Fifties clothes from Peter Leathers collection lead auction sale

​The Peter Leathers Collection of 1950s Menswear led Tennants Auctioneers’ Costume, Accessories and Textiles Sale this month, selling for a total hammer price of £8,280 for 25 lots, doubling the mid-estimate (all figures exclude buyer’s premium).
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Aug 2023, 15:55 BST
Samples of Circa 1950s and later Gents' American Casual Clothing – sold for £850Samples of Circa 1950s and later Gents' American Casual Clothing – sold for £850
Samples of Circa 1950s and later Gents' American Casual Clothing – sold for £850

The collection was put together over a lifetime by the late Peter Leathers, a fashion designer, jewellery maker and guitarist from West Yorkshire, who was a devotee of the era.

With a focus on fashion from the American Deep South, he sought out original garments and ephemera from the region. Keen to collect authentic pieces, he purchased much of his menswear collection from old ‘Mom & Pop’ shops, or from estate sales.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While many pieces in the collection were worn regularly by Peter, there were numerous unworn collector’s items, with original tags.

Circa 1970s Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Crochet Garments – sold for £900Circa 1970s Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Crochet Garments – sold for £900
Circa 1970s Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Crochet Garments – sold for £900

Strong prices were achieved, with notable results for a group of circa 1950s Men’s American Suits, Jackets and Trousers, which sold for £750 against an estimate of £120-180, and a group of circa 1950s Gent’s American Casual Clothing, which sold for £850.

Further items from the Peter Leathers Collection, including 1950s guitars, amps and radios, will feature in Tennants’ Scientific and Musical Instruments Sale on September 27.

Ladies’ costumes of the era continue to be popular, with printed cotton day dresses in demand. A group lot of 12 dresses including examples by Peggy Page and Daleware sold for £550 against an estimate of £150-250, and another12 dresses, some by Horrockses Fashions and Alice Edwards Italian, sold for £650.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

An eye catching outfit in the sale was a 1970s crochet matching short and tank top set in vibrant orange, red and blue made by Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Sold alongside a crochet tank top by the same label, the outfits sold for £900.

Late 19th Century F.H. Ayres of London Rocking Horse – sold for £4,200Late 19th Century F.H. Ayres of London Rocking Horse – sold for £4,200
Late 19th Century F.H. Ayres of London Rocking Horse – sold for £4,200

The top individual lot of the sale was an unrestored dapple grey rocking horse, made in the late 19th century by F.H. Ayres, the most revered maker of the era (sold for £4,200).

F.H. Ayres produced fine rocking horses from 1880-1940 in Aldgate, London. While some early models were stamped, most rocking horses are unmarked, but can be recognised for their finely carved heads with fragile lower jaw, fine slender legs and well-proportioned bodies, sloping rumps, and a turned ring around the top of the stand pillars.

Among the antique textiles were two Schoolgirl Alphabet Samplers worked in black on white by Elizabeth Hewson with sister Hannah, from Newtown School in Wales, that sold for £650, and a Late 17th Century Band Sampler, sold for £480.

An Early 20th Century Chinese Embroidered Wall Hanging sold for £450. The sale achieved a total hammer price of £52,630 and a 96 per cent sold rate for 253 lots.