Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside

A thrilling history of mudlarkers, charlatans, experts and chancers – the underbelly of the trade in antiques and jewels.

June 1912. A heavy ball of clay is deposited in an antique shop in South London. It looks distinctly out of place, surrounded by Ancient Egyptian bowls, Japanese swords and Roman coins. This is the collection of George Fabian Lawrence – or ‘Stony Jack’.

As Lawrence begins to pick through the mud, specks of gold glimmer – a pearl earring tumbles into his hand, then another. Then a Burmese ruby; Colombian emeralds; lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and turquoise from Iran; tankards; watches; topaz; amazonite. Stony Jack has discovered a great lost treasure of Elizabethan jewellery.

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 portrait of an era, Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside oversees the transformation of London into a modern metropolis.