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Howard Hope (Gramophones) in Antiques & Collectibles Suppliers Directory

 

After leaving Exeter University in the early 1970. I spent some time touring the country performing in folk clubs. I was interested in Ragtime then, and my travels allowed me to visit antique shops in all parts to seek out 78 records of that material. Naturally, I needed machines on which to play the records and at that time neither held much if any value. I was able to build a large collection often bought from the very people who had bought them new. Many items were literally given to me rather than being destroyed or dumped. I learned a huge amount from these original owners as well as gaining access to all sorts of material which is now almost unfindable. By 1975 my Devon cottage was full to bursting with my finds. My French degree allowed me to go buying in France where I often took my Morris Traveller after graduating. I became known as the mad Englishman who bought gramophones and French dealers at times literally chased me down the streets of Clignancourt (Paris’s monster weekend antiques market) demanding that I come to their stall to see their stock. In 1976 I opened my first shop in Battersea ‘The Collector on Lavender Hill’ in partnership with the toy specialist Stuart Cropper. Despite its south-of-the-Thames location the shop became well known all over the world with many visitors from America and the Far East. 1977 saw the Centenary of Edison’s invention of the phonograph which triggered fresh interest in the hobby.

 

Telephone: 020 8398 7130
Website: http://www.gramophones.uk.com/