Meet the Expert
Joseph Trinder is a general valuer and cataloguer at Halls Fine Art in Shrewsbury
I fell into the world of antiques
and auctions quite by accident. A chance visit to a Cotswolds salesroom hosting a proceeds-ofcrime sale of ! ne, early !shing tackle had me hooked at the age of 14. It was like a museum where I could handle the artefacts.
My role at Halls as a general
valuer and cataloguer sees me covering home-visit valuations and consignment appointments. I assist clients with valuations for probate, insurance and market appraisal, together with cataloguing across our collective and specialist sales, sale photography and exploring new avenues of business.
A typical day might be valuation appointments across Shropshire and Wales, before arriving back at base to book in the day’s discoveries and starting to research and catalogue them for sale.
I most love the thrill of
auction day, taking to the rostrum and the pride in a job well done at the fall of the gavel.
My proudest moment as an
auctioneer was the discovery and sale of a collection of hammered English gold and silver coins that reached over £250k. This and selling at annual charity events hosted by my father to raise funds for Parkinson’s disease research. I wish I could have bought a Second World War-period watercolour portrait of a Great Dane named Juliana, with the blue cross medals that she won for twice saving her owners from incendiary bombs during the Blitz. She was then tragically poisoned a"er the war. The broken-hearted owners never identi !ed the culprit. The group sold for £1,200 or so. I am a collector of miscellany, whether it’s First World War militaria or a Cotswolds oak ecclesiastical lectern to house the cookery books in my kitchen!