A successful butcher who ended up with a string of butcher shops, Ben Bradbury also displayed a love of fine things from an early age, saving his apprentice wages to buy a Rolex watch.
He was born in 1914 in Camperdown and at 14 left school to start as an apprentice butcher. By the time he was 20, Mr Bradbury had purchased his first butchery in High Street, St Kilda. Others soon followed and before long his portfolio included shopfronts in Collingwood, Glen Waverley, Canterbury, Ashburton and St Kilda.
Mr Bradbury was a true local identity and much admired by the community. In the early 1960s moved to North Balwyn where over the next 50 years he amassed an eclectic collection – which comes up for auction at E.J Ainger Pty Ltd’s special sale from noon July 30 and 31 at 433 Bridge Road, Richmond.
A founding member of the Balwyn Rotary Club, Mr Bradbury also was heavily involved in charitable work and the driving force behind the establishment of the Camberwell Sunday Market.
Amongst the items for auction is a 1758 soft paste Sevres vase (Lot 504 ) that once belonged to Dame Mabel Brooks. Each week, Dame Mabel would send the vase from Elm Tree House in South Yarra to well-known florist John Holdsworth (later Kevin O’Neil) to be filled with flowers and returned.
Another highlight is the Victorian kingwood Louis XV Bureau de Dame (Lot 641 ) from a London cabinetmaker that carries a provenance from antique dealer Max Kerry some 40 years ago.
Auction goers should be interested in the large clock collection, of which a 19th century French ‘Farret a Paris’ ormolu mantel clock (Lot 634 ) surmounted by a courting couple wearing 16th century costume is a prime example.
Another is the English 18th century mahogany longcase tide clock (Lot 162 ) with moon phase by Philip Lloyd of Bristol. The clock was used to measure tide heights at Bristol Quay for loading and unloading ships.
A third is an exceptional George III ebonised mahogany chiming bracket clock (Lot 62 ) by Brown of Birmingham.
Amongst the furniture is an 1850s French Napoleon III Boulle credenza (Lot 633 ) that belonged to World War II hero Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop (purchased by his father in 1907), an early Victorian mahogany serving table by Strahan of Dublin (Lot 653 ) and about 15 items from the estate of the late Norma Lech who owned Crest Antiques in Balwyn, including a 19th century Louis XV style vitrine (Lot 550 ).
