1. Where are you based?

1. I am based at a Jacobean Manor House in Allington Lincolnshire .

2. What do you deal in?

2. I deal in antique arms and armour, pistols, swords, cannon, armour etc.

3. How long have you been dealing?

3. I have been dealing fo over 30 years.

4. Do you do any fairs?   

4. I do major antique fairs and specialist fairs in the UK and have exhibited extensively in european arms fairs.

5.What was your first job?

5. My first job was a garage mechanic.

6. Best thing about being a dealer?

6. The best thing about being a dealer is that every day I get to buy and sell items that I still find interesting and exciting and I get to travel around the world.

7. And the worst?

7. Having to deal with officialdom where they have no conception of risk taking, passion and relentless enthusiasm.

8. What has been your best buy?

8. Buying an indifferent armour where tht pauldrons (shoulder guards) were C15th....and very rare, stamped with the mark of a Milanese Armourer and bearing early punched decoration...possibly the earliest example of its type.

9. And your biggest mistake?

9. No really nasty ones....everything sells eventually and anyway everything you handle,every deal you do adds to your knowledge and turned into an advantage.

10. What is your dream object?

10. An early item of weaponry or armour of the highest quality with some form of provenance linking it to a king.

11. What is the biggest threat, in your opinion, to the trade at the moment?

11. The biggest threat to the trade is that there appears to be that current taste is formed by the media, advertisers and celebrities rather than by an interest in the acquisition of knowledge and an eye for beauty and quality of the objects with which individuals choose to bring into their homes.

12. Guiltiest pleasure?

12. My guiltiest pleasure is driving one of my British cars (DB7,XK8 and XJS) over long distances on early morning roads without looking at the fuel guage.

13. Any advice for those starting out in the trade?

13. Buy the best you can afford and make sure you learn as much as you can about it and like what youn are buying.

14. If you weren’t a dealer, what would you be?

14. If I wasn't a dealer I would be delivering yachts around the world.

15. Which person, dead or alive, do you most admire and why?

15. I admire many people but if I had to choose one person it would probably be Dylan because he was and is a man of his time who responded lyrically to the world around him stiring the conscience, commenting upon events and inspiring a generation.

www.antiquestradegazette.com