The Annual General Meeting for the year ending 30 June 2025 will be held at the East India Club. The AGM will start at 11.00 am (coffee from 10.30 am).

Talks will follow the business of the day:

Jo Sovin and Peter Fisher - ‘Tales from the Frederick Parker Collection Archive’ Jo is the Collections Manager for the Frederick Parker Collection and Archive, and Peter is the Outreach Manager for Special Collections at London Metropolitan University, where the Collection and Archive have been housed since 2002. Their illustrated talk will explore the history and uses of the Archive, and they will focus on a number of fascinating stories which show the breadth of this material, and its value as a resource for education and research.

'Furniture restoration and furniture restorers: an oral history - Yannick Chastang, furniture conservator, Stephanie Auffret, The Getty Conservation Institute.' The aim of this project is to interview private restorers to (re)create a bridge between the dying traditional craft of restoration and the more formal conservation carried out by conservators / curators.  The recordings and the outcomes of this project are numerous.  All recordings will not only be archived, they will be easily available and searchable for future generations.  Compilations of specific aspects (glues / gluing; wax / varnish / French polish; cleaning bronzes…) will become articles or more ambitious publications.

Other speakers include Victoria Bradley, curatorial Team Operations Coordinator Performance, Fashion, Furniture & Textiles Department, V&A. Further details in the November FHS Newsletter and on the FHS website later in the year.

Admission to the AGM is free for members but all members wishing to attend should notify the Events Secretary at least 7 days in advance. Tickets for a sandwich lunch with a glass of wine at the price of £24 per head should be booked with the Events Secretary at least 7 days in advance.

Frederick Parker Collection Archive