IMPORTANT NOTICE
Prior to dismantling, the museum will be open for limited viewing on September 26 and 27, 10AM-4PM. Entry will be by catalogue only (admits two). The displays will remain intact and handling will now be permitted.
The Lost Street Museum is at Palma Court, 27 Brookend Street, Ross-on-Rye, Herefordshire. It is in the town centre and there is parking available across the street. All enquiries must be addressed to the department and not the museum.
Shop fronts and fittings, and also the Orchestrelle (lot 169) will remain in situ for the sale, and removal will be at the purchasers risk and expense after payment has been made.
THE LOST STREET MUSEUM
We're S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G/We're Shopping
(The Pet Shop Boys)
When Napoleon called the British a nation of shopkeepers he was only half right: half the British are shopkeepers, the other half are shoppers--serious shoppers.
No other people treat shopping in the same way as the British. It is safe to say that they have a genuine affection for it. For modern day hunters-and-gatherers it is in many ways a joy. The same can be said of their fondness for the establishments themselves. Even in its native America Woolworth's is not known as Woollie's, and the most ardent fashion victim will have a pair of "Marks & Sparks" knickers.
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that a country with museums from buttons to bee-keeping would have a shopping museum.
Roger and Pauline Di Palma spent twenty-five years in the antiques trade, covering many subjects but particularly mechanical music and clocks. The collection started with a 19 5/8-inch Polyphon (lot 188). Favourite pieces were kept from then and Pauline began collecting dolls as well. The Lamp and Glass Shop in the museum also reflects Pauline's interest. Roger's ambition was to open a museum and their holidays were spent travelling the country visiting museums for ideas and inspiration. A trip to the Castle Museum in York gave them the idea for The Lost Street.
The 1970s was an excellent time to be a specialist dealer along the Welsh borders and the Forest of Dean. Its relative distance from London kept major dealers away and few collectors had access to the wealth of items emerging. A perfect example of this is the occurrence of three coin-operated phonographs: one alone would be the highlight of most collections. Mechanical music in general was readily available -- the Welsh have always been great music lovers and the diversity of the machines on offer here attests to this.
Time was also on the Di Palmas' side when it came to the shop-fronts and fittings. Without their efforts, such examples of vernacular architecture would have been lost, at a time when all too many buildings were being destroyed or altered beyond recognition. Although there are still a number of chemist's around the country which retain their original fittings, there can be few early grocer's or tobacconist's.
Stocking the shops was a slow proccess. Although an occasional cache of a certain product might turn up, perhaps a crate of soap or sparking plugs, it is difficult to amass an entire range of goods with which to fill shelves. The same goes for advertising material and displays, none of which were meant to survive. The vast number of items here gives an idea of the Di Palmas' determination to make the Street as authentic as possible.
The museum opened in 1989 and has been visited by over 125,000 people. In 1990 it was awarded the Certificate of Merit from the British Tourist Authority. Sadly, Roger died suddenly in 1991 leaving Pauline both to run the museum and wind-down the antiques business. The latter was completed with the help of many friends, both collectors and fellow dealers. The former was accomplished with a combination of her own determination and the knowledge that it was a dream she shared with Roger. Now that retirement age is upon her, Pauline has decided that she can either run a museum or she can look after her four-year-old grand-daughter--but she cannot do both.
THE WIRELESS SHOP
A simple crystal set
Details
A simple crystal set
housed in a coconut, the concealed detector within cardboard coil, in polished coconut outer casing, standing on three terminals -- 6in. (15cm.) high
housed in a coconut, the concealed detector within cardboard coil, in polished coconut outer casing, standing on three terminals -- 6in. (15cm.) high