Auction of 1930s and 40s collectibles at Kino Teatr

You are invited by Lori Stone-Wisdom to an all-day auction of collectibles – cars, trucks, planes plus other items from the 1930s and 1940s –  at the Kino Teatr in St Leonards on Norman Road on 23 October from 10am til 7pm. The items belonged to Lori’s beloved husband, the wonderful Hugh Stone-Wisdom, who sadly passed away in September 2021. 60% of proceeds to RNLI. HOT’s Zelly Restorick spoke to Lori Stone-Wisdom about her husband’s collection and the auction.

ZR. What will be included in the auction?

LSW Cars, trucks and planes are the main items. They’re all used, there’s a few high range items, some in boxes. It’s a hotch-potch of things. No railway stuff… no trains or tracks. A few automatons, like someone sawing a piece of wood when you turn a handle. A big 1850s pram. A couple of industrial models like winches and boilers, steam driven things. An odd assortment.

Hugh had – and I have – a very close, kindred-spirit relationship with Russell Baker and Olga Mamonova and all things Kino Teatr – and I’m extremely grateful to them for hosting this event.

How will it feel to not have the things around you anymore?

Hugh didn’t only collect collectibles, he was an acquirer of all sorts of strange objects – films, furniture, industrial clocks, anything to do with music, especially instruments, books… a huge amount of books, agricultural equipment like carts and scythes… anything large, impractical, heavy and rusty he’d like to collect it. The house is filled with things and not having the models doesn’t impact on me too much, apart from saving a lot of dusting.

What sort of a man was Hugh, as a collector?

Hugh was a quirky, eccentric, local character and he tragically died in September 2021, aged 68. He’d been a collector all the time we were married, which was 30 years. The period Hugh was mainly interested in was the 1930s and 1940s. There’s no model e-type Jaguars, all the models are earlier than that. He was very passionate about his collecting and very particular about design. He really liked a quirky, unusual thing, he wouldn’t go for the bog standard Morris Minor… he had an eye for the unusual.

How does an all day auction work?

There will be two viewing days before the auction – on 21 and 22 October – and there will be information on the Kino website. Each piece is going to be photographed and be projected onto a screen. You will be able to bid online during the day. There are well over a 100 lots, so it will take most of the day to do this. All the items will be numbered and Russell and his fellow auctioneers will go through them sequentially. Things will be bid for, as seen; as you successfully bid for them, someone will come to you with a card machine and take your payment immediately. If you see something online, you can bid for it, but better to be there in person. All the things will be laid out and visible in the Kino, even though it’s not a purpose-made auction area. The spirit of the auction is with humour and for it to be a relaxed occasion, not to be taken too seriously. It’s not a formal auction event.

I’ll be there all day and the day after and at the viewing days.

How much of the proceeds will go to the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute) – and what made you choose the RNLI? 

60% of the proceeds will go to the RNLI. I chose this charity as it’s very relevant in Hastings, especially with all the people crossing the channel at the moment – and Hugh loved swimming in the area  and he was a keen fan of the charity. And a distant relative of mine was in the RNLI and lost his life trying to save someone. It’s an organisation that should be government funded, but it isn’t.

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