Arthur Girling Grimwade FSASalon (Society of Antiquaries of London Online Newsletter) #71; published February 14, 2020; retrieved October 15, 2023 (10 February 1913 in London"Obituary: Arthur Grimwade; Leading expert in historic plate.", by Philippa Glanville; in The Independent; December 17, 2002; p. 18 – 21 November 2002)Arthur Grimwade - World-renowned silver expert generous with his expertise, by Terry Mullaly, in The Guardian; published December 17, 2002; retrieved October 15, 2023 was a British antiquarian known for his work in the history of silversmithing and goldsmithing, a field in which he was "highly respected""Silver in London: the Parker and Wakelin Partnership 1760-1776", reviewed by Pippa Shirley; in Apollo, vol. 161, no. 516; published February 2005 and a "world authority"."Millions Under the Hammer", by Richard Seddon, in the Birmingham Post; published 4 December 1965; p. 10 He spent 20 years writing the reference work London Goldsmiths 1697-1837: Their Marks & Lives, which was published in 1976;London Goldsmiths, 1697–1837. Their Marks and Lives. By Arthur G. Grimwade. Pp. x + 728 + 8 pls. London: Faber & Faber, 1976. £35., reviewed by Graham Hughes, in The Antiquaries Journal; volume 57, no. 1, March 1977; p. 146; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003581500031097 he also wrote numerous other reference works and scholarly articles, beginning with a 1947 article in Country Life about items in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum.
In 1932, Grimwade began work at Christie's auction house (despite his father having wanted him to work at the Bank of England); as a trainee, his salary was £1 a week."Arthur Grimwade", in The Times; published December 3, 2002; p. 34 After serving in the Second World War as a signaller, he returned to Christie's in 1946. On 30 April 1954, he was promoted to director," New Directors Of Christie's", in The Times; published 1 May 1954; p. 3 a position he held until 1979. During this time, he worked with Guy Hannen, "Getting the Feel of Antiques", by Vivian Brown (Associated Press); in the Clovis News-Journal; published 14 July 1977; p. 19 and, while valuating the assets of Burghley House, discovered the artefact now known as the Burghley Nef "neglected and black in a cellar".
In "the 1950s", Grimwade joined the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, where he was "the first person to be given official access to their mark books, [which were] until then a secret in-house resource;" in 1984, he served as the Goldsmiths' Prime Warden.
In 1953, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, and in 1962, he was honorary curator for the Honourable Artillery Company."News of the Day: Silver" in The Age; 20 February 1962; p. 2
In 1971, he visited California, serving as a guest lecturer in silver artefacts at the University of California, Davis."UCD Extension Course antique lovers' dream", in the Woodland Daily Democrat; published September 30, 1971; p. 6
References
External links Arthur Grimwade, interviewed in 1989 at the British Library Sound Archive