It seems astonishing, no sooner than I began penning blog entries about the late fall antiques fairs than I’m embarked on an entry, doubtless the first of several, about Olympia and Grosvenor House. Significant, of course, because these fairs are traditionally the culmination of the season for English antiques before a hiatus that lasts most of the summer. 
Traditional in another sense, too, with the fairs’ primary focus over the years the showcasing of 18th century furniture from the finest dealers- London, the English countryside, and a few from abroad- with their stock in trade arrayed in exquisitely artful stands.
Both traditions have, however, been derailed 
with the tough times the antiques trade has experienced over the last few years, with casualties that include some names one assumed would survive anything, save a direct hit by an A-bomb on their showroom premises. Shows you what I know.
Consequently, both fairs, out of necessity, have altered their look, with a lot less in the way of Georgian antiques, and more- what? Traditional non-furniture material, it appears, but more ‘price point’ types of dealers. Fine quality, of course, but material that has a better chance of selling on the day, giving the punter less opportunity to talk themselves out of the purchase. This phenomenon, something I’ve written about lately with unfortunate frequency, has been the bane of the surviving dealer- buyers want to buy, but after strong initial expressions of interest, get cold feet. Interestingly, the physical size of the item, regardless of price, seems to exacerbate this tendency. Where a buyer might purchase, say, a piece of silver for $20,000, a George III bureau bookcase for the same money- requiring the buyer to go home and measure the space before they commit- will not sell. The interval between the expression of interest and the drive back to the family manse allows enough time for the change of mind. If only I could manage to put our furniture pieces in a carrier bag!
Although we have just begun our annual ‘discreet’ summer sale, I hope to absent myself in the second week of June to scope out the fairs. In past years, this has always proved a valuable experience, with arriviste Chappell & McCullar comparing notes- and prices- with antiques dealers some of whom with over a century of tenure. A show visit now might be a bit more maudlin, to see who has so far managed to survive.