TV presenter and antiques dealer Drew Pritchard.
Trained initially as a stained-glass restorer, he has been dealing in architectural salvage and antiques for more than 30 years, with 26 years spent as a dealer based in Conwy, north Wales.
Speaking about the Dreweatts auction, Pritchard said: “2023 marked my 30th year in the antiques trade and this collection is a vignette of that work. Anyone who deals in antiques knows it’s all-consuming.
“This collection is part of that 30 years of obsessively collecting and dealing. I look forward to and am excited by the possibilities of the next 30 years.”
He has starred in the TV show Salvage Hunters since 2011. It features Pritchard and his colleagues travelling the country visiting a variety of locations from shops, warehouses and markets to farms and stately homes looking to buy stock to resell for his business.
The Dreweatts auction on March 5-6 in Newbury, Berkshire, titled Drew Pritchard: The Collection, comprises around 500 lots estimated to fetch more than £700,000. Estimates range from £200-30,000.
Among the lots at the Drew Pritchard sale is this Regency satinwood, Macassar and ebony library table by George Oakley (1773-1840). It is estimated at £12,000-£18,000.
A matched pair of walnut and upholstered Bridgewater & Grafton armchairs by Howard & Sons with stamped legs (detailing the maker) are also part of the collection. The pair are estimated at £15,000-£25,000.
A pair of 18th/early 19th century leather panels believed to have come from a family member at Soldon Manor in Devon, depicting the Battle of Cannae. The panels are estimated at £8000-£12,000.
An original Liberty retailer’s sign that hung outside Liberty & Co in London’s Regent Street. The large carved, gilded and polychrome painted sign dates from 1875, the year the company was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917). It has an estimate of £8000-12,000.
A painted wood and iron-bound engineer’s chest for the Bluebird car series, owned by Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948), who broke the land speed record in 1924. The chest belonged to Sir Malcolm’s mechanic, Leopoldo Alfonso Villa (1899-1979). Pritchard purchased the chest for his own collection in 2015 and it now has an estimate of £20,000-30,000.
A Steam Boat Willie fairground ride boat, dating from c.1930. Steamboat Willie was the first film starring Mickey Mouse in his earliest form in 1928. The ride comes with a cast-iron plaque stating: ‘H. Devos Constructions Foraines Angus, France’ and carries an estimate of £3000-5000.
