An Early 20thC Brass Millinery Hat Stand; Annie Gold; French Milliner; Spitalfields, London

SOLD
Origin: English
Period: Early 20thC
Provenance: Annie Gold; French Milliner; Spitalfields, London
Date: c.1910-25
Height: 43”
Width: 24”
Depth: 22” (all at extremities)

The tubular brass milliners hat stand with eight revolving detachable arms for the displaying of hats in a shop setting, the heads being a mixture of wood or metal, some with felt coverings, the whole on a draught turned circular base and hailing from the collection of items removed from the former milliners shop of Annie Gold, 42 Brushfield Street, Spitalfields, London.

The stand is in decent overall order; one of the arms is lacking as there should be nine, rather than eight. There is some small loss to the circular base as photographed and some of the heads are tatty but elsewhere all operates as it should and remains un-meddled with.

Built in the 1780's, the four-storey Grade II-listed house of 42 Brushfield Street has been home in the past to diamond-cutters, furriers, boot makers, drapers, book-binders and Amelia Gold, an Hungarian Jew who ran a French millinery business. Her 1880's sign written frontage was still visible across the frontage until recently where it has unfortunately been painted over, much to the horror of locals. In 2000 Ian and Safia Thomas created a unique delicatessen on the ground floor, taking its name from Amelia Gold.

Annie Gold and her husband Jacob arrived in London in the late 19th century as Jewish Polish Russian Immigrants from Eastern Europe. They were one couple of tens of thousands who arrived into Spitalfields during that time, fleeing persecution. Annie set up her shop, a French Milliner; hat makers which would’ve been in good company with the concentration of fabric trade in Spitalfields at that time. In the 1800s there were 65 independent, small businesses along Brushfield Street. They included a watchmaker, furriers, confectioners, cheesemonger, a fried fish dealer and an undertaker. Annie and Jacob were at the property from 1889 to 1892, living above their shop which dates this piece rather succinctly.

This item would have been added to the shop front at a later date, as the shop retained the Annie Gold sign written display, we imagine this would have been added to hark back to the days in whence she operated.

A scare piece, whether used as intended, or simply as a sculptural planetarium of sorts.
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