THIS IS AN AMAZING COLLECTION TO BE SOLD OVER TWO DAYS!
JOAN DUNK 1930-2019
The passing of Joan Dunk represents the passing of an era in the antiques trade. A stalwart of Portobello Road, for decades she had an outside pitch strategically positioned on the corner of Westbourne Grove, only moving indoors in comparatively recent years. It is fitting that on the fatal Saturday she had just packed up and returned home with her friend Matthew, many of whose miniature ceramics are included in this sale, before she died in mid flow of ordering fish and chips.
Joan had always had an interest in old stuff, and fitted well into the world of jazz and pop art in the 1950s and ’60s with which she was closely connected. Her first serious ‘collection’ began in 1965 with old teddy bears, two decades before they became ‘collectable’ in the 1980s. She thinned down the collection fifteen years ago, but the rump of this collection, her favourites, are here. Her stall was called ‘IDA’ the trade name of a German kitchen equipment manufacturer of the first years of the 20th century, which she adapted to ‘Interesting Domestic Appliances’. She took ‘appliances’ broadly; ‘interesting domestic stuff’ would be a better description, as can be seen from the contents of this catalogue. She was particularly fond of miniature and small irons, nutmeg graters and spectacles. This latter she tended to trade, rather than collect, but the other two are well represented here. Other collections within the collection are grandiose paper clips, treen, moulds, and spice racks.
She also liked lead figures (domestic and comic), comic related items and tin toys. This latter she shared with her second husband Peter, a legend in old toy train collecting, with whom she began her relationship in 1972. Joan was first and foremost a dealer, rather than a collector. She was not happy with the increasing power of the digital and the virtual, remaining entirely loyal to hard transactions over a sales table to the end. However, she was well aware that this was a world that was disappearing. The choice of SAS as a venue for this sale is not a random one. Joan tended to dismiss auctioneers, but always had a lot of time for both Hugo Marsh and Daniel Agnew, with whom she had already consigned many parts of the collection before her death. It seems fitting that they should have the not unpleasant job of disposing of the rest.
Nicholas Oddy on behalf of the Executors of Joan’s estate.
Contents -
Day 1 - 9th June 2020
1 to 117 - Lead figures
117 to 134 - Felix the Cat
135 to 209 - Tinplate Toys
210 to 245 - Character Toys
246 to 319 - Teddy Bears and Soft Toys
320 to 433 - Dolls, Dolls’ Houses, Cake Decorations and Traditional Toys
Day 2 - 10th June 2020
434 to 550 - Kitchenalia
551 to 589 - Pottery
590 to 660 - Smoothing Implements
661 to 737 - Metalwares
738 to 799 - Wooden artefacts (Treen)
800 to 813 - Brownies (Imp)
814 to 862 - Science and miscellanea
Good luck and happy bidding in this truly unique and diverse auction!
WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND SUPPORT AT THIS DIFFICULT AND CHALLENGING TIME. IF YOU ARE BUYING IN THE AUCTION, PLEASE BEAR IN MIND YOUR INVOICE MAY NOT ARRIVE WITH PACKING & POSTAGE. WE WILL GET YOU AN INVOICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE PAY BY BANK TRANSFER!