2010 JAMIE ALLPRESS REARRANGES MR JOHNSTON'S COLLECTION

Tuesday 9 March 2010 – Friday 25 June 2010

As part of our Rearranging Mr Johnston’s Collection series, we have invited Jamie Allpress, Director of Allpress Antiques, to give his response to our most spectacular and special collection. The Johnston Collection House Museum Fairhall, containing a superb collection of fine and decorative arts from the Georgian and Regency period, is based in East Melbourne period. This delightful tour offers visitors an opportunity to see William Johnston’s collection through another person’s eyes and aesthetic.

Jamie Allpress has established a fine reputation as one of the leading antique dealers in Melbourne. For over two decades Allpress has provided Melburnians with range of traditional English and European antiques; specialising in a more decorative style.

With this in mind Allpress was a perfect choice to cast his eye over the collection of items now part of The Johnston Collection. Like Mr Johnston, Allpress strongly believes in the need to refine and create stylish surroundings so as to enjoy your home.

A knack of finishing a room for Allpress is to mix and match modern with old - maybe a graduated set of Mason’s jugs, a good Georgian tea caddy or some decorative modern glass. Even a large pewter charger can look stunning with quinces, pomegranates or even simple oranges.

Allpress arrived in Australia in the mid 1980s. “I came to Australia for a holiday and ended up staying in Melbourne. In 1990 I opened my shop, with one piece of furniture - an ordinary, Victorian mahogany chest of drawers.” Since then his interest in oak and country furniture steadily grew and within a few years the only stock I wanted to handle was early oak.

William Johnston’s love of beautiful things and history, as well as his taste for the exotic, all come to life in this tour which explores his collection against the background of his life.

Jamie Allpress Rearranges Mr Johnston’s Collection opens to the public on Tuesday 9 March 2010 and continues until Friday 25 June 2010.

The Johnston Collection, incorporating House Museum Fairhall, Gallery, Reference Library and Shop is a hidden treasure, a jewel in the heart of Melbourne with amazing stories to tell. Visitors learn of Mr Johnston’s wonderful story and marvel at the fascinating collection.

Fairhall, the residence of the late William Johnston, antique dealer and collector, has an astonishing collection of Georgian, Regency and Louis XV antiques and paintings arranged within a domestic setting, with three guided tours daily Monday to Friday. The Johnston Collection Gallery showcases special temporary exhibitions and an exciting programme of lectures and workshops. Bookings are essential.

The Johnston Collection was bequeathed by William Robert Johnston (1911-1986) to the people of Victoria, Australia and is administered as an independent Museum by The W R Johnston Trust.