Rich Tapestries Of Life

The contents sale of North Mymms Park brings back happy memories

- Huon Mallalieu

Forty years ago, there was a flood of contents sales in British and Irish country houses, which, more often than not, were conducted on the premises, with viewings in the house itself and the auctions in a marquee pitched nearby with refreshment tents. they usually took place during summer and the party atmosphere undoubtedly boosted prices. I was involved with many of them, as a cataloguer and then as a reporter for the Antiques Trade Gazette and The Times.

For the creative cataloguer there were opportunities to boost interest that would not have been so effective in a saleroom. once, I made up a job lot of prints that contained a rather poor sporting set, a couple of distinctly interesting old Masters and some decorative views of the house. My boss queried the sense of this, but I explained I hoped to provoke competition between decorators, London print specialists and moneyed, local souvenir hunters, all of whom would be present as they would not have been in London. It paid off handsomely.

Some of those occasions were tinged with sadness when they represented the end of a long family tradition or were caused more immediately by death, divorce or internecine quarrels, but the sales themselves were usually joyful affairs.

The greatest of them, notably Mentmore towers in 1977, are still remembered far beyond the art market and others are regularly recalled in current auction catalogue provenances.