{"id":24417,"date":"2023-08-27T13:31:31","date_gmt":"2023-08-27T11:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9428d9d9-2942-4511-acad-2e0abcac9a06"},"modified":"2023-08-27T13:36:36","modified_gmt":"2023-08-27T11:36:36","slug":"the-antiques-that-shaped-me-lennox-cato","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/the-antiques-that-shaped-me-lennox-cato\/","title":{"rendered":"The Antiques That Shaped Me: Lennox Cato"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Antiques Roadshow regular Lennox Cato tells us about his earliest experiences in the trade… <\/p>

By Charlotte Packer\n <\/p>

Published: Sunday, 27 August 2023 at 11:31 AM<\/p>

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What first sparked your interest in antiques? <\/h2>

I was adopted into a family of antiques dealers, so there wasn\u2019t much choice in the matter. Back then it wasn\u2019t so much a case of \u2018what will I be?\u2019, you got on with what your family did; and we were dealers.<\/p>

Was it nature or nurture? <\/h2>

I think it was a bit of both for me. If you\u2019re surrounded by interesting things and interesting people, it makes you hungry to learn. <\/p>\n

– Karen Bengall Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was the first antique you bought?<\/h2>

In all honesty, I\u2019m not sure I can remember the very first antique<\/a>. But, when I was at school, I used to walk past a house with a skeleton clock in the window. <\/p>

I saw it every day and, as the pendulum wasn\u2019t moving, I was pretty sure it wasn\u2019t working, so I decided I\u2019d ask the owner if I could buy it. <\/p>

One day I knocked on the door, still in my school uniform, and asked the owner if they would sell it to me, and they did. <\/p>

While I was at school, I used to work at a clothes store called Gog Shop at the weekends, and I was paid \u00a35. <\/p>

But, at 6am, before work, I\u2019d go down to Brighton market and buy things to sell. I might make \u00a320 to \u00a3100, before heading off to my Saturday job. <\/p>

Can you share your biggest antiques mistake? <\/h2>

This is difficult \u2013 you don\u2019t want to think about mistakes, you want to move on! <\/p>

But I once bought a set of eight or 10 gilt chairs \u2013 armchairs and dining chairs. Just wonderful. I knew that I knew the model, but I couldn\u2019t place it. <\/p>

At this time I had a shop on Upper North Street, and all the dealers watched what was going in and out of everyone else\u2019s shops. <\/p>

So, as soon as they arrived, we got a call from another dealer asking to see them. He came by and I gave him a price and he said, no thanks, not for him. <\/p>

Then another dealer came in. I increased the price and he bought them, and then asked me to put them downstairs with a blanket over them, which I thought was odd. <\/p>

Then a friend came in, a dealer I really respect, and I showed him the chairs, explained that I\u2019d sold them, and asked what he thought of them. Were they as good as I thought? <\/p>

He looked at them and said, \u2018Ah, yes\u2026 the Royal Pavilion.\u2019 I realised why I recognised the design, and I could have asked much, much more. <\/p>

They were amazing, the same Marsh & Tatham chairs that are in the Saloon of the Royal Pavilion. <\/p>

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Of the antiques you own, do you have a favourite?<\/h2>

That\u2019s like choosing a favourite child! There\u2019s a clock in our kitchen that has been with me and my wife since we started dating. <\/p>

It was with us when we first moved in together, and it\u2019s been with us ever since. I also have a stick pin that my father gave me, and I still wear it. <\/p>

I used to collect tie pins \u2013 they were for my pension, I told myself. I was a kid, talking about a pension! <\/p>

When I passed my driving test at 17, I decided that if I was going to go into the business, I needed a car. <\/p>

The bank manager refused to give me a loan, so I sold my tie pins (apart from the one my father gave me) and they funded my car. <\/p>

If money were no object, what would you buy? <\/h2>

I have a nice watch<\/a> \u2013 a Cartier Tank \u2013 but, if I had serious money to spend, I\u2019d buy a Patek Philippe. It\u2019s all about the engineering and the elegance, and the Grand Complications is an understated statement. <\/p>

And, finally, any advice for collectors? <\/h2>

Buy the best you can of whatever you love. Don\u2019t be guided by fashion. Don\u2019t buy broken, buy perfect. <\/p>

If you can\u2019t afford the specific piece you want, start with the best you can afford and gradually trade your way up.<\/p>

More from Homes & Antiques<\/h2>