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| Guardian man's deer heads go up for sale | Guardian man's deer heads go up for sale |
| (30 days later) | |
| One of the last things that Guardian readers might expect to be associated with their – your – paper is a collection of deer heads and antler trophies, but life is full of surprises. | One of the last things that Guardian readers might expect to be associated with their – your – paper is a collection of deer heads and antler trophies, but life is full of surprises. |
| More than 60 of the mournful-looking items are to be auctioned in Newcastle tomorrow, Wednesday 30 January, with a provenance full of references to ourselves. | More than 60 of the mournful-looking items are to be auctioned in Newcastle tomorrow, Wednesday 30 January, with a provenance full of references to ourselves. |
| They are the main part of a trove amassed by Harry Tegner who was one of the great Guardian Country Diarists of the last century and had a particular, curious distinction. He was the only writer of the column ever to pass on the job to one of his offspring (although the civil servant Will Arnold Foster delegated the column in the 1930s to his wife Katherine, who was a lot better at it than he was). | They are the main part of a trove amassed by Harry Tegner who was one of the great Guardian Country Diarists of the last century and had a particular, curious distinction. He was the only writer of the column ever to pass on the job to one of his offspring (although the civil servant Will Arnold Foster delegated the column in the 1930s to his wife Katherine, who was a lot better at it than he was). |
| When Tegner decided to call it a day in 1977, he asked if his daughter Veronica Heath might take over, as an acknowledged writer herself on Northumberland with an output beginning to resemble his own – he wrote more than 40 books of which my favourite is Beasts of the North Country: from Whales to Shrews. Our then editor Peter Preston suggested that she send a trial one in and, as Heath told me a couple of years ago, over one of the excellent fish pies which she knocked up well into her eighties: "I did and heard not a word but have carried on ever since." | When Tegner decided to call it a day in 1977, he asked if his daughter Veronica Heath might take over, as an acknowledged writer herself on Northumberland with an output beginning to resemble his own – he wrote more than 40 books of which my favourite is Beasts of the North Country: from Whales to Shrews. Our then editor Peter Preston suggested that she send a trial one in and, as Heath told me a couple of years ago, over one of the excellent fish pies which she knocked up well into her eighties: "I did and heard not a word but have carried on ever since." |
| You can read more about her here and remind yourself of some of her diaries here. | You can read more about her here and remind yourself of some of her diaries here. |
| She inherited the deer heads and antlers as well in due course and passed them on, at her death last year, to her son Simon Blackett who has sent them for auction at Anderson and Garland along with papers and books from Tegner's heyday as the foremost authority on deer in the UK. He says: | She inherited the deer heads and antlers as well in due course and passed them on, at her death last year, to her son Simon Blackett who has sent them for auction at Anderson and Garland along with papers and books from Tegner's heyday as the foremost authority on deer in the UK. He says: |
| They showcase some of the more unusual trophies which my grandfather was able to amass. He recognised early on that there was greater value in securing the uncommon, rather than purely gathering by size. | They showcase some of the more unusual trophies which my grandfather was able to amass. He recognised early on that there was greater value in securing the uncommon, rather than purely gathering by size. |
| Following my mother's death last year, my siblings and I have kept the deer heads and trophies with the most sentimental value but are unable to house the rest. We very much hope those up for auction will go to homes where they will be appreciated decoratively or to a private collector who will enjoy them too | Following my mother's death last year, my siblings and I have kept the deer heads and trophies with the most sentimental value but are unable to house the rest. We very much hope those up for auction will go to homes where they will be appreciated decoratively or to a private collector who will enjoy them too |
| . | . |
| The Guardian Northerner may not circulate widely in such markets, but Tegner was in a long and honourable tradition of rural writers whose knowledge of wild animals was enhanced by hunting them. Arthur Ransome wrote magically about fishing and George Muller followed otter hounds in the Lake District and was the UK's acknowledged expert on the subject. He was defended robustly by C.P.Scott against readers' protests but lost a guinea a week when the great editor finally bowed to organised pressure, led by Quakers, and dropped Muller's separate hunting column. Julian Thomson of Anderson and Garland says: | The Guardian Northerner may not circulate widely in such markets, but Tegner was in a long and honourable tradition of rural writers whose knowledge of wild animals was enhanced by hunting them. Arthur Ransome wrote magically about fishing and George Muller followed otter hounds in the Lake District and was the UK's acknowledged expert on the subject. He was defended robustly by C.P.Scott against readers' protests but lost a guinea a week when the great editor finally bowed to organised pressure, led by Quakers, and dropped Muller's separate hunting column. Julian Thomson of Anderson and Garland says: |
| This is a very special lot that has a fascinating history and is certain to appeal to collectors. The deer heads and antler trophies have a clear provenance and Tegner was extremely well known, not least from his role as the president of the British Deer Society and his membership of Morpeth Hunt. | This is a very special lot that has a fascinating history and is certain to appeal to collectors. The deer heads and antler trophies have a clear provenance and Tegner was extremely well known, not least from his role as the president of the British Deer Society and his membership of Morpeth Hunt. |
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