I am totally fascinated by collectors and their coveted collections and most of all learning something new each time. We all, of course, watch Antiques Roadshow (don’t we wish we could get more of the English BBC version, please!) and find something fascinating each time we watch, not only the value but the history of the items.
I found such a collector and his collection recently when visiting my friends Tom Hawley and Tom Mantel. We were going to a concert that Tom H was playing at and stopped by to pick up his parents, Harold and Elenor Hawley, (you have been treated to several of Elenor’s recipes in past posts and will find two more at the end of this post) it was a quick visit and I became intrigued by the cabinet in the above photo (Harold is an accomplished woodcrafter, I’m sure there is a more glamorous name for this craft, sorry Harold…..his work is amazing a true craftsman. There are many examples in their home. He built a wonderful walnut shelf for my apartment, I’ll feature it in a future post.) Harold built this case of oak, along with several other pieces, to display his extensive collection of page turners and the amazing antique Asian chess set that fits into the center. The side pieces are fitted with beveled glass and it has shelves underneath. I decided that this would make a fascinating topic for one of my collections posts. I was fortunate to go back a couple of weeks later when Christmas decor was going up and took the opportunity to talk a bit with Harold about his collection and take lots of photos.
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