Vintage radios and televisions

The first radio broadcast in the world was made in England in 1922. Wireless preceded it but was used mainly for military purposes. By the early 1920s, crystal sets were the commonest receivers, used in the home by enthusiasts who spent long hours making and operating them. valve sets developed alongside them and by the 1930s, the radio was cased in wood or bakelite.

American Sentinel radio 284 NI, 1945, GBP 800 - 1500

Plastic antiques

Antiques get younger every day, so it is wrong to be surprised that plastic objects could feature in every prestigious fair. After all, they are no less stylish than the bronze and ivory figures by Ferdinand Preiss or the engraved glass of Keith Murray, just a whole lot cheaper, although you might be surprised at the prices being asked by some of the stuff.

 When it was invented, plastic revolutionised our lives. It happened almost by chance. The inventor Alexander Parkes is generally credited as the person responsible when in 1862, he went to his medicine cabinet to find some collodion to staunch the bleeding of a cut finger. He discovered that the liquid had turned into a gummy, rubber-like substance which he realised had potential if it could be moulded into shape.