John Bedford of William Bedford was one of the major dealers in antique furniture in London in the 1970s and for the next 35 years dominated his corner of the trade.
The business was started in the 1960s simply to help his brother William recover from an illness, with a small stall in the Kensington Antiques Hypermarket selling antique glass, while John continued in his role as company secretary at Smith’s Industries.
Buying was fitted in at the weekends and evenings by John around other commitments.