Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside

by Victoria Shepherd

ISBN: 9780861548880

Published: 2025-07-15

A thrilling history of mudlarkers, charlatans, experts and chancers – the underbelly of the Edwardian antiques trade. 'What a story! And how skilfully told! A tale about treasure, as twisty and thrilling as any of the adventures of Indiana Jones.' Lucy Worsley June 1912. A pair of workmen deposit a heavy ball of clay in the antiques shop of George Fabian Lawrence, or ‘Stony Jack’ as he's better known. As Lawrence picks through the mud, a speck of gold catches his eye. A pearl earring tumbles into his hand, then another. A Burmese ruby follows; then Colombian emeralds, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and turquoise from Iran; tankards; watches; topaz; amazonite. Stony Jack has discovered the greatest single cache of Elizabethan treasure. Diving into London’s bustling, sometimes lawless, antiques trade at the turn of the century, Victoria Shepherd provides a compelling portrait of the city at the height of empire. A thrilling ride through Edwardian London, from the marble halls of the...