A felis-itous find

When I spotted this (brand-new) apron in acharity shop I thought it would make a nice gift for someone. It depicts thecats that resided at various stately homes in Britain - no surprise to find that it was sold by the National Trust which owns all those grand properties and charges royally for the privilege of viewing them. When you exit through the gift shop you spend more quids on buying stuff like this.

Having recently scooped a bargain with some posh puss pads hob covers I thought I'd check out the apron's original cost if I could. The name of the artist (in the bottom right hand corner) was Pat Albeck and it turns out she was a big name in the mid-20thC. design world. Not only known as 'the queen of tea towels' she had worked for several major fabric companies, won numerous awards, written a text book, and had exhibitions of her work - which is now archived by the V&A museum. (Her obituary is worth reading if you're interested in art and design and  for the fact that her parents were Jewish refugees from Poland.*)

Of course I had to check what Pat Albeck's not-so-humble designs are fetching but I couldn't find an identical apron available on the 'net. However, a tea towel (light use only) with the same cats  is going for £60 and an apron (again, not new) in the same range  but illustrating rare breed farm animals,  can be purchased from Etsy for £78. 

I'm haven't decided what to do with the apron now. I think I'll take some time to think about the crazy value system that puts such a high price on something which is essentially worthless, if scarce. 
Maybe try and  sell it and give the funds to contemporary refugees.
There's no shortage of them..

More about Pat Albeck here. 

* I am captivated by the thought that  as the child of Jewish refugees from Poland - asylum seekers -  Albeck's work became such a staple of that British establishment passion, and bastion of Conservative values, the National Trust.