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Description
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On 7th May 1918 a group of antique dealers met at the offices of 'The Connoisseur' magazine in Duke Street, St. James's. Their principal purpose was to orchestrate opposition to the proposed luxury tax. But, as well, the meeting unanimously agreed that a society should be formed to represent the interests of the antiques trade, as was the case for most other industries and professional groups.
It remained only to find a name. The first shot was the 'Antique Arts Traders Society'. But, once the organization got up and running, this was soon changed to The British Antique Dealers' Association. The name stuck and the organization thrived.
So now in 2008 the association is celebrating its ninetieth anniversary with a series of selling exhibitions in members' shops and galleries. The exhibitions are being held both in London and the regions and all are listed in this catalogue.
Each region and every type of artefact is represented: from Georgian glass in the West Country to fine furniture in Cumbria, and from deeply glowing English oak in Suffolk to the finest Imperial Chinese porcelain in London. Somewhere, among all these delights, big and small, there is something to please everyone's taste and pocket, and there has never been a better time to buy.
But buying antiques has never been only about money or investment: it is also an expression of taste and pleasure. Above all, as I said when I spoke at a BADA dinner at the Honourable Artillery Company in 2003, it is a little act of rebellion against a dreary present in which every high street and shopping mall is filled with the same chain stores selling pretty much the same cheap, mass-produced goods. What more civilised contrast can there be than to visit the idiosyncratic premises of an antique dealer to buy a small piece of history that is unique, handmade and a thing of beauty, that, with luck, will indeed be a joy for ever.
I congratulate BADA on its anniversary; wish its members every success with their exhibitions and look forward eagerly to its centenary celebrations in 2018.
David Starkey, CBE, FSA
A collection of '40' rarities
'90 Years of Excellence' BADA catalogue, with a forward by Dr David Starkey FSA can be ordered from Finch and Co, please contact us for a copy
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