Dealer Nigel Talbot, who runs the distinctive yellow-fronted shop, toasted the milestone with colleagues and friends of the shop at a recent Christmas party and dinner.
He told ATG that his success came down to “a very good staff and my wife who has been at the shop 30 years. She does a lot of the back-office work and she’s very good at sales. It allows me to go out buying.” He also credited the quiet but central location of the shop.
A 40th anniversary catalogue was released with more than 420 items, including a selection of good-quality satire prints, most of which have already sold.
The recent Christmas party at Grosvenor Prints.
Looking back, Talbot added, the trade has changed.
“We’ve lost our European buyers because of changes of taste – Italy used to be the biggest force in the antiques trade,” he said. He added that among the biggest challenges at the moment is the dramatic rise in rates for the shop.
“The rateable value is now higher than the rent. We’ve gone to appeal over it twice and now it’s gone to tribunal,” he said.
“If you’re running a small business it’s very difficult,” he added. “I’m getting to the age where I should step back, but I don’t think dealers ever retire.”
