Good afternoon, Milliners...
My name is Dana McIntosh and I live in Chestermere, near Calgary. Before I reach out to my antique store contacts, I thought I would check with you all first...
I have a selection of vintage wood head blocks labelled 'Rubans de Paris' (circa 1920 - 60s) of 39a Maddox Street, London W1. My Mum acquired these in London, second hand in about 1970. At the time, Mum was doing her City & Guilds Certification in Millinery in order to teach Adult Education in the UK, having been a Milliner in Canada a number of years.
I have available four domed-tip crown blocks, four wooden stands, one flat-tip crown block, two collars, and two assorted cloche brim blocks. I have no providence to corroborate, but do remember Mum telling me that the rounded cloche block was used by the Milliner to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother's Milliner to make that popular upswept brim we so often saw adorning her.
I see online online prices for these vintage millinery blocks fetch in the region of $230 each (hence my thoughts to approach an antique dealer).
It is my wish to see the collection sold entirely in a single lot sale, and I know my Mum would be so happy if a Milliner would continue to hone her talents and creative joy using her tools of the trade. Based on pricing research, I am offering elements in the picture at the low firm price of CAD$1,000 cash, all in. (As an antique value, they are worth much higher... especially in a N. American market) If you are in the Calgary area, I will go so far as to deliver to your address personally (they're not light!).
My email is Danoise@hotmail.com for further enquiries.
Sincerely, Dana