For the past few months, Biddle & Webb have been delighted to store a fascinating collection of portraits, courtesy of the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity. Painted by various artists between the 19th century and mid-20th century, the portraits depict prolific surgeons working in Birmingham hospitals during this period. Before the collection is put to auction,…
Tag: history
Portraits of the Past: John Hall-Edwards
For the past few months, Biddle & Webb have been delighted to store a fascinating collection of portraits, courtesy of the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity. Painted by various artists between the 19th century and mid-20th century, the portraits depict prolific surgeons working in Birmingham hospitals during this period. Before the collection is put to auction, we would…
Portraits of the Past: William Withering
For the past few months, Biddle & Webb have been delighted to store a fascinating collection of portraits, courtesy of the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity. Painted by various artists between the 19th century and mid-20th century, the portraits depict prolific surgeons working in Birmingham hospitals during this period. Before the collection is put to auction, we would…
The Beauty & The Bear
The Cartier brand is synonymous with luxury and expense, but alongside their classic, timeless and sophisticated designs, they have also made their fair share of novelty jewellery. Biddle & Webb are delighted to be offering a 1960s example of this whimsical side to Cartier. Not only are we auctioning a piece from a top quality…
The REP’s Grand Costume Sale
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is one of the most important and influential theatres in the history of the English stage. In 2017, The REP embarked on an ambitious fundraising campaign called REP First, which aims to raise £1million. Funds raised will go towards staging new productions, offering more training opportunities and welcoming more participants and audiences…
The Moor Pool Estate
The Moor Pool Estate is a lesser known garden suburb located in Harborne and has been described as “Possibly the most charming enclave of 20th Century social housing in Birmingham and, arguably, one of the city’s best kept architectural secrets” (Steve Beauchamp & Simon Inglis, Played in Birmingham, May 2006.) It was built between 1907 and…
My Childhood Memories
I was born in 1962 four years after Biddle and Webb was started by my Dad Ernie Biddle and his business partner the mysterious Mr Webb. Mum used to say I was their lucky charm. Up until 1962 life was tough but following the thaw of that biblical winter the business started to leap forward….
Do we need The History of Art?
As a History of Art graduate I have always had an interest in art’s relationship with social history. It is easy to mistake the History of Art as a discipline which favours the academic study of painting above and beyond other modes of artistic output, but this is simply not the case. The knick-knacks in…
ERNIE BIDDLE (1919-1996)
I was born in 1919 in back to back house in Winson Green half way between the prison and Dudley Rd Hospital. One of my earliest memories is the euphoria of the community when water was piped into the house having previously used communal stand pipe in the yard. There was a wonderful community spirit…
International Stamp Treasures!
The word ‘Serendipity’ was coined by Horace Walpole in ‘The three Princes of Serendip’ and means, amongst other things, stumbling upon interesting discoveries in a casual manner. Now, when looking through the estate of a deceased person one never knows what will be found and such was the case recently when a 150 volume stamp…