Random Treasure: Antiques, Auctions and Alchemy

by Roger Stewart

200 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2017

About the author

Roger Stewart is a Londoner resident in Scotland since 1967, a retired public sector manager turned business consultant turned small business owner. He has degrees in English and Business.

In so-called retirement he is taking the opportunity to realise two secret lifetime ambitions – to become an antique dealer and to become an author.

Roger's first book, Random Treasure - Antiques, Auctions and Alchemy, is a part-time amateur collector’s true account of a remarkable run of success in finding unidentified antiques and selling them on, turning an outlay of £1,500 into more than £250,000 in auction proceeds in just a few years. The book tells many enthralling stories about exceptional objects, one of them a mediaeval statue which experts believed had been destroyed more than two hundred years ago.

Random Treasure explains how objects rise and fall in value and how auctions really work, because it’s not like what you see in the daytime TV shows. And it also investigates what special qualities collectors need to make their own spectacular finds. Does it require the expertise of the connoisseur or the magical powers of the alchemist, or can anyone do it with a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work? And once we collectors have been bitten by the bug, how can we prevent our innocent hobby from slipping into all-consuming obsession and compulsion?

Reviews

[Deborah Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a treasure! If you like antiques and hunting for treasure (in thrift shops, charity shops, auctions and the like), this book is for you. Roger Stewart takes you along as he goes in search of "lost and forgotten" antiques. He tells the story behind some of his precious finds - one key example is a wooden carving of a Saint he won at a local auction. He paid a few hundred dollars (well, he's in Scotland so its pounds) but in the end we learn it's worth many many times that. I won't give it away. But you will learn more than just the monetary worth of these special objects. The author describes his explorations as he investigates each object - what it is, when and where it was created and by whom, its historical significance, and what may have happened to it from the time it was made to how it ended up in a the back of a charity shop or auction house.

Roger Stewart examines many aspects of antiques buying and selling. Is there such a thing as an "Eye" for antiques - or for any fans of the series Lovejoy - a "divvy"? How do you research your finds when you have little idea of what you have found? How do you buy and sell antiques at auctions? What are the ethical and moral dilemmas that may arise in selling antiques?

This book also looks at the differences between being a collector, dealer, hoarder, connoisseur and dilettante. How do you make sure your hobby collecting antiques doesn't morph into an overwhelming obsession and compulsion.

There's so much more I could say to recommend this book. His writing is charming and funny. I'd say the only thing that would be better than reading Random Treasure would be to walk along with the author as he hunts for treasures in his favorite shops and auction houses. Or to see his latest finds in person and to hear their histories over cups of tea.

[Dorothy Nesbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess, I belong to a small band of people who enjoy rooting around in charity shops, visiting local auctions, buying, selling, keeping, collecting... a kind of foraging for objects, and sometimes rescuing them. I once sold an early thermos flask via eBay to the BBC props department, which was part of a lot bought by a friend and which he was going to leave behind.

Roger Stewart, clearly also a member of this small sub-section of the wider population, has put pen to paper - more likely fingers to keyboard - and shared his experiences in this book. The audience is rather niche and still, this book is a treasure for members of this band of men and women.

I confess, it took me a long time to finish reading this book, so I have added a date for completion but not for beginning to read. Sometimes, the author's stories drew me on. Sometimes, his somewhat philosophical explorations slowed me down. Even so, until the very end, I found interesting examples of the author's experiences and I enjoyed the photos and referred to them as I read.

I recognised in myself some of the traits and experiences of the author. A certain dogged curiosity to learn more about an item. A 'nose', no doubt based at least in part on prior experience, for what might be of interest. A willingness to reach out to the big auction houses and other experts. An appreciation for objects which are not necessarily his taste and yet hold some interest. I could go on.

And almost as a post script, the book was well edited; I realise this only on reflection. I didn't have those moments of frustration at poor writing or grammatical or spelling errors that can divert my attention away from the book.

Congratulations to the author and thank you for a fun and interesting read.

[Ziggythecat12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this immensely, much more than I'd anticipated as I was expecting it to be some kind of antique collector's diary, or a compolation of anecdotes. It is sort of both, plus lots of insights into how the author views himself, as a collector, and the nature of collecting/dealing/hoarding! Really well written, so its interesting, amusing and informative with moments of 'high drama' too.