Page 8 - Reginald and Lena Palmer Collection EXHIBITION, Bonhams London Oct 25 to November 2 2021

Collection in Context:

The Early Palmer Years

Colin Sheaf

The RHR Palmer Collection is regarded as one of the London) ensured that cakes baked one afternoon would be
most important collections of Chinese ceramics in Britain available for sale in Paris early the next morning, which was at
of its time. Principally formed from 1924, when Reginald the time a remarkable logistical achievement.
(‘RHR’) Palmer married Lena Cobham, until the 1960’s, the
collection included important Song dynasty monochromes, Huntley and Palmers’ products were supported by a subtle
Ming porcelain, and smaller Imperial and other works of art branding campaign, including commissioning striking designs
including enamels and jade carvings. to decorate the distinctive, airtight metal tins which helped
strengthen the brand of this instantly recognisable company
What is not widely known is that part of the RHR Palmer as well as increasing the shelf life of the perishable product.
Collection was formed by the previous generation of Palmers These tins themselves have now become collectors’ items!
– Reggie’s parents, W. Howard Palmer (1865-1923) and his
wife Ada (1870-1953). The success of the firm enabled members of the family to
indulge their passion for collecting. (William) Howard Palmer
Howard Palmer’s forbears were George and Samuel Palmer was chairman in the 1890s and throughout the First World
who came from yeoman Quaker stock in Somerset and were War. It was in fact this Palmer, not his collector-son Reginald
responsible for the founding and success of the famous 19th (born in 1898) who assembled the first phase of the Chinese
century biscuit manufacturing firm Huntley and Palmers. art collection. In 1893 he married Ada Reed, and they
Both Howard Palmer and his son Reggie were, in their turn, acquired a large mid-Victorian mansion near Wokingham,
Chairmen of the firm. in Berkshire, within easy reach of the factory. In pride of
place, dominating the drawing room, stood a huge Georgian
The firm of Huntley and Palmers grew rapidly from its mahogany display cabinet, full of late 17th century ‘famille
founding in 1841 (it was previously a humble bakery run verte’ powder-blue-ground porcelain. Howard Palmer and
by the Huntley family) to become a world leader in the his new wife subscribed enthusiastically to what was a newly
production and export of a huge variety of biscuits and rediscovered taste for colourful ‘Chinese export’ porcelain.
cakes. The firm was almost a national treasure in late 19th
century England, and was frequently winning medals at Historically, Chinese art and antiques had been seen in
the then fashionable international exhibitions (London, country houses since the 18th century. The taste at that
1851, 1898; Paris 1867, 1878, 1900; Vienna 1873). The time was for the ‘Brighton Pavilion’ look - striking sets of
company’s cakes and biscuits “were scrupulously prepared famille rose vases and elaborate armorial dinner services,
and packed and defied time and climate” – in contrast to commissioned by a distant ancestor who had prospered in
their French counterparts which “were sweet, showy and London’s new banking and merchant elite, or made enough
succulent but after a day or two lost their gloss, their flavour money from industrial and agrarian innovation to redecorate
and their crispness, becoming limp, sour, dry and tasteless”. a pre-1750s English country house in whimsical chinoiserie
These characteristics chimed with the scientific advances rococo style. Such porcelain then often remained on display,
of the period: new methods of prolonging food freshness unmoved (and perhaps unloved), for many decades.
allowed staple agricultural exports to be shipped without
deterioration from the American Midwest to Europe; and new By the 1850s, the taste for the ‘Brighton Pavilion’ look had
railway networks were serving more extensive domestic and waned, and 18th century Chinese export porcelain was largely
overseas markets. ignored by museum specialists and traditional collectors.

The innovative components of Huntley and Palmers’ However, early Victorian taste had moved on, and a radical
commercial success were twofold: an integrated and elaborate reassessment was made of the old Chinese art and antiques
continuous-baking facility; and the company’s ability to ship languishing in country houses. From the middle of the 19th
its products by rail overnight into Europe, using cross-channel century a new regime of British collectors began to emerge,
ferries. 35 acres of railway marshalling yards within the educated by visiting the increasing numbers of major
company’s factory at Reading, in Berkshire (30 miles west of international trade exhibitions which brought fine examples of

6 | BONHAMS