Thanks to my lovely husband I am now the proud owner of a Victorian tortoiseshell fan signed by 54 eminent architects of the Victorian Arts and Crafts movement.
Signatures include:
ARTHUR BERESFORD PITE (BURLINGTON ARCADE)
INGRESS BELL
JOHN BELCHER
SIR ASTON WEBB (PRICIPLE FACADE BUCKINGHAM PALACE)
EDWIN T HALL (LIBERTY OF LONDON)
CHARLES HEATHCOTE
WILLIAM FLOCKHART
LEWIS SOLOMON
PAUL WATERHOUSE (MANCHESTER MUSEUM)
JOHN WOOLFALL
MAURICE E WEBB (BENTALLS LONDON)
EDMUND KIRBY (PUGIN CHURCHES)
WILLIAM EMERSON
JAMES GIBSON (SUPREME COURT)
It was fashionable at the time to sign fans such as these at annual dinners and meetings. The signatures are on parchment and the handle is tortoiseshell, the fan is mounted on red silk and is protected by a fan shaped glass case.
The fan.
Arthur usually signed Beresford Pite.
Holding a piece of history.