London – Was I in a museum or an antique market?
I wasn’t sure as I browsed through racks of Victorian dresses and suits for sale at Grays Antique Market in central London.
The same feeling of excited disbelief came over me at Camden Passage’s antique complex in Islington, a borough in North London, when I came face to face with Revolutionary War-era red coats and a Civil War uniform.
The two markets, a 20-minute Underground ride apart, are crammed with thousands of exotic, eccentric and exquisite treasures – a mecca for antique lovers, art aficionados and history buffs.
And the price range is as broad as the variety: $1 marble egg paperweights to $25,000 diamond necklaces.
Beyond the Victorian clothes at Grays, more thrills awaited: Edwardian pearl chokers, 1930s Rolex watches, 16th-century samurai swords, German toy trains, 19th-century lithographs and first editions of Harry Potter books and Ian Fleming’s Bond novels.
Beckoning at Camden Passage were battered Napoleonic hats, jumbled heaps of Simpsons toy figures, Royal Albert tea sets, $1 Agatha Christie paperbacks, a $7,000 19th-century Dickens desk, Victorian bread boxes and tables overflowing with alluring vintage jewelry.
The vast inventory brought out my fickle side. I formed new passions and favorites each time I visited Grays’ 200 shops, housed in a 19th-century plumbing factory and its mews (stables) near Oxford Street, or Camden Passage, a sprawl of 300 shops, stalls, restaurants and arcades rambling down several 18th-century Islington streets.
Countless antique venues flourish in London, but these two represent the best of their kind. Twenty-seven-year-old Grays has a classic terracotta facade and is well organized and gentrified, with a top-hatted doorman at its entrance. Camden Passage, which evolved over five decades, has the ambience of a world-class antique center within a rustically Bohemian flea market.
Grays claims to have the best collection of antique jewelry in the world. I wouldn’t doubt it after the hours I spent gaping into glass cases holding hundreds of show-stopper pieces with price tags discreetly turned over. There were flower-shaped pearl earrings with diamond “petals”; hand-carved Italian cameos; a necklace of yellow, blue, pink and green sapphires; 18-karat gold necklaces encrusted with pearls, emeralds and rubies; Edwardian garnet pins and vintage Cartier tank watches.
The jewelry is mostly European and is priced from hundreds to multi-thousands of dollars. But inexpensive real and costume pieces – from $25 to $75 – can be found on the lower level.
Meanwhile, at Camden Passage, a dazzling array of jewelry sparkled in velvet-lined cases. Here, I could pick the pieces up and marvel at their texture and weight while checking the price. Standouts included a large emerald-green square pin in a silver-tone setting ($30); a 3-inch gold-tone and multigem clown pin ($25); an eccentric butterfly pin with mink wings ($20); a 30-inch freshwater pearl necklace ($25) and a 19th-
century 36-inch strand of jade, agate and glass beads ($98).
More astonishing than the jewelry were the Victorian and Edwardian clothes in Vintage Modes at Grays Mews. Gracing the racks were sturdy, lace-covered black silk cloaks, 120 to 140 years old, for $200 to $400. Squeezed onto another rack were Victorian dresses and suits. I gasped when I saw a pristine ivory wedding dress and a sky-blue silk dress with three-quarter-
length scalloped sleeves. Both were $400.
Every time I visited this cluttered shop, the smell of homemade soups and entrees lured me next door to Grays’ retro Victory Cafe. During one lunch, we noticed a cluster of clocks on a nearby shelf and splurged on two: a 1960s Swiss jeweled eight-day clock ($90) and a vintage 1950s German alarm clock ($40).
Back at Camden Passage, the mood was more serious in Military Memorabilia as we surveyed 18th- and 19th-century medals; model planes and cannons; World War I and WWII uniforms, hats and scrapbooks; field binoculars; flags and swords.
Even more riveting was the barrage of military memorabilia on the lower level of Camden Passage’s Angel Arcade. We were astounded at the sight of 18th-century red coats and a faded rust-colored overcoat from the Revolutionary War era. We learned the somber blue uniform hanging beside them was from the Civil War. The price: $2,000-$4,000 buys one of these treasures in remarkably good condition, with buttons intact.
Massive collections of 18th- through 20th-century silver were on sale at both markets. A blinding selection of trays, tea sets and serving dishes was mounted lavishly in the windows of Peter Gaunt on Grays’ lower level.
More small items were offered at the Silver and Plate Center in Camden Passage: silver-handled comb and brush sets, pin-cushion holders, leaf-tea strainers, photo frames, flasks, candy dishes and miniature animals and birds, all priced from $10.
Remarkably well-preserved antique furniture caught my eye on the lower level of Camden’s Mall Antiques Arcade. I loved strolling along this floor and gazing at stately 10-piece mahogany dining sets, Edwardian lamp stands, gilded French mirrors and Victorian window seats and chests.
At Grays, Biblion is another star attraction. The store stocks 20,000 books and manuscripts, dating from the 16th century, and has one of the largest collections of signed first editions in Europe. Prices range from $20 to the thousands. A glance at the elegant shelves revealed “Flappers and Philosophers,” a 1922 first edition by F. Scott Fitzgerald, $95; “The Gentleman in the Parlor,” a 1930 U.K. first edition by W. Somerset Maugham, $43; and a 10-volume edition of Edgar Allan Poe short stories, $650.
Hours of browsing through the remarkable objects at both Grays and Camden Passage led me to one conclusion: Anything that can’t be found here probably never existed.
Irene Woodbury is a freelance writer in Denver.
The details
Grays Antique Market: 58 Davies St., London W1K 5LP; Grays in the Mews, 1-7 Davies Mews, London W1X 5AB; telephone 011-44-20-7629-7034. Hours: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tube stop: Bond Street. Website:
Camden Passage: Islington, London N1. Tube stop: Angel. Open to the public Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Mall Antiques Arcade is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Book Fair at Charlton Place is Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Military Memorabilia at Angel Arcade is Wednesday and Saturday mornings until about 1 p.m.
