About The Spanish Comb
Our Service Pledge
During normal trading periods we respond to orders within 24 hours, or 48 hours on weekends or major UK public holidays. While our shop is displaying a "vacation" notice we cannot gaurantee response times as we may not have internet access.We guarantee the authenticity of all our items and that the item which appears in the photographs is the actual item you will receive.
Due to time zone differences we are only able to accept phone calls from outside the UK by prior (email) arrangement. Please email us to arrange a mutually convenient time if you wish to discuss a potential purchase,
About Us
OUR STOCK
We specialize in antique, vintage and ethnic hair accessories, plus related vanity and costume items and vintage jewellery. We are located in the United Kingdom, a country with a rich and deep tradition in the arts, applied arts and antiques.
Our high quality and eclectic stock includes hair accessories upto the 1980s, as well as such ethnic examples as Spanish mantilla combs, Indonesian bridal headpieces and Japanese kanzashi.
For every item on sale we aim to provide full descriptive information and photographs. Wherever possible we also include illustrations from contemporary sources showing how the objects were used and worn. We also provide references to background articles where you can learn more about the product and the period in which it was made.
To access many articles which I have written about combs and hair accessories click the FAVORITE LINKS tab on the left of this page. There you will find a data archive with downloadable PDF documents.
SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE
I have collected antiques, (particularly jewellery, hair and costume accessories) for over 50 years.
I am the author of a book and many articles and papers on hair accessories. I have researched my subject deeply, and visited major British and European museums and libraries to view their collections and to learn about my field.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
I owe my interest in antiques to the influence of my grandmother. The wife of a diplomat, she lived in India and the Middle East in the days of the old British Empire and brought back many souvenirs from her travels. As a child I played in her house among her wonderful possessions, and grew up with a deep love of exotic fabrics and richly inlaid decoration. Like grandma before me I was fascinated by Islamic art and architecture and the culture of countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Iran which it is difficult to visit nowadays. I was fortunate to be able to visit these places in more peaceful times.
As a young woman, I haunted antique shops and fairs and began buying Victorian jewelry and small objects which appealed to me. My first career as a librarian gave me access to literature which enabled me to research my interest in jewellery and costume. When grandma passed in the early 1970s, I inherited much of her furniture and her vast collection of accessories. I also continued with my own collecting interests in costume and vintage jewellery until my home was stuffed from top to bottom! It is probably true to say that I was an obsessive antique shopper.
For some years my collections sat neglected in boxes in my attic while I pursued my second career as an academic. In 2004 I retired from employed work and my thoughts turned to how I could profitably spend my time. I remembered the collections. I also remembered my grandmother's wise words that you "cannot take it with you" when you pass. The truth is that we never really own antiques - we are are simply the curators of them for the time that they are in our possession.
Time now to pass on my vast collections of antique and vintage hair ornaments, jewellery and dress accessories. Time for these wonderful items to go out into the world to find new owners who will enjoy them in their turn.
I hope you enjoy visiting with me at THE SPANISH COMB.
