Treasure and Trash

Treasure and trash is in the finest tradition of second hand and occasional antique shops — crammed to the rafters with higgledy-​piggledy piles of furniture, with a delicious aroma of French polish and wax. The man who runs it, despite seeming a bit spaced out, is absolutely on the ball when it comes to sensitive restorations. I recently went in to enquire about a prewar school writing-​desk, which was covered in schoolboy graffiti from the 1930s. Sold as seen it would have been a bit more than average at £40, but as he pointed out, it was very old. His plans for restoration involved a light sand to remove the grime but keep the graffiti, and a waxed finish on top to prevent further wear and protect the piece’s distinctive character. This struck me as a perceptive and thoughtful way of going about it.
While I was enquiring my eyes wandered over the stacks of furniture in various stages of restoration — there was a rocking-​chair off its rockers, in the process of final polishing after having had a strut replaced, a beautiful mahogany mantelpiece and all manner of enamel washstands and bowls. I’m not sure where the trash comes in, but there’s definitely treasure to be found here.