Stair and Company Collection

Description

Stair and Company were English Furniture dealers. The collection comprises the contents of three albums of magazine and press cuttings and advertisements for the company. These were probably compiled by Alistair Stair and R. L. Harrington and are often annotated with the publication date and name of the publication.


The first album contained cuttings from 'Apollo: The Magazine of the Arts for Connoisseur and Collectors' (1956-1962). The cuttings were pasted to paper backing sheets, usually with the date of publication noted on them. Many of the cuttings are advertisements for the stock of Christy's of Kent. There are some proofs of advertisements for 'Apollo'. One of the cuttings announces the change of name of the dealer Christy's of Kent Ltd to R. L. Harrington Ltd.


The second album contained cuttings from various publications about antiques and art dealing and collecting:


1) The cuttings from 'The Antique Dealer and Collectors Guide' (1952-1955) comprise typescript drafts of advertisements and published advertisments for Christy's of Kent Ltd.


2) The cuttings from 'The Antique Collector Magazine' (1955-1959) contain advertisements for Christy's of Kent Ltd.



3) The cuttings from 'Country Life' (1959-1969) and comprise advertisements for R. L. Harrington Ltd.


4) There is also a folder of cuttings from various magazines with advertisements for Christy's of Kent Ltd and R. L. Harrington Ltd (1951-1965).


The third album contained advertisements in the form of cuttings from magazines, journals and newspaper articles for Stair and Company (1976-1977). There are some articles in brochures and a few photographs. The material relates to the company's branches in New York and Palm Beach in the USA.


The material has been removed from the albums and rehoused for preservation purposes.

Biography or history

Stair and Company Limited was originally set up in 1911 as Stair and Andrew Limited by Arthur Stair and Valentine Andrew. The two men had met at the furniture makers Waring and Gillow. Stair and Andrew opened a branch in New York in 1914. In the late 1930s the company traded as Pratt and Stair Incorporated in New York. Alistair, Arthur's son, joined the firm in 1935. After WW2 the company traded as Stair and Company and were 50% owned by the collector Jules C. Stein from 1952. During the 1970s The Incurable Collector was a subsidiary arm of Stair and Co specialising in oil paintings, lighting fixtures and decorative furniture in the USA. By this time the company had offices in London, New York and Palm Beach. Stair and Co acquired R. L. Harrington, formerly known as Christy's of Kent in 1968. David Murdock, the Los Angeles financier bought the firm in 1981. Stair and Co closed in September 2004.

Provenance

Received with the R. A. Lee archive donated by Georgina Gough, 2017. It is not known how the material ended up in the Lee archive, but it may have been given to Ronald Lee when Stair and Company closed in 2004.

Access and usage

Reproduction

Access

This material is not listed in detail and has not yet been assessed for access. Access will be subject to review by Special Collections staff. Access to parts of it may be protected under Data Protection and/or other relevant legislation.

Material in this collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can only be supplied by the Library for research or private study within the terms of copyright legislation. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.

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Collection guide: Art and Antiques Market Collections

A guide to the Art and Antique Dealers’ Collections held in Special Collections.

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