Well, nearing the end of the second month of the new blog and I’m very pleased with how things are going, More than 2,000 hits during August so I must be doing something right, although I wish more of you would leave comments. Is there something that you would like to see included? Is the format clear enough? Do you have something that you would like to sell in the Classified section – it’s still FREE for the time being? Why not sign up to receive emails when there’s a new post on the blog – also FREE. Anyway I’ll keep plugging away for now but do get in touch.

David

Sorry for the ongoing tinkering with the blog as I’m still trying to make it easier to navigate. If you can’t find what you’re looking for try the tabs at the top of the page. Car Boot sales have now moved onto their own page. Auctions, Markets etc will all shortly be separated out shortly.

Have a look at the Books page –  the latest Healy Rare Books catalogue is out with over 1,100 books on offer.

26th August – Just started migrating the forthcoming auctions to their own page.

David

I have a thread with this name running over on the Collectibles & Antiques forum at  http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=394 and it’s well overdue on this blog. I will kick off on the subject but do please contact me and email me at collectireland@gmail.com with your pet areas of collecting!

One of my longest collecting fads – thirty plus years – is hotelware (ceramics, silverware etc) and while this was initially restricted to shipping and railway related items, I have lost the run of myself and now collect marked hotelware from Manx and Irish hotels. To be of interest they generally have to be from long extinct hotels or else very well known ones.

This field of collecting is back on my mind again this weekend after a nice find in a local charity shop – two coffee cups from the former Four Courts Hotel in Dublin – see pic below. I’m not certain of how old they are as they bear no manufacturers’ mark but I suspect that they date from the original Four Courts Hotel rather than the more recent incarnation.

Some years back my wife gave me a present of a side plate from the Broadway Soda Fountain Parlor, Dublin, an ancient handpainted item made by Alfred Meakin, England. Can’t be much surviving from that establishment? This uniqueness is part of what drives me to collect these items of crockery as anybody can go out and buy some bog standard piece of Royal Doulton, Belleek etc. but not these rare survivors! Another of my favourite items is a teapot from the Grand Hotel in Douglas, Isle of Man – a unique and beautiful item of unknown manufacture, and possibly the only surviving item from that hotel.

I have a large collection but never having met another general hotelware collector or come across any book on the subject I’m still feeling my way along. I will return to this topic again but in the meantime let me know if there’s anybody else out there with the same interest.

Well, I’m enjoying the new blog as I hope all of you are. It has all sorts of useful features which allow me to see how many hits I’m getting, where they are being directed from, and while I found blogger.com good this is the final step on the road to a full website.

"Collect Ireland" - a future collectable?

I am just about to order another batch of the “Collect Ireland” guide from the publisher, and it would be a big help if anybody wishing to buy a copy (€7.99) including p+p, on the island of Ireland, could email me at collectireland@gmail.com to reserve a copy.

David

Website still under construction 15/5/2010.

Have you tried the Collectibles & Antiques Forum at http://www.boards.ie? Lots of interesting discussions, tips and news of forthcoming events.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=394

I recently came across this Irish website and while I cannot recommend it – not knowing anybody involved – it looks very promising. http://theirishwar.com/

Medals from Black and Tan war; 1920s Irish Army helmets etc. Stuff looks the real deal but, as always, buyer beware.

I paid a flying visit here yesterday and was delighted to find the bookshop busy with plenty of customers, and buying, not just browsing. The very pleasant proprietor, David Simmons, says business is good despite the economic woes of the country. Dalkey has everything for the best in quality retail therapy – galleries, bookshops, coffee shops, organic and health food shops, heritage centres – all packed into a tiny, beautifully kept enclave. All within a stones throw of Dalkey DART station. Mmmm!

I have only just begun distributing the guide so this list will be updated regularly:

1. Blackrock Market, Co.Dublin
2. Caxton Prints, 63 Patrick Street, Dublin.8.
3. Gallery 29, 29 Molesworth Street, Dublin.2.
4. Stokes Books, 19 Market Arcade, South Great Georges Street, Dublin.2.
5. National Gallery Shop, Dublin .2.
6. Alan Hanna’s Bookshop, 270 Lr.Rathmines Road, Dublin.6.
7. Exchange Bookshop, Castle Street, Dalkey, Co.Dublin

List updated: 5/9/09

Don’t forget to let me have your comments and suggestions for the ‘All-Ireland’ edition which, fingers crossed, should appear before Christmas.