Comments on the style saloniste: Chatsworth Attic Sale

Hi Dear Friends--Square with Flair and Reggie, and...

2010-10-08T12:22:29.628-07:00

Hi Dear Friends--Square with Flair and Reggie, and new friend WE! WELCOME W.E....love your blog.

I love your comments. You are all correct--this was a sale of the century (21st)...and I am waiting to see Sotheby's list of prices realized. i think it must have been hugely successful...I hope so as Chatsworth constantly needs repairs, etc.
I am currently reading (can't put it down) (my own signed copy) of 'Wait for Me, the new new new biography of Deborah Devonshire. I have read all the letters among the sisters, plus 'In Tearing Haste'...letters from Debo to Patrick Leigh Fermor, as well as all the other biographies of the sisters, and this one is perhaps the most poignant and real. It is of course the most current. It is highly detailed...and I'm just immersed in her post-war life of the forties, her husband coming back after years away in the war, after the death of many of her best friends, and her ailing parents, Unity fading fast...two young children. All the palaces in the world cannot assuage the pain of this period. Debo is the survivor--and I believe her book is no 1 or 2 on the best seller list in UK now, where it has just been released. He voice comes through, and the book is quite vivid (her researchers do a fantastic job, along with fine editors and collaborators)...and rich with detail, like the best plum pudding (English of course).
I hope you'll all read it and add it to you Mitford/Devonshire/Chatsworth/Mitford Sisters library.
cheers, DIANE

Have just discovered you and your blog and am now ...

2010-10-07T14:39:33.714-07:00

Have just discovered you and your blog and am now positively smitten. Thank you for such lovely visual and written distractions!

And Debo complained about how poor they were after...

2010-10-03T08:02:49.959-07:00

And Debo complained about how poor they were after settling the death duties when Andrew's father died, and in what reduced circumstances they lived in! Who knew that there were 20,000 LOTS of things to sell at auction, without hardly making a dent in what's left...

Ah, to be a Cavendish!

I was unaware of this auction, and appreciate know...

2010-10-01T19:37:06.064-07:00

I was unaware of this auction, and appreciate knowing about it. Such high profile estate sales, such as those of the Windsors, Mona Bismarck, Diana Vreeland, Jackie Onassis, and Yves Saint-Laurent, are fascinating studies in taste and social history.

I cannot believe the extent of this sale, sounds like it is long overdue, and the pieces will go on to live interesting new lives rather than perish in storage. Of course this is all symptomatic of the end of a certain grand style of living. "Brideshead Revisited" no more.

I can understand why the Duchess of Devonshire much prefers the little house on the estate that she now resides in. Such palatial possessions and the interiors of Chatsworth really are not the most pleasant to live in. Especially nowadays.

Thank you!

Hi Dear Friends-love, love, love all your insights...

2010-09-30T12:51:13.980-07:00

Hi Dear Friends-love, love, love all your insights and witty and wonderful comments.

Yes, this sale is going to be epic. Starts tomorrow.
I wish I were there.
Imagine...rummaging through the attic, as Stefan noted.
This kind of sale seldom happens--never--and it is a chance to buy history and wit (and some everyday things with a great provenance).
'Where did you find these lovely tea cups we are sipping from?'
'Oh, they're from Chatsworth'' you respond.
If you can't be there--I highly recommend the SOTHEBY'S catalog...it's a keeper, to read even after the sale.
I am watching to see the prices realized...i think they will be astronomical even for the ordinary.
Cheers DIANE

Hi Diane, your blog is really one of a kind. One...

2010-09-29T17:18:23.573-07:00

Hi Diane,
your blog is really one of a kind.

One copy of the Chatsworth is being forwarded to me by my family in England. Thanks for the reminder of the auction!

I forwarded your recent post of Istanbul to a dear friend before she left to spend a week the other day.

Many thanks,
Ingela

Thanks for the detailed post on the auction. I was...

2010-09-29T13:37:51.146-07:00

Thanks for the detailed post on the auction. I was unable to get a catalogue, but I adore Chatsworth...

http://willowbrookpark.blogspot.com/2010/07/chatsworth-auction.html

I would love to rummage through their china, crystal and silver.
David :-)

This auction is going to be epic. Many of the baub...

2010-09-29T07:05:19.425-07:00

This auction is going to be epic. Many of the baubles actually look attainably-priced too.
Ah Chatsworth, such a wealth of wuthered heights and horse-riding men in tail coats and empire waists and busts and butlers springs to mind....how dreamy.

thenerochronicles.blogspot.com

So many treasures to desire!

2010-09-28T18:36:16.285-07:00

So many treasures to desire!

If I had a genie lamp...those tea cups and the sle...

2010-09-28T17:03:25.692-07:00

If I had a genie lamp...those tea cups and the sleigh would be mine, what a dream sale! There should be a documentary, start to finish, with many interviews.
xo J~

I always discover exciting news through you, my dr...

2010-09-28T11:03:17.275-07:00

I always discover exciting news through you, my dream life would be to fly happily from auction to auction around the world, collecting treasures and meeting interesting personalities. At least I can do it virtually reading your blog. Ciao.

This had to be one of the most exciting sales in y...

2010-09-28T07:15:45.203-07:00

This had to be one of the most exciting sales in years!

Much to covet indeed. If only to get the Louis Vui...

2010-09-28T07:03:41.024-07:00

Much to covet indeed. If only to get the Louis Vuitton suitcases and some silk fabric. The catalogue sounds too good to be true.........I will see if I can get one. XO

imagine the fun the curators had poking through th...

2010-09-28T06:46:54.381-07:00

imagine the fun the curators had poking through those attics! All of these treasures just waiting to be rediscovered! I wonder what all they found which they decided to keep or how they came to each decision. Did it have to be of extraordinary historical value, or purely aesthetic? Was size an issue? There is an interview in there somewhere!

I will try and have a look Diane and if nothing el...

2010-09-28T04:25:14.068-07:00

I will try and have a look Diane and if nothing else purchase a catalogue....The Duchess of Devonshire is an astounding woman and Chatsworth is one of my favourite stately homes. xv