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Below you will find some examples of letters
we have received from readers of Antiques Info.
In the past, our Research Team has often helped readers make
hundreds, sometimes thousands of pounds. Every subscriber to Antiques Info
receives a quota of FREE valuations.
For information on how to subscribe click here.
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We recommended the owner of this splendid
fireplace not to attempt to remove it!
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Dear P.H.
I currently live in a house that was built in the 1930s. I am considering
taking the fireplace out but before I do that I wanted to know if it was of any
value. I hope you will be able to answer my query.
Yours faithfully, R.D. Pontefract
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Dear R.D.
The fireplace does date from the nineteen thirties like your house, and does
have a value. It is virtually impossible to remove this type of fireplace
without causing it severe damage, thus rendering it completely worthless. Your
fireplace is just about as good an example as you can find of its type and
date, quite a Rolls Royce of a thirties fireplace in fact. If I were you I
would seriously consider leaving it in place.
Yours P.H.
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This watercolour of a medieval tournament bears
the mysterious caption ‘MRCAIRD’. Could it be an anagram?
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Dear P.H.
About six years’ ago I bought this late Victorian/Edwardian watercolour of a
medieval jousting scene surrounded by heraldic shields and devices. It measures
22.5in x 32in excluding frame. It is signed in a banner ‘MRCAIRD’. Have you any
information about this artist and painting. Yours sincerely, L.M. Swanage
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Dear L.M.
Your picture is a very interesting and enigmatic item. The word ‘MRCAIRD’ is
probably an anagram, incorporating a date in Roman numerals, possibly MD for
1500. The remaining letters may well relate not to the artist but to a family
name or names. The picture is very competently executed, most likely during the
1930s. The colour scheme with prominent use of aqua, orange and beige are
typical of this period. It is highly possible that the intended recipient was
an American. My reasons for suggesting this are: the presence of a knight
dressed entirely in black, something which appears in American depictions of
medieval England at this time. Also the interest in family history and origins
was prevalent in America during the 1930s. You will notice the shields which
surround the picture show a variation from one to the next and are joined by a
branch, suggestive of a family tree. I do not know who the artist was but it
looks as though he or she was probably a book illustrator.
Yours P.H.
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