He was a generous, caring father to Fiona, Alison and Janet, father-in-law to Alan and Michelle, and grandfather to Esther, Miriam, Imogen, Stephen, and Joseph. Michael will be sadly missed by family, friends, and colleagues in the antiques trade.
Michael was a man of many interests and talents and worked for most of his adult life as an antique dealer, valuer, and cataloguer, both independently and for auctioneers TKN, Phillips and Penrith Farmers.
He was a collector at heart and loved to research and write about the details of the items he collected. This resulted in four beautiful and enduring books exploring writing implements, bronze mortars, mining tokens and antique cooking implements, of which he was very proud.
Sadly, his final collection of needle cases and Mauchline ware never made it into print, but his curiosity and intelligence remained strong almost to the end. He never tired of describing the finer details of the collection to his daughters when they visited.
Michael’s other interests included fell walking (back in the day!), reading, art, calligraphy, family history and, of course, the many dogs who made up his extended family over the years.
He enjoyed many lasting friendships within the antique dealing community.
From Fiona Dix, Alison Campbell and Janet Finlay (Michael’s daughters)
