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AN ANTIQUE HUNTER'S PARADISE
by Bob Brooke
Every weekend in London hundreds of
people—Londoners and tourists, alike—head out on a treasure hunt. While
sometimes they’ll find the treasure buried in boxes and under counters,
most of the time these treasures, the antiques of bygone days, are laid
out in plain sight for all to see and touch. Dealers are more than happy
to send these newfound treasures to Australia or any other place, for
that matter.
Some antiques hunters head for the Saturday market on Portobello Road,
in the Notting Hill section of London. Here, dealers, selling furniture,
silver, ceramics, and bric-a-brac of all kinds, line the street from
early morning. At one stall you may find an assortment of old canes. At
another bits and pieces of silver serving and flatware. Even if you
don’t buy anything, the convivial atmosphere on the street will
entertain you.
A larger and more varied market takes place on Sunday morning, when
dealers set up on Petticoat Lane. Jostling patrons push their way to
tables to find all sorts of inexpensive second-hand items for sale.
If you’re a bit more serious about antiquing, then you have to go to
Alfie’s Antique Market, home to over 370 dealers on several floors in
northwest London. This is the largest and best-stocked of all the
antiques markets in the city. Originally a department store in the
1880s, the market takes its name from the father of the present owner,
who sold antiques in the city’s East End before World War II. If you
can’t find what you’re looking for here, you probably won’t find it
anywhere.
The Antiquarius Antiques Center, housing 150 dealers on King’s Road in
southwest London, offers specialized items, such as porcelains, boxes,
clocks, paintings and prints, silver, antique books, and small pieces of
furniture.
You’ll find the Chelsea Antiques Market a few blocks down from
Antiquarius on King’s Road. If you’re a curio addict, this place offers
hours of browsing. Old and rare books take up about a third of the
space. But you’re more than likely to find antique shaving mugs,
ivory-handled razors, lace gowns, wooden tea caddies, pocket watches,
silver snuffboxes, grandfather clocks, and jewelry of all kinds.
Taking a step up the antiques shopping scale will take you to Grays and
Grays in West London. Two old buildings contain stalls selling exquisite
estate jewelry, silver, gold, antique maps, bronzes and ivories, arms
and armor, Victorian and Edwardian toys, scientific instruments,
Islamic, Persian, and Chinese porcelains and miniatures. If you get
tired while shopping, stop for a cup of tea in either one of two cafés,
located on the premises.
For the best in antiques, head to the Mall Antiques Arcade at Camden
Passage in North London. Dealers sell fine furniture, silver, and
porcelains from 35 individual shops within the mall.
If you sample even some of the antiques venues above, you’ll send home
treasures that you’ll value forever.< Back to
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