Welcome to the December issue of our newsletter.  There have been many ups and downs during 2009.  The credit crunch had quite an effect on the antique and collectables market.  Top end value antiques, those selling for thousands of pounds, continued to sell well whilst the majority of the rest did not fair so well.

 There was an increase in the sale of silver, gold and antique jewellery as these items continue to increase in value during the lean times so are a good long term investment.  Silver rose by 50% over the year with gold rising by 26% which are very good returns.  The increases could be seen as a sign that investors believe the worst of the recession is over or it is that investors are moving into forms of investments which are usually seen as a haven from economic turmoil.  Ceramics and pottery did not fair so well where there was a substantial drop in the value of most makes.

 We are often asked to give an indication of the value of items.  This is a very difficult thing to do as an item is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.  Just as we see fashions coming, going and coming back again so it is with ceramic manufacturers.  For example makes such as Charlotte Rhead and Shelley were highly sought after a couple of years ago and prices were high but have since substantially dropped.  We can all get caught out buying something that is popular at the time therefore the value is more than when it drops out of favour.  Our advice is to hold on to your item/s and invariably they will come back into fashion again at some point.

Antique & Collectors Fairs

There are several new fairs being advertised for 2010 so that is a sign that fair organisers feel that the worst is over and the market is rising.

 Heritage Fairs have a new art and antique fair at Stubton, near Newark in March; The Antiques Dealers Fair Limited is intruducing four new fine art and antiques fairs during 2010 which will take place in Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Leicestershire and South Yorkshire.

 Discover Vintage is launching the UKs first Vintage Wedding Fair to take place on 14^th February – St. Valentines Day – at the White Hart Hotel in Harrogate.  There will be all the elements of a normal wedding fair but will also showcase a collection of vintage wedding gowns from the 1930s to the 1970s.

 Fairs that made their debut during the latter part of this year are being made permanent fixtures for Wolverhampton and Harrogate.  Dualco Promotions antiques & collectors fairs at Wolverhampton racecourse, Dunstall Park, will have up to 230 stands while Bowman Antiques Fair, following the success of their fair at the Great Yorkshire Show-ground, Harrogate will be adding dates for 2010.

Maling:

C. T. Maling & Sons pottery was originally established in 1762.  It was for many years one of the UKs largest manufacturers of utility wares, especially earthenware jam jars, a market Maling dominated until the 1930s. 

 In 1926, Maling appointed a top designer, Lucien Boullemier to take charge of their decoration departments.  Boullemier had spent much of his career decorating high-quality porcelain and was able to bring a level of refinement to Maling’s decorative output which surpassed anything else the factory made.  He introduced a range of stylish and contemporary new patterns and rejuvenated some of the old patterns with new decorating techniques.

 Maling’s decorators were already adept at transfer printing, but the gold register printing technique favoured by Boullemier took this skill to a new level.  Patterns were applied with linseed oil rather than ink, and gold dust was then sprinkled over the oil before being baked on to create very intricate gilded patterns.  A large proportion of the decoration was hand-painted and this, together with the fine detailing, meant that in the 1920s, Maling’s decorative output compared very favourable with that of the top Staffordshire potteries of the time.

Merry Christmas from

Carano Antiques & Collectables