Planning a West Country holiday? Check out how Cornwall has changed down the centuries when a superb original map of our favourite summer county, dating from 1612, by John Speed, (1552-1629), goes on sale at The Cotswolds Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair at Westonbirt School, near
Tetbury, 7th – 9th August.
John Speed is widely regarded as the greatest of English cartographers whose work helped to define concepts of British national identity. London born and educated as a tailor, he rose to accept the task of assembling and revising the histories, topographies and maps of the Kingdoms of Great Britain during the reign of King James I. His maps, in their originally printed forms, are highly collectable and provide a fascinating insight into the geography and
history of England.
This copperplate, engraved ‘Speed’ map, c1612, is a desirable First Edition, printed on handmade paper and hand coloured. In very good condition, it measures 20¼” x 15½” and reveals many interesting and forgotten facts about Cornwall’s past. It will be on sale from The Antique Map Shop at the fair, with a ticket price of £1,950 (shown above). The Antique Map Shop, based in Warminster, from will have a wide variety of maps and prints from across the UK, including the Cotswolds.
The Cotswolds fair features many more interesting and unusual pieces for sale. Somerset art specialist Freya Mitton shows a range of popular 20th century and contemporary paintings by such well known artists as Mary Fedden, Fred Cumin, Alan Lowndes, John Bratby, Frederick Gore, Sir Terry Frost and Paul Nash.
Bathers at Almhros Beach, Corfu, Early Morning, by Ken Howard, RA (1932-2022, oil on canvas, 9¾ by 11¾ ins, on sale for £3,800 plus Artists Resale Rights from Freya Mitton.
Local dealer Andy Maule returns with a selection of unusual exhibits including an extremely rare magic lantern slide of an earlyRöntgen ray shadowgram of a human hand taken by Sir James Mackenzie Davidson (1856-1919). This fascinating collector’s item of medical history dates from around 1900 and will be on sale for £120.00 (shown below).
Röntgen ray shadowgrams are early X-ray photographs that revealed the internal structure of the body by recording the shadows cast by bones and foreign objects. They were discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen in 1895. Sir James Mackenzie Davidson was a Scottish ophthalmic surgeon who became one of the earliest pioneers of radiology in Britain.
Andy Maule will be showing many more unusual collector’s pieces including a unique and large cast bronze plaque awarded to the popular actor and playwright Emlyn Williams (1905-1987) for “The Best Performance of 1932 in a British Film”. This was awarded by the leading Film Weekly Magazine for Williams’ role in The Frightened Lady, a tense crime thriller adapted from William’s own successful stage play. The plaque will be on sale for £500.
The Cotswolds Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair features more than forty-five specialist dealers amongst them specialists in silver and jewellery pottery, porcelain and glass, paintings and prints, Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern, contemporary art and sculpture, and much more. The fair takes place in the atmospheric setting of Westonbirt House, now a prestigious school, occupying the Great Hall, Orangery and adjoining rooms.
Stylish antiques, superb paintings, decorative delights and all kinds of rare and unusual antique treasures go on sale with prices from less than £20 to more than £20,000. Says organiser Sue Ede: ‘Our exhibitors come from across the country to provide a feast of antique and decorative pieces plus contemporary art. The fair has something for everyone including jewellery, silver, ceramics and textiles too. We are a very popular event with Cotswolds collectors and people wanting to decorative and update their homes in fine period style.’
Public Admission is £7.50 (£5.00 in advance from EVENTBRITE)
Open Times: Friday – Saturday 11.00am-5.00pm, Sunday 11am-4.30pm.
The fair is organised by: Cooper Events, Somerset TA8 1BU. Tel: 01278 784912.