MEMENTOSFROM THE WARA jeep in SydneyA cross in Changi

DO YOU RECOGNISETHIS CHAIR?Windsors: England’s mostsuccessful seating design

SLAVIC FOLK TRADITIONSTransforming a pagan symbol into an Easter egg

MECHANICALMUSICAL MARVELSThe original way to build a music libraryFrom music box to jukebox

EDITIO

N 103

APRI

L -

MAY

201

2

FEATURES

10 Windsor chairs

Why are they still in

production

after 300 years?

Michael Harding-Hill

& Robert Parrott

20 Mechanical music boxes

Feats of engineering marvels that

continues to fascinate

Melody Amsel-Arieli

42 Recollections and reminiscences

What the dealer knows

Conrad Blakeman

50 Gingerbread houses:

consider starting your own tradition

We show you how

Margaret McNiven

56 Identifying Australian china

painters 1920-30s

Continuing the series of

articles on Australian

ceramics

Avis Smith

84 The Titanic centenary and sporting

memorabilia:

strange bedfellows

HERITAGE

60 Photographic postcards from Australia:

a historic legacy

Early photographers identified

DESTINATIONS

64 Crossing over into Canada along

Highway 401

Collecting heaven for the

intrepid visitor

Margaret McNiven

KNOWLEDGE BASE

85 Studio Glass Movement

86 OUT & ABOUT

REGULAR FEATURES

46 Online magazines

47 Conundrum

49 Fairs and more

80 Notice board

83 Collectables subscription

94 Advertising rates

96 Advertisers index

WINconundrumenter our prize draw

See page 47

CollectablesTrader 3

contents

collectablestrader

Focus on an EASTER TRADITION

24 The Pysansky: an Easter

egg from the Ukraine

Melody Amsel-Arieli

AUCTION INSIGHTS

30 Australian stories in agricultural and

exhibition medals

Acquired for the national collection

Peter Lane

44 Vintage toys up for auction

70 Early Australian minted coins

WHO IS COLLECTING6 A ceremonial trowel

An inspired decision leads to a new

collecting direction

Peter Lane

74 A consuming passion for vesta boxes

Bitten by the collecting bug 40 years ago

and still on the lookout for another piece

Rob Ditessa

In the ANZAC SPIRIT

18 Changi cross

A powerful remembrance honoured

at the Changi Museum

Margaret McNiven

78 A World War II jeep repatriated

6 CollectablesTrader

A Sydney ceremonial church

trowel formy collectionCeremonial trowels are used to lay foundation stones

and are a tangible record of an important moment of

time in the history of a building. Trowels are beautiful,

unique and have an aura of excitement; knowing who

held them, and the purpose for which they were used

Ceremonial trowel presentedto James R Fairfax 1887,made of EPNS with ivoryhandle, 32 cm long

Ceremonial trowels forthe Australiana collector.Courtesy Hunters & Collectors

More to read

Travel

Memorabilia

Trader: Buy & Sell

take a peek inside this editionof Collectables ...Collectables is published

bi-monthly with each edition bringing

fresh insights and fun collecting

themes. Discover the latest collecting

craze; explore the quirky and

traditional collectable; learn how best

to start a collection. There are tips on

preserving and caring for valued

possessions. Read the diary

and plan a visit to a fair.

oronline

delivered

?... THEN WHY NOT

18 CollectablesTrader

Symbol of RemembranceThe ChangiCross

Margaret D McNivenS eventy years ago, on 15February 1942, when Japan

invaded Singapore, British-led

troops became prisoners of war

while civilian women, children and

men were interred in Changi Gaol.

A simple brass cross on the altar

of the Changi Chapel within the

Changi Museum of Singapore is a

tribute to the memory of the tens of

thousands who suffered and died in

the cruelty of war.During WWII, POWs built many

chapels within the Changi area, but

not exclusively as statements of faith.

Building, maintaining, furnishing and

meeting at a place of worship were

group acts of resistance to their

captors during the Japanese

occupation from 1942 to 1945.

When a makeshift chapel was

destroyed by guards, another would

be built the next day of twigs,

branches and whatever could be

spared. Whether prayers were

mumbled or intelligence was passed

from kneeling man to man, both

helped in the mental and physical

struggles to survive.In an ecumenical gesture, an

Indian mosque near Changi was

converted to a Church of England

chapel by POWs. It was to be the

first of several called ‘St George’s

Chapel’ after the English saint who

slew the dragon – perhaps soldiers

from the west fighting those from

the east.

The makerNo mass-produced altar cross

adorned the ‘St George’s Chapel.’ Its

maker was Staff Sgt Harry Stogden

of the RAOC who left England with

the 18th Division, and arrived in

Singapore just three weeks before

being captured by the Japanese.

His raw material was the brass

from a 4.5 Howitzer shell, and his

design based on a drawing he was

given of a traditional St George’s

cross. When ‘F’ Force men were sent

to work on the infamous Death

Railway in Thailand, their chaplain

took this, ‘their’ cross, with the POWs

and re-established another chapel in

that fateful camp north of Singapore.

Belated recognitionAt the end of WWII again this cross

travelled; this time from Thailand to

England. It was only recognised as

Stogden’s work in the early 1990s.

He had been taken to Japan as a

slave factory labourer and died at

sea just after WWII ended. Forty years later, in 1995, it

returned to Changi. On 15 February

2001, his son, Bernard Stogden was

invited to place the cross in the new

Changi chapel within the Museum.

Two Changi Chapels to visit

The Chapel in the Changi Museum

of Singapore is a symbolic replica of

the many chapels that were built in

various parts of Singapore during the

Japanese occupation between 1942

and 1945. It is dedicated to the

memory of the tens of thousands of

civilian women, men and children

and Allied Prisoners of War who

were incarcerated in the vicinity of

Changi Prison during WWII.The Changi Chapel at Australia’s

Royal Military College, Duntroon, in

Canberra is one of the many original

chapels found on the liberation of

Singapore at the end of WWII.

Requested by Army Chaplain Father

Lionel Marsden, it had been built as

‘Our Lady Christians Roman Catholic

Chapel’ by Australian POWs and was

dismantled and relocated to

Canberra at the end of the war. It is

dedicated as a national memorial to

all Australian prisoners of war.Lest we forget

The Changi Cross made by Staff Sgt Harry Stogden, 1942-1943,

from a brass 4.5 Howitzer shell. Courtesy Changi Museum

Changi Chapel, Duntroon, Canberra

Now proudly on display, this significant World

War II memento is a reminder of strength and

endurance in the face of great adversity

agricultural and

exhibition medals

for the national collection

australian

stories

30 CollectablesTrader

Aldinga (SA) Ploughing completion medal of

1853, won by John Bennett, diam: 45 mm

Peter Lane

David Allen, a respected long-time

collector and dealer, re

cently

decided to dispose of his collec

tion of

agricultural and exhibition medals

through a Noble Numismatics auction

in Sydney. Regarded as one of the most

important collections to com

e on to the

market since the 2008 sale of

the

famous Dr Chapman collection, the sale

attracted buyers from

around Australia.

Although many of the pieces

offered are very rare and highly

desirable, because so many medals

were hitting the market at one

time, and within a gloomy

economic climate, some collectors

and dealers believed the sale

would be a buyer’s market – it

turned out to be a seller’s one. As

well as private collectors, the Allen

collection attracted the attention

of the National Museum of

Australia (NMA). It is anticipated

that a number of the medals

acquired by the NMA will be on

show in their Landmarks and Old

New Land displays.

What the museum

purchased

The NMA medal purchases covered all

states, but particularly medals from

the eastern states. The earliest medal

now in the collection is dated 1853,

and at $9,320 (estimate: $5,000)

was the most expensive purchase. The

medal was presented to John Bennett

who was judged ‘Best Man’ at the

Aldinga (SA) annual ploughing match.

Bennett also received prize money of

five guineas, a considerable sum in

those days. These matches were often

a precursor to agricultural and

horticultural shows.

The most recent medal is dated

1924 and was presented by the Royal

Agricultural Society of Western

Australia to J. N. Cox for his dried

fruit. Cox was based at Coolup on the

southern outskirts of Perth, and was

on the board of the Dried Fruits

Association in WA. The medal was

acquired for $815 which was double

the estimate. After the sale the NMA

curator spoke on national radio about

the medal collection and a

descendant of Cox rang in giving a

fuller account of his forebear.

A collection of Australian

agricultural and

exhibition medals begun

in the early 1960s was

recently sold with

surprising results. Up for

sale were more than

250 medals, of which

over 40 percent were

acquired by the National

Museum of Australia

and hisvesta-box collection

Bill Ryan

Rob Ditessa

When Bill Ryan came across

his first vesta-box some 40

years ago, he discovered an entirely

new category of collectables that

added a fresh aspect to his

collecting interests. After finding

that first vesta, which was made of

sterling silver and cost him $80, in

a Sydney antique shop, Ryan began

fossicking in antique stores and

collectors’ fairs in search of

affordable vestas. Most of the

examples he found were with a

floral pattern and some initials on

the front.

Along the way, he recollects, as he

learned about their history, he also

made a study of hallmarks, which

identify the maker, and place and

date of manufacture. He consults

authoritative reference books that

contain images of vestas, which is

vital for identification purposes. His

other source of information is now

the Internet.

74 CollectablesTrader

You never know when

the collecting bug might

strike and the direction

it can take you,

as this dedicated

collector discovered

Subscribetoday!

MEMENTOSFROM THE WARA jeep in SydneyA cross in Changi

DO YOU RECOGNISETHIS CHAIR?Windsors: England’s mostsuccessful seating design

SLAVIC FOLK TRADITIONSTransforming a pagan symbol into an Easter egg

MECHANICALMUSICAL MARVELSThe original way to build a music libraryFrom music box to jukebox

EDITIO

N 103

APRI

L -

MAY

201

2

A u s t r a l a s i a ’ s l e a d i n g a n t i q u e s a n d c o l l e c t a b l e s m a g a z i n e

trader

ED

ITION

101

NO

V –

DE

C 2

01

1

PASSIONATE PURSUITSCollectors share highlightsand insights – it’s all aboutthe journey

TIME OUT WELL SPENTThree very different destinationsfor readers to considerCairns • Malaysia • Canada

TANGIBLE INVESTMENTSWhere money makes moneyNumismatics and medals

THE NOT SO KITCHPIE BIRDFrom utilitarian toprized collectable

TOSUBSCRIBE NOWCLICKHERE

C O L L E C T A B L E S T R A D E R

How to SubscribeOnline: http://www.worldaa.com takes you to our home page

and follow the prompts.Phone: Order on + 61 02 9389 2919 between 8.30 am-5:00 pm EST,

Monday to Friday.Post: Complete a subscription form and post to:

Antiques & Art in Australia Pty LtdPO Box 324, Bondi Junction NSW 1355 Australia

Payment: We accept Australia Post money orders and credit cards. Please do not send cash.

Note: Charges are in Australian currency $AU

Online prices for Collectables

Collectables subscription

FEBRUARY – AUGUST 2012 ISSUE 82AUSTRALIA $16.95 NZ $20.95SINGAPORE $20.00 UK £7.00

US $13.00 €10.50

a b i a n n u a l m a g a z i n e f o r c o l l e c t o r s o f m a t e r i a l c u l t u r eartAntiques &worldof

GOLDIn all its glorious manifestationscelebrated in London

FROM CANADA TO AUSTRALIATying up the loose ends in early colonial art

World class destinations for sculptureThe new Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire

Henry Moore at Perry Green

American artists in ItalyA rich exchange between cultures

You might also like

WORLD OF ANTIQUES AND ART

CLICK HERE for a preview

Save 42% for online subscriptions

$28.60 - 6 issues $49.90 - 11 issues

International subscribers - download and avoid the postal fee a saving of 79%

welcome to the intriguing world of collecting

Subscribe today!TOSUBSCRIBE NOW

CLICKHERE