-century

Bellarmine jugs are getting collectors in a frenzy

Inside: PRINTS CHARMING AFFORDABLE WORKS BY PABLO PICASSO 'CARTEMANIA' THE VICTORIAN CRAZE STILL GOING STRONG

DEC/JAN 2024-25

PUTTING on the GLITZ

The suprisingly rich history of the sequin

SEE PAGE 52

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TOP SKI POSTERS

SET TO HIT PEAK PRICES AT AUCTION

Christmas with cheer

Why the Georgians were mad for a festive glass of punch

ALSO INSIDE Catherine Southon • Eric Knowles • Subscriber offers

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COVERChristmas at Handel Hendrix House in Mayfair, image courtesy of Handel Hendrix/ Christopher Ison see page 9 for details

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12 Around the Houses: A collection of

Punk and New Wave lapel badges drum up interest in North Yorkshire, while examples of thoroughbred horses’ manes go under the hammer in Hertfordshire

21 Subscription Offer: There’s no better time to buy a gift subscription to the UK’s only consumer magazine dedicated to antiques. Better still, you save a third on the RRP and you, or a pal, receives a free gift

22 Waxing Lyrical: Antique furniture expert

David Harvey profiles a very tasty looking Chippendale-era pie-crust table

26 Saleroom Spotlight: Some 70

20th-century ski posters by some of the best-known artists of the genre are offered for sale in Scotland

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58 Fairs Calendar: A guide to some of the best-loved events taking place around the country in December and January

59 Fair News: Start 2025 as you mean to go on by visiting the UK’s biggest and best events – we go behind the scene at four of them taking place this January

60 Auction Calendar: There’s still time to pick up a gift for the antique collector in your life, and there is no better place than at your local saleroom

66 Marc My Words: Our columnist, the

Antiques Roadshow expert Marc Allum, reveals why he is laying a special Christmas dinner table this year

FEATURES 16 Pitcher Perfect: In Germany they are known as Bartmann jugs, in the UK we call them Bellarmines, either way they are a wonderful insight into both Tudor drinking customs and 18th-century international trade (as well as being highly collectable)

30 Prints Charming: If you’ve ever dreamt of owning a Picasso, there really is a way. Prints by the Spanish maestro are eminently affordable. Gallery manager Kevin Finch reveals his collecting guide

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29 In the Knowles: Eric Knowles goes behind the scenes at the sale of the collection of the legendary comedian Eric Morecambe set to attract some fierce bidding in January

36 Book Offers: This month’s selection from our sister publisher ACC Art Books includes some festive offerings and subscribers save more than a third on the price

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44 Puzzle Pages: Get stuck into some of the most perplexing questions on antiques ever dreamt up, all courtesy of our resident quiz editor Peter Wade-Wright

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46 Top of the Lots: There’s a festive feel to this month’s selection, with items including a punch bowl, a diamond and sapphire bracelet and original Christmas artwork

38 Faces Book: “Cart mania” – exchanging cartes de visite – was all the rage, not just in Victorian Britain but across the globe. Paul Frecker reports on a very unusual – and collectable – phenomenon

48 Punch Drunk: In mid 18th-century

England there was only one alcoholic drink to serve your guests – punch. And central to every social gathering was the punch bowl. Antique Collecting reveals the most popular ceramic designs

52 Putting on the Glitz: The surprisingly interesting history of that Christmas staple, the sequin, is put in focus and we profile the sale of some shimmering garments created by the Hollywood costumier Bob Mackie

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