Mary (Pollie) Cowsill circa 1880s-1970s was born in mid-Wales, went to Paris age 20 to train in millinery.  On her return she lived in Withington, South Manchester with her three sisters, buying a shop in the town on the High Street called Cowsill, where she sold her hats alongside clothes and accessories.  In the early days of Cowsill many of her patrons arrived in horse and carriage.  The vendor recalls being a child in the 1940s and visiting the shop, fascinated with the communication system of tubes and a mouthpiece, which when you blew through it sent a whistle to the workroom upstairs, therefore alerting the workroom upstairs and they could then converse.  Mary lived a full and happy life passing away at 97.  The items being sold have been in storage for over 50 years and include, hats, hat nets, trims, feathers, silk flowers, silk, velvets, and other accessories.

Six lots from Stephen King (1948-2022), designed for his 'Submission of testimonies of study by applicants for admission to the Royal College of Art', he graduated from here in 1972.  In the early 1980s, King was a founder-member of the English Menswear Designer Collections (EMDC) group of talents. This included Roger Dack, Charlie Allen, Stephen Linard, Stuart Hudson, Anne Smith, Modzart, Molto! and Su Thomas of Sioux.  King had a small shop on King's Road, Chelsea from where he dressed celebrities of the day, including Elton John. His speciality was bright and bold shirts under the Otto label.  The designs are hand drawn and coloured watercolours with these stylised figures modelling suits, casual wear, swimwear, and nightwear.  In the latter part of his career, he moved into education and was a fashion lecturer at the University of Ulster in Belfast for around 8 years.

Greta Tomlinson was born in Burnley Lancashire 1927, was a pioneer for women of her day, a gifted artist whose approach to life was fearless at a time when female artists were not fully recognised for their true talent. Greta was a superb draftswoman, artist and true colourist who lived and worked in many different countries, loved traveling, painting, writing, and recording everything she saw. Always elegant and sophisticated, Greta had a very keen eye for fashion and design which lead her to preserve a collection of distinctive period clothes and shoes belonging to both her and her mother.  She studied at Burnley School of Art and went onto be one of the youngest students to be accepted to the Slade School of Fine Art, aged just 16. She studied in Oxford at the Ashmolean Museum when the Slade was relocated during the second world war, and back in London after the war.

She is perhaps best known for her work as one of the original artists at the beloved 1950’s Eagle Magazine featuring Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, in which Greta became the role model for Professor Peabody in the series, the only female scientist and member of the space crew. A truly groundbreaking role for a woman at that time.  Greta applied for the job at Frank Hampson’s studio in Southport, working on the concept for The Eagle magazine.  She recalled her first impression on the studio at The Bakehouse, “I arrived to find that the studio was a lean-to shed that had once been a bakery. It was very, very basic, with a flagstone floor, and a tin roof and only cold running water in the corner. It was freezing cold in the winter and boiling hot in the summer, however when I saw Frank’s work on the board, I knew I just had to have this job!” Greta was offered the job at £4 10/- a week. Initially, based in Southport, Hampson’s small team produced “Dan Dare”, “Rob Conway” and “Tommy Wallis” for the weekly comic.

In 1954/5 Greta worked as a Fashion Artist at Rowntrees Department Store in Scarborough, where her work was often published in The Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Life Magazine. She was delighted when one particular outfit sold out after her illustration in the newspaper.

Her life took her to live abroad, flying for the first time very much into the unknown, to meet up with her future husband in Baghdad where they married in 1956.  Living in Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria and Spain she travelled extensively throughout Europe and North Africa, always recording experiences through her art in watercolour, oils, acrylics, collage and sculpture. People, design and colour were her inspiration, and her work exploded into vibrant colour after her first visit to Morocco.

Greta had an intelligent and enquiring mind and was an independent and forward thinker.  She never stopped painting and recording what she saw throughout her life, even when she was tragically losing her sight from Macular Degeneration in her later years.  She won many prizes and has exhibited throughout England and abroad, her work is held in many private collections.

 A private collection of English and American 1940s costume, comprising suits, evening and day wear, separates and accessories, including the labels Lilli Ann, Young Cosmopolitans, Katsman, London Maid, John Wannamaker, and later Horrockses cotton dresses.

A collection of 1950s mainly English 1950s costume, comprising suits, evening and day wear, separates and accessories including the labels Nurama by Windermere, Lilli Ann, Koret of California, Anne Fogarty, Pixie of California etc

Click here to find out more about consigning to upcoming sales