Bridget Pettecrew

Like Platform 9 ¾, Charing Cross Market is hidden away from the crowds and only materialises on Saturdays. Discerning collectors and curious visitors...welcome!

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

Hung from bedposts and lockers, military duty plates showed when a soldier was absent for good reason. Discover the story behind these brass survivors of barrack life. #Militaria #collecting From our blog https://t.co/oE9kktycLc

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀
Close to stamp collecting, cover collecting reveals stamps in their intended use - complete with routes, censor marks, seals, charity labels and the stories picked up along the way. Even an empty envelope can be full of history. #collecting #philately

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

A 100 million mark banknote sounds like wealth - until you meet Weimar Germany in 1923. This inflation-era note even became a political leaflet, with its reverse used for DNVP propaganda after the currency had almost lost meaning. #banknotes #collecting

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

A tiny toy with a grand backstory. This 1953 Lesney Coronation Coach captures the pageantry of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and marks a key moment in the early story of Matchbox. #london #collecting

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

A banknote was once exactly that: a note from a bank. These rare Lincoln Bank one pound notes from 1813-1814 are hand cut, hand signed and full of the marks of real use. Tiny pieces of paper with a huge amount of trust behind them. https://t.co/kollx4oEcm
#Banknotes #collecting

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻
Before phones, Decimal Day made everyday shopping feel like a maths test. This Kingston Four-Rule Pocket Calculator is a charming relic from the age of shillings, new pence and pocket-sized problem solving. #collecting

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

A German propaganda leaflet dated December 1944, possibly designed for artillery dispersal, reveals how wartime words were fired as carefully as shells.
https://t.co/oE9kktycLc #propaganda

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

A 1933 Indian half anna may be a modest coin, but still mounted in its original Free Kindergarten Appeal card, it becomes a lovely little survivor of charity, childhood and British India. Read more: https://t.co/oE9kktycLc #collecting #coins

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀
Tiny in size, huge in nostalgia. Wade Whimsies turned post-war pottery into a collecting craze, with animals, cartoon favourites and Christmas cracker surprises. #WadeWhimsies #Collecting https://t.co/aAKBVVeTxi

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

A postcard from grief-stricken history. In the days after the Titanic sank in April 1912, mourning postcards were printed as keepsakes, tributes and acts of remembrance. #titanic #collecting https://t.co/kollx4oEcm

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

Five 19th-century coins. Drilled, threaded, and kept together for over a century.
A collector’s nightmare… or a story waiting to be told?
#collecting https://t.co/ClS2bF4Hw7

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

From beer bottle labels in WW1 cockpits to 32 aces in a single squadron, RAF crests carry stories far bigger than their size.

#RAF #collecting

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

From printed stamps to stitched badges - the same symbol, the same message.

These WWII Polish issues chart a nation fighting across continents, ending with the Warsaw Uprising and the defiant ‘Maid of Warsaw’. #philately #collecting

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝘀
A coronation badge can mark more than a ceremony - it can mark a constitutional plot twist. These Edward VIII and George VI pieces show how abruptly history changed in 1936-37, and why rushed souvenirs can be the hard to find

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

Freemasonry has always thrived on symbolism and ceremony. This Scottish 18th Degree jewel, worn on an embroidered sash, brings together crown, cross, swan and pelican in a remarkable piece of regalia craftsmanship. From our blog. https://t.co/oE9kktycLc

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

𝗦𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲
A 1917 Egyptian 50 piastres coin transformed into a personal WWI identity bracelet for a Royal Army Medical Corps Territorial soldier. A small object with a powerful story behind it. Read more on our blog.
#Militaria #collecting

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

From Mohegan Avenue to the front line – an early WWII US identity disc pair with full next-of-kin details. Even the groove has a story to tell. #collecting #dogtags

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

Tiny collectables, huge history. From early 1900s brass and steel thimbles to wartime Bakelite “housewife” kit pieces - plus a brilliant 5-cent Coca-Cola advertising example. 🧵✨
#Collecting #thimbles

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

A tiny Roman glass intaglio - just 1.7cm across - found on the Thames foreshore. A lion, a sun, and a seriously sharp-eyed discovery. Hard to believe this once belonged to Londinium. 🦁 #collecting #London

[Bridget Pettecrew @charingmarket]

𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗕𝗮𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
A humble British Army side cap with an unexpected twist. From Home Guard service to Polish forces training in wartime Scotland, this folded bit of khaki has more to say than first meets the eye. https://t.co/X9bu1PybDG #collecting #WWII