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We’ve all received
that well-meaning gift
from some far-flung
isle, that goes straight
in the drawer, never
to be seen again.
THOMAS PLANT
says take another
look, there might be
more to those holiday
souvenirs than you
first thought
S
ummertime is traditionally holiday
time and ever since the Victorian era,
goods have been produced to appeal
to tourists visiting towns across Britain.
These pieces, as well as those produced in the
1970s, go under the hammer in our monthly
Fine Arts & Antiques sales.
One of the earliest examples of holiday
souvenirs are Stanhopes, very small lenses
that when held close to the eye show a view
of the place they were being sold.
This Victorian invention was popular among
holidaymakers and the lenses were inserted
into items such as quills, needle cases or letter
openers.
By virtue of their age, late Victorian/early
Edwardian W H Goss crusted china, typically
stamped with the coat of arms of the holiday
destination, is also collectable and can fetch
hundreds of pounds for the rarest examples,
for instance the Sandbach crosses, made in
three pieces, realised just under £1,000 earlier
this year.
In Scotland, Mauchline
ware and Tartan ware
were 19th-century holiday
souvenirs made to boost
the Scottish tourist industry
and comprised a range of
items from board games
to snuff boxes and sewing
implements made from
sycamore wood with patterns
depicting Scottish towns.
A late 20th-century Kamayura feather headdress,
c.1980 from the Amazon Basin
An early Victorian Charles
Stiven & Sons tea caddy, c.1842
A 20th-century
casting of the
Borghese
Gladiator
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