The Pursers Locker

Home
United Kingdom
Bembridge
The Pursers Locker

Dealer of fine ocean liner & marine antiques. With a particular specialty in the White Star & Cunard liners, and the RMS 'Queen Mary'.

OCEAN LINER AND MARINE MEMORABILIA, 20TH CENTURY DECORATIVE ARTS

24/05/2026

Fine arrivals this week…..

Two of the finest original deck chairs to appear on the market.

To start with, White Star Line, c-1910/20 1st Class deck or steamer chair. Similar to the examples used on Titanic. In untouched condition, one of the finest I’ve ever had or seen, all its original and working hardware, hinges, bolts etc. usually these have been broken and replaced over the years. You can also see the attachment points for the reservation plaque. It has its contemporary and strong cane work seat, most likely a replacement from the original, but it’s been on it for years and looks fantastic. These chairs are getting harder and harder to find, let alone in untouched and original condition such as this.

And to finish, one of the finest & early Cunard deck chairs from the era of “Lusitania” & “Mauretania”, c-1910. Again a 1st Class example, with the rarer & seldom seen original cane seat.

Both exceptional pieces, uploaded later today, please contact me direct for savings outside my shop.

28/04/2026

A fine arrival this week…..

🔴 SOLD 🔴

One of the finest & rarest White Star Line, RMS “Olympic” & “Titanic” era 3rd class cabin blankets, dated for the golden year of C-1911. In exceptional condition, you’ll not find a better example on the open market.

16/04/2026

A huge shoutout to the marvellous The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and Andrea Bishop FMA
Director of Collections/Deputy CEO, it was truly an honour to be invited to give one of my lectures, Designs on a Queen, about the Queen Mary’s rich art deco art treasures found within the ships 1st class accommodations, c-1936.

I hadn’t been to museum since I was a child on a school trip, well over thirty years ago, but I’d forgotten just how spectacular & important the place is. Housed in an awesome, purpose built 70’s masterpiece building, the museum is truly one of the finest in the UK. I’ve you love automotive history, you’ll struggle to find a better, more diverse collection in the world. It has brand new cutting edge displays but also has a good selection of artefacts in cabinets, a trend many museums seem to shun in favour of interactive displays, here you see the real deal, and up close.

Set within beautiful parkland bordering the New Forest, the Abby ruins & Manor House are also must sees.

And they have two film used Chitty Chitty Bang Bangs! So what’s not to love!

If you’ve not been to Beaulieu for a while, you must revisit!

🚢

14/03/2026

Amazing discovery this week.

Cunard White Star Line, RMS “Queen Elizabeth” c-1938 First Class Ballroom pair of bergere chairs, possibly by Waring & Gillows. Due to the Lizzie’s tragic end any fixtures from the Queen are rare, let alone major elements from one of her finest public rooms.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to find another pair of these chairs from the fabled Lizzie, so I was amazed to find another pair.

I’ll be listing these in my shop shortly, please direct pm for savings outside ebay.

englishartdecofurniture

25/02/2026

This weeks stellar arrival & extraordinary survivor, the 3rd officers cabin bunk, c-1911, from the White Star Liner, RMS “Olympic”.

I was fortunate enough to buy this from a family that had owned the bed for over 90 years, the grandfather having bought it direct from the ship on the first day of the famous dispersal sale by Wards and organised by Knight Frank in 1935.

The bed is totally untouched since it left the ship, it would have been built into the rooms painted white paneling. It is fully complete with its key escutcheons, brass draw pulls, the original sprung wire mattress and incredibly the original horse hair mattress, it has to be the only fully complete bed surviving from the Olympic left in existence, a truly rare survivor.

It is spectacularly marked with various shipyard markings throughout, her yard number & name is listed in chalk & pencil in multiple places as well as its exact location on the ship, “3rd officers room, 400, Boat Deck, Starboard side”. There’s also a charming reference label detailing the same which I’ve never seen before on an Olympic piece of furniture.

Under the main bed frame was a lovely surviving feature, a secure secret cubbyhole for the officer to store his valuables, complete with the original hatch.

Whilst dismantling it yesterday to get it down three flights of stairs from its former home, I noticed on the sprung wire mattress a small label hanging, inexplicably the original auction label had survived from 1935. Upon checking my copy of the auction catalogue when I got home, lot 116, corresponded with the auction entry for the bunk, listing it in great detail, including the wire & horse hair mattress. (See auction entry, last picture).

It’s been often thought in the online interior recreations that the beds in the officers cabins were versions of those found in 1st & 2nd Class, but here we can see that the beds were quite different and appear to have been bespoke for each room.

One assumes Titanic had similar if not identical bunks installed.

What an amazing survivor, a true museum piece!

04/02/2026

A welcome diversion today from running around Sussex picking up from various south coast auction houses, called into Chichester’s crown jewel, Pallant House. A truly remarkable gallery, and their stellar show on William Nicholson. The first major exhibition of the artists work in 20 years, brings together a thorough selection of this masters works from across his career. I’d always wanted to see his “Silver casket with red leather basket” of 1920, in the flesh, it’s a tour de force of the artists play of light & dark. It’s beautifully displayed alongside the casket its self, still within the ownership of the Nicholson family.

It lifted one’s spirits with its luminosity after days of hideous weather.

The show is a must see.

19/01/2026

Bucket list item ticked off, Picasso’s mesmerising “Guernica”. One couldn’t possibly visit Madrid without seeing this remarkable work, I studied this at university over a quarter of a century ago, so to stand in front of it in great company, was an incredible experience.

🇪🇸

15/01/2026

This week’s stellar arrival, what a beautiful piece to kick off 2026!

An original travel agent’s colour lithograph print, c-1913, post Titanic sinking, but still showing the original lifeboat arrangements. Listed as the “largest British steamer”, the title she bore prior to Britannic’s launch and post the introduction of SS “Imperator” taking the title of largest steamer in the world. The print was in good condition when I purchased it, but the original frame was heavily damaged and the print & mount had suffered from some moth damage. My skilled restorer .conservation has done an amazing job bringing back this highly rare print, back to how it looked when new. Coming soon, PM for details.

09/01/2026

And that’s a wrap! Fourth & final talk delivered for Cunard’s Insights program of guest speakers, aboard Queen Mary 2’s first transatlantic sailing of 2026. As always it’s an honour and joy to be invited to share my passion for the original Queen Mary and the fabled ocean liners of the past, here’s to the next voyage!

I hope everyone’s New Year is starting well.

Jonathan

⚓️

03/01/2026

And my chariot awaits to whisk me across the North Atlantic, no finer way to cross the ocean than on the beautiful Queen Mary 2. Eight days ahead of fun & relaxation, plus giving four lectures, three on my favourite subject, QM2’s predecessor, the original Queen Marys rich & beautiful interiors, as built in 1936. Also I’ll be giving a talk on the afterlife of the interiors of the great ships of the past, entitled:- Ocean Liner resurrection.

Not a bad way to start off the year!

⚓️

Address

2 Coastguard Cottages, Culver Down Road
Bembridge
PO368QT

Website

https://www.purserslocker.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Pursers Locker posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Pursers Locker:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Interior Service in Bembridge?