Comb back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped Camm Grantham with curved crest rail, turned stiles, 8 long spindles 6 short, turned underarm supports, straight seat sides, ring & cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, H stretcher WS 13

Comb back Lincolnshire Windsor armchair stamped Camm Grantham with curved crest rail, turned stiles, 8 long spindles 6 short, turned underarm supports, straight seat sides, ring & cove turned front legs with 1 lower ring, H stretcher WS 13

A comb back Windsor chair, stamped on the seat edge: Camm Grantham. This identifies the maker's workshop as Thomas Camm of Grantham, working about 1825.  This one turned up in an evening auction in Buckinghamshire and I travelled down to view: it was from a house clearance and in excellent condition. When the auction got under way there were very few people in the room and the auctioneer struggled to get bids on anything. The moment arrived for this lot. My hopes were sky high and heart beating fast: I started the bidding at a low amount and outbid a couple in the room; it was going to be mine for a modest sum; then came the moment I was fearful of: an anonymous phone bidder. Well, dear reader, you can imagine what happened next: I continued bidding but every time the phone outbid me. I went way over my limit to several hundred pounds but in the end I let it go. What disappointment! After that the auctioneer stopped the auction and asked me "What was that all about?" I explained that the chair really was the essence of Lincolnshire chairmaking and design, stamped by a maker who did not work for long in Grantham. He told me that the person on the phone was a London dealer who was known to him but had never shown an interest in chairs before. Well, he certainly had to pay a lot of money for it and good luck to him.

William Sergeant 2011 and 2020