The interesting tale of Arthur Royston Parker and his feet. To my wife Rachel, her Uncle Arthur was always an interesting figure, although strictly speaking he was her Great Uncle. She remembers him from her childhood days and he was always very generous towards her. I am posting this for two reasons: firstly for the benefit of anyone searching for details on the internet for Arthur Royston Parker and secondly, to share something of our latest declutttering in our FIRE lifestyle.
Born in 1902 in Norfolk, Rachel as a child remembers he died during 1972 and he lived in his flat in Lennox Gardens, London. Uncle Arthur was from her father’s mothers side of the family. Actually both sides of Rachel’s family are well known to her with rather interesting links to middle and upper classes, nobility and even royalty spanning many centuries.
Uncle Arthur was a bachelor from a middle class background and by profession was a tea trader, spending much of his career in India from 1923. Through being a tea trader he became quite affluent and there are some signs, even today, of his good taste.
Our matching bed side lamps are from Uncle Arthur’s estate. They are about 2 feet tall and modelled on Nelson’s column, probably made of soap stone. They are very elegant and would have been perfectly at home in a Art Deco 1930s fashionable flat near Harrods.
For myself I have a beautiful navy blue jumper, made of the finest wool which was once his. I feel most privileged whenever I wear it. We even have a couple of tea towels which, frankly, are so well made and still in regular use all these years later. They are embroidered bearing his monogram.
The above shoe last are actually the latest thing to find their way through to eBay for our decluttering. We have no use of them and our house isn’t really big enough to have these on display, although I think they would look nice in the right setting. They are about to be listed on eBay, so if you want them you’ll need to get in contact as soon as possible.
The shoe lasts are made in India and were part of the process of having shoes made in the exact size and shape to ensure the perfect fit. As you can see, they are for feet which are of a large size and very slender. We actually have a few of these and certainly bring back thoughts of a life in a different era.
There is only a very little about Arthur Royston Parker on the web according to Google and we shouldn’t be surprised at this. Nevertheless he is remembered by Rachel as I have outlined and naturally we’d be very pleased to hear from anyone with a connection in any way.
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