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Georgina Gough

Georgina Gough of R.A. Lee, London, established 1949.

Georgina Gough

A conversation between Georgina Gough and project lead Mark Westgarth. This interview is the fifth interview in an extension to the Oral Histories project, called 'BADA Voices', and which is supported by the British Antique Dealers' Association.

Georgina Gough is the daugther of the well-known antique dealer and former BADA member Ronald A Lee, and started working for her father in 1976.  Ronald Lee was the son of the antique dealer Henry Morton Lee, who established an antique dealing business in the 1920s, trading as H.M. Lee & Sons in Kingston-on-Thames, before Ronald Lee began trading on his own in 1949; Ronald was later joined by his brother Charles Lee in the late 1960s.

During this fascinating interview Georgina tells us about the history of the Lee family of antique dealing businesses, how her grandfather, Henry Morton Lee, began as a hairdresser to King Edward VII in c.1904, before starting his antique dealing business with his brother Morton Henry Lee. Georgina's father, Roland Lee, was one of the most influential antique dealers of his generation, as well as being one of the leading experts on the Knibb family of clockmakers.

Georgina calls on her wealth of experience of working in the antique trade, having worked for several high-profile dealers such as Brand Inglis and Stair & Company during the 1990s and early 2000s, recalling her memories of major members of the trade and of working with her father and brother during the 1970s and 1980s.

Photograph courtesy of Georgina Gough, 2016.