Hitting the nail on the head

I see that the Dorset home of Peter Maitland, the late chief exec of Bond Street antique furniture dealer Mallett, is up for sale for £4m.

Maitland died in October last year, but had spent the previous decade restoring the house, partly to showcase his outstanding collection of English antique furniture and pictures. The result, gushes the estate agent, is "a worthy testament to his taste and character".

I do hope the new owner keeps up those standards, which probably means the estate agent should ignore prospective American buyers. Maitland didn't seem to have much regard for their knowledge of furniture, observing that they usually needed to be told what to buy: "They have an adviser, usually an interior decorator or designer," he once said. "They just know they want the very best. And in double quick time".