My friend Peter Mactaggart, who has died aged 89, was responsible, with his wife, Ann, for producing a collection of books on intricate artistic endeavours, including gilding, dressmaking and the decoration of harpsichord cases.
Peter was born in Barnes, south-west London, the son of Malcolm, an architect, and his wife, Bea (nee Eltenton), who together ran an antiques shop in Welwyn, Hertfordshire. After Berkhamsted Grammar school he was apprenticed to a watchmaker and following national service from 1949-51 he worked in the family antiques business until the early 1970s.
He married Ann Lewis, an art and domestic science teacher, in 1963, and using Ann’s concise and beautifully illustrated teaching notes, they eventually produced their first book, Dressmaking in Detail (1975), which was published by Batsford in the UK and by other companies in the US. Other books followed – small and convenient volumes that included Practical Gilding (1985) and Painting and Marbling Harpsichord Cases (1987).
As the years went by, and after the end of the antiques business due to the death of his father, Peter also developed restoration skills in marquetry, turning, carving and polishing, while Ann became expert in the decorating of harpsichords, leading them both to print decorative papers for harpsichords. Their research into the pigments used in old paintings led them to run courses on their identification via microscopic examination.
They moved to the Blackdown Hills in Somerset 26 years ago, where they had a garden large enough to train their beloved Malinois dogs. Some years ago Ann was diagnosed with dementia and had to go into care, as looking after her was taking a heavy toll on Peter’s health. The love and attention he gave her was remarkable.
She survives him, as do his cousins, Jane and Anya.
