The story

A Dealers Trials and Tribulations

A few weeks ago i visited one of my usual auction rooms in Cornwall. On this particular occasion there was a large cardboard box containing a quantity of meat covers and assorted general brass and plate. Many dealers and car-booters visit these rooms as the variety is good and the auctioneer moves fast through the lots, so there is not much chance for me to catch a nap like quite often done in the provincial rooms. Happily i bought the box of plate and soon it was in my den being researched. the contents was basically six silver plate meat covers, two large meat plates and a tureen plus the usual auction house "top-up" items to fill box and get rid. Engraved on the meat covers was a logo and the meat plates were hand engraved on the base "Headland Hotel". It does not take a brain of Britain to locate their origins, it was the Headland Hotel of Newquay. For further interest please click on the following link :

http://www.headlandhotel.co.uk/history.html

As the items at a latter date will be sold i contacted the Headland Hotel to ask if they could confirm my findings. It was not long before confirmation arrived by email with advice that the owner may contact me. My initial and natural thoughts being a dealer is that the company may be interested in buying back a part of its heritage. I took no further action and sent the items off for restoration as they had suffered from the usual mistreatment by cleaners and waiters.

Now back from the workshops all is presentable and further research is started. Soon it is revealed that they were produced by Elkington & Co.

 For further interest please click on the following link. interest: http://www.ascasonline.org/#marks

The date indicates 1900 , the hotel opened its doors in June 1900. All is now listed as a single lot on ebay in my auctions. Please see..: Item number: 120160443370

Most ebayers if they list an item which may be of interest to a potential buyer will send a link by the ebay thumbnail "email to a friend". I did this as more of a courtesy to the owner of the hotel. Soon my mobile was ringing and it was the owner who politely asked where the items came from and was i aware that the hotel did not sell off its silver plate. i do not wish to blog too much on this matter but wish to point out a few facts of life:

The Headland Hotel-Newquay is in my opinion well managed and presented. None of which would have possibly been made possible without the ownership of Mr and Mrs Armstrong who took on the mammoth task in 1979.

But how can the present owner possibly know all the transactions of goods and chattels since the hotels formation in 1897?

If you purchase a silver plated item from the RMS Queen Elizabeth or a Coat Hanger stamped Hilton Hotel are you committing theft? In my opinion the answer is no unless the present owner can show proof of ownership in his companies name. The National Trust and English Heritage would have a wonderful time if they could claim all that was originally in and on the estates which they now own.

So at present the auction is running and hopefully there will be no ebay auction withdrawal. One thing is certain if no sale is made I will be very happy to sell the set in my shop.

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