By Adrian Kinton
As a member of the generation that grew up with bell-bottom trousers, chicken in a basket, power-cuts and glam rock, it comes as something of a shock to discover certain relics from those halcyon days have become not merely desirable but valuable to a level wholly unexpected to those of us unfortunate enough to remember them from our youth.
I refer, of course, to the teak furniture so prolific in the 1970s and reviled for decades since but now re-labelled as ‘retro’ and given a new lease of life to a whole new generation.
Names like Ercol are suddenly bandied about with newfound glee but do people realise this quintessentially English brand actually dates from the 1920s and originates from an Italian designer based in High Wycombe, one Lucian Ercolani?
Ercolani established his business in the heart of High Wycombe, a traditional furniture-making hub located in the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire. It was there that the young designer first successfully industrialised the production of the Windsor chair, displaying a level of mechanical precision and ingenuity that was unheard of for its time.
This innovative method of mass production, coupled with the innate purity and clean, architectural integrity of Ercolani’s designs, helped propel the company to nationwide success in the late 1940s. Now, over a century later, the company lives on in the same county producing under the name L. Ercolani
High Wycombe was home to another stalwart of Britain’s furniture heritage – Ebenezer Gomme, a friend of Ercolani. A chair maker, like his father, Gomme was a passionate pioneer of innovation in both design and manufacture. By the 1920s, the family had expanded production into other types of furniture. In 1953, Ebenezer’s grandson, Donald, launched the G-Plan range of furniture and another retro icon of British furniture was born.
Hansons Auctioneers has witnessed a huge upturn in interest in both manufacturers in recent years but other less well-known brands and countries of origin are also worthy of note – names like Gordon Russell, Parker Knoll, Eames, McIntosh, Stag and Beautility to name but a few that appear occasionally through our doors.
Senior valuer Karl Martin recently travelled to West Yorkshire to discover a treasure trove of stunning teak items including a bedroom suite by Austinsuite of London from their ‘Tambour’ range – another post-war company specialising in contemporary styles using specialist designers such as Frank Guille.
From the same private home appeared the greatest surprise of all – a simply beautiful Danish table by C J Rosengaarden and a set of six Koefoeds Hornslet teak chairs, estimate £300-£500, all with the quality and style one has come to expect from the Scandinavian country. These, together with the other furniture itms, will be offered in our upcoming May 19-23 Antiques & Collectors Auction. Catalogue due live on May 13 at our catalogue/bidding platforms: www.hansonslive.co.uk and www.the-saleroom.com
To arrange a free furniture valuation, email: [email protected]
