On Tuesday, after several lazy, lonely days in cold, cold London, I was excited to walk down through my favorite squares to Piccadilly for the St James's Antiques Market. St James is a beautiful Christopher Wren church built in 1676. St James saw the baptism of William Blake in 1757, and lost its roof in the air raids of WWII. Twice a week it hosts an all day fair, and Tuesdays are all about antiques.
Much like the Farmer's Market, it transpired that not many sellers were wiling to trek all the way into London for meager crowds with empty pocketbooks. There were several tables of ugly glass, a lot of random imported beads and piles of crummy jewelry. A few things were pretty neat, like this collection of pins and small medals.
I've always loved nesting dolls, since we had a Leaders of Russia one when I was a kid. It had Gorbachev as the outermost and I think Lenin as the littlest one. Whether that's a political commentary I can't say. (Thanks to David for correcting my flawed childhood memory)
But then I found the silver!
But there were three or four tables of silver, and that's where I got a little excited. I spent a long time inspecting spoons for makers marks and quizzing myself on different marks or bits of decoration. There was nothing too spectacular, but since starting school collecting has obviously been on my mind, and I was very intrigued by the Duke of Bedford's collection of toast racks, which I saw on our trip to Woburn Abbey.
When I saw these toast racks I got PRETTY excited. I got a pottery one for Christmas and discovered JUST how effective they really are for keeping toast crispy and delicious. She had a sterling one, Art Deco, from the 1920's, but for £38 I couldn't really see it happening. Maybe someday when I'm a little more flush? Seeing the silver plated examples made me think thoughts that were both acquisitive and affordable. So I gave in. My tutor says that when you start collecting you have to consider how objects speak to you. You can't obsess about every little detail. You just wait for that tiny voice to say something that you can hear.
And so, I bought this one. And it is already giving me all the pleasure I could ask for from a piece of silver plated wire. Maybe next week she'll have another chatty one for me to pick up.
When I saw these toast racks I got PRETTY excited. I got a pottery one for Christmas and discovered JUST how effective they really are for keeping toast crispy and delicious. She had a sterling one, Art Deco, from the 1920's, but for £38 I couldn't really see it happening. Maybe someday when I'm a little more flush? Seeing the silver plated examples made me think thoughts that were both acquisitive and affordable. So I gave in. My tutor says that when you start collecting you have to consider how objects speak to you. You can't obsess about every little detail. You just wait for that tiny voice to say something that you can hear.
And so, I bought this one. And it is already giving me all the pleasure I could ask for from a piece of silver plated wire. Maybe next week she'll have another chatty one for me to pick up.
nice rack!
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