A WORD FROM OUR CHAIRMAN
Dare I suggest that the past three months at Spink have seen more action than any other auction house
in London – certainly in terms of breaking records?
Winter
THE OPIUM WARS
One of the root causes of the First Opium War was a trade imbalance between China and Britain. Over two or more centuries, demand had grown in European countries for luxury goods from China, notably tea, porcelain and silk.
OLIVER CROMWELL’S WATCH
Towards the end of 1647 and the first English civil war, Oliver Cromwell moved his family to King Street in Westminster o ‘an old wooden house lying between the Blue Boar’s Head Yard and Ram’s Mews’.
TIME FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF COLLECTORS
Since the creation of the first wristwatch in 1868 for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary, Swiss watch manufacturers like Patek Philippe, Omega and Vacheron Constantin have been creating unique watches to meet demand from the ever-growing market.
JOHN HUMPHREYS OBE DL – THE GREAT ESCAPIST
Insider readers may remember that we promised to let you know more about the incredible Second World War escape stories of John Humphreys OBE DL, who featured in our Chelsea Pensioners article in Issue 37.
WATERLOO UNCOVERED
Waterloo Uncovered founders Mark Evans and Charlie Foinette have a shared history, as well as a deep friendship. They studied archaeology together at University College London before joining the army. Both chose the Coldstream Guards, the British regiment that played a vital role in the allied victory at Waterloo and continues to see
active service across the world today.
VOICE OF A NEW GENERATION : CROSS-CATEGORY COLLECTING
Every collector has a moment that first connected them with their chosen area of interest. My passion for stamp collecting and philately is connected to a 20-minute geography lesson at school using worldwide postage stamps in the autumn of 1993. Holding so many different tiny, seemingly weightless pieces
of other countries in the palm of my hand captivated me completely.
THE ENDURING WISH FOR A GOLDEN AGE AT CHRISTMAS TIME
The Roman poet Virgil wrote a mystical poem, which we know as the Fourth Eclogue, in around 42 BC. It is oracular in nature and describes a vision of a returning Golden Age through cyclical time.
GIOVANNI DA CAVINO OF PADUA: MASTER OF THE HONOURABLE FORGERY JOHN-MELVILLE-JONES
In the 16th Century, imitations of Roman coins were created by the artist Giovanni da Cavino of Padua, after whom some imitations are called ‘Paduans’. At the time da Cavino was living in Padua, working as a sculptor and jeweller, and making medallions of various kinds.
A WORD FROM OUR CHAIRMAN
Since I last wrote, and as I write, the UK and much of the rest of the world has gone back into versions of lockdown, meaning Spink is once again operating behind closed doors in some locations. But the lockdown will end soon, and I am sitting in our totally renovated offices in our historic location of Southampton Row. Therefore I am looking at the world from a different vantage point.