An article in The Metro describes what happened when a man brought in some design sketches and artwork that he had found in a dumpster.
The man had no idea what he had picked up. All he knew was that in 2020, some builders were throwing stuff away and he decided to take a look and grab some stuff that was headed toward the dumpster.
The man found a large collection of artwork including a sketchbook of designs and fabric designs.
Little did he know that the designs belonged to the first black British clothing designer, Althea McNish.
Althea McNish (1933-2020) was a pioneering British textile designer of Trinidadian descent.
Her work was known for its vibrant colors and bold, abstract designs inspired by her Caribbean roots. She collaborated with fashion designers like Mary Quant and created textiles for companies like Liberty of London.
She is also reported to have created the royal wardrobe for Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to the Caribbean in the 1960s.
The man who found Althea's designs in the dumpster knew that they could be worth something so he brought them in to be appraised by an Antiques Roadshow expert (UK).
An expert immediately recognized the sketchbook and the textile designs. Despite being more than 50 years old, the design fabrics still remained bold and vibrant as if they were new.
The most shocking aspect was the price of the complete design set. The expert provided a valuation stating that 5 square feet of fabric were worth 2500 British pounds ($3060). But the man had a whole archive of textile designs.
The whole archive of designs was calculated to be worth more than 250,000 British Pounds ($306,000).
Almost everyone was shocked at the valuation.
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