What A Catch!

Oh To See The Sun Again!

To start 2011 our first Object of the Month is a bilboquet, a toy or game, which is known in many parts of the world. It would be great if we could embrace the Inuit tradition and use our Tunbridge Ware example to welcome the return of the sun to a very dreary and foggy southern England.

Sadly whilst our bilboquet is unlikely to influence the weather, it has nevertheless been a source of some pleasure for us. Only three or four Tunbridge Ware examples have come our way in twenty-five years and we are now delighted to be able to offer you this one, which is the finest we have ever seen.

Where Have All The Bilboquets Gone?

 It was only because of our last Tunbridge Ware Day, featuring toys and games that we took time to find out more about the bilboquet and to consider its scarcity in Tunbridge Ware. Toys by their very nature are prone to damage and are therefore often discarded. A bilboquet made in stickware would seem to be especially vulnerable but we have not as yet ever seen a painted Tunbridge Ware example. Perhaps we have been unlucky not to find one and someone will now produce an 18^th or early 19^th century example, but perhaps there are also other reasons for its scarcity.

Off With Their Heads

Recently we came across an article on the inter net about bilboquets, suggesting that their popularity was enhanced in France at the time of The French Revolution. Hitherto the bilboquet had been popular at the French court with the nobility but with the introduction of the guillotine it was likened to a body with a removable head, which then became a popular plaything with the masses.

 Bearing in mind that Tunbridge Ware was originally intended for the aristocracy and the wealthy visitors to Tunbridge Wells in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries, it is hardly likely that they would have wanted a toy, which represented a threat to their very existence. This could have accounted for our not finding painted bilboquets as they would hardly have been the “must have” fashion accessories of the day.

How To Make A Bilboquet

 Whether you subscribe to this theory or not, the bilboquet in stickware is likely only to have enjoyed a limited production, purely on the grounds of costliness. Our estimated figure of 75% wastage of the stickware has come from Peter Benjamin, the only modern Tunbridge Ware maker we know, capable of producing such an item. Sadly for us, and for Peter, 19^th century Tunbridge Ware makers did not leave us written instructions on how to make a bilboquet.

 Peter tells us that the usual way to start the ball of the bilboquet would be by making a star motif as the core and then building up pattern around it. And how to achieve a perfect ball? Peter would cut out a circle from cardboard and rotate the ball meticulously through the hole in the cardboard, removing minute sections from the ball until the perfect shape were achieved.

 What patience and skill – no wonder we can find so few examples!

And Finally

 We hope you have enjoyed reading about the bilboquet and that you will also enjoy your Tunbridge Ware in 2011. It remains for us to wish you a very happy and healthy New Year.

Season's Greetings

The snow is still thick on the ground here, the heating oil is running out and the expected delivery is nowhere to be seen but we are determined not to be downhearted. In spite of the difficulties we are still looking forward to the Christmas break and hopefully will be able to keep warm.

We hope you too are managing in the snow and are completing your preparations for the festive season successfully. But if you still need that special piece of Tunbridge Ware for the very special person in your life, then The Edenbridge Galleries is open until Christmas* and is certainly the place for you.

After the holidays The Edenbridge Galleries is due to re-open on the 4th January. But don't forget, before then, the Tunbridge Ware Object of the Month will be changing on the 31st December, when we will be offering you a rare and interesting item to welcome in 2011.

A Merry Christmas to you all!

Snowy picture taken of The Edenbridge Galleries courtyard garden.

* The Edenbridge Galleries will close at 2pm on 24th December.

Mulled Wine & Mince Pies

How impressed we were that so many of you made it to The Edenbridge Galleries at the weekend in spite of the snow!

We are pleased to let you know that Maggie's mince pies will be on offer again at Edenbridge this coming weekend, the 11th & 12th December. We hope, by then, the weather will have improved and at least the mulled wine should help to keep out the chill.

We look forward to seeing you there and to help you choose your Christmas  gifts from our good selection of  Tunbridge Ware.

Small boxes can make ideal presents and please remember we can post them to you

Snow News

It might be snowing hard but The Edenbridge Galleries will not be closing!

Sue & Lennox Cato will most certainly be there for our planned Christmas Open Weekend on the 4th & 5th December. If you are able to get out and prepared to brave the elements you will be assured of a warm welcome at The Galleries and no doubt some refreshments.

If however the snow is overwhelming you, we have decided to extend our Open Weekend to include the 11th & 12th December, when we hope all the dealers will be there and you can enjoy mulled wine, mince pies and of course some wonderful Tunbridge Ware.

Christmas is Coming

With only one month until Christmas we are now busy preparing for our Tunbridge Ware Christmas Shopping Day on Sunday 28th November at The Spa Hotel, Tunbridge Wells.

Hopefully the weather will not prevent too many of you coming. Even if it is cold outside you can expect a warm welcome, a glass of wine (or tea or coffee if you prefer) and some stunning Tunbridge Ware.

We will have items from our current stock, which will make excellent gifts and if this year you are especially price conscious, we will have a number of small pieces of fine quality and craftmanship, which will make lasting gifts and which deserve to be treasured.

The small pieces on this page illustrate the skill of the Tunbridge Ware makers and will make very special presents for that special person's Christmas stocking!

Please remember too that we will be giving away a bottle of champagne to the first ten people spending over £100 on Sunday.

First Post

Welcome to our very first Blog!

Our new web site has been up and running now for a couple of weeks and judging from the statistics, which Online Galleries provide for us, we know that the number of visitors are increasing steadily each day. Those of you familiar with our previous site will see that we no longer have a News Page but we hope to keep in touch via our Blog and our Events Page.

To date we have only posted outline details of some of our events for 2011 but there will be more information to follow, especially on our two full Tunbridge Ware days scheduled for April and September. Both promise to be interesting with guided walks in Tunbridge Wells in the spring and a special visit to Cobham Hall later in the year. Cobham Hall, which is now a sought after view on Tunbridge Ware, dates from 1584 and was the ancestral home of the Earls of Darnley. We are looking forward to the guided tour, which we have planned and feel very lucky to be able to use the splendid 17^th century Gilt Hall as a backdrop for our Tunbridge Ware. This image shows some of the magnificent plaster ceiling in the Gilt Hall – a taste of treats in store!

Returning to 2010, we would like to thank those of you who attended the Time Line Master Class at The Edenbridge Galleries a couple of weeks ago. We were pleased to be able to introduce some new information and to discuss the finer points of dating Tunbridge Ware. Everyone seemed to enjoy the afternoon and not least Maggie’s memorable tea with the delicious chocolate éclairs. Hopefully we will be able to organise a similar afternoon next year.

Currently we are in the middle of preparations for the forthcoming festive season. As I am typing this, the printer is churning out the Amherst Tunbridge Ware Christmas Stock List, which will be sent in the next couple of days to those on our Mailing List and will also shortly appear on this site. Included will be the December Object of the Month and a range of new stock items, which should make good gifts for the collector. All of the pieces can be bought mail order and will be available at the Edenbridge Galleries or at our Christmas Shopping Day at The Spa Hotel, Tunbridge Wells on Sunday 28^th November, (details on Events Page). Look forward to seeing you there!