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When Fiona Mittag moved to New York from Europe in 1985 with her husband, Martin, she found herself with a lot of time on her hands. I had no children then, so I spent my days exploring the interior design shops in the city, she said, adding that she has always loved decorating and art, especially antique prints. On her next trip back to London she visited the antiquarian book dealers, the source of most antique prints. Explaining that she was thinking of starting a business in the United States, one dealer sent her to his wholesaler, a lovely gentleman who taught me a lot about the different types of paper and the history behind the prints, she said. Fiona bought a small selection of prints and quickly sold them all on her return to New York. Her instinct that she had found a business opportunity proved correct.
Since then, Fiona has built a large stock of antique prints, which she custom mats and frames in her Wilton studio. She feels it is important to educate her clients about the history of each one she sells. These prints all come from the days before there were cameras, she said. They are a record of the times. People drew scenery, battles, what they saw on trips of exploration, then they took them home and painted them. Fiona has a broad spectrum of prints, from sea life, shells and maps to architectural drawings, flora and fauna.
Unlike those found in retail stores, each framed print Fiona sells is unique because the customer chooses the type of frame as well as the mat. I have any number of linen and silk mats in different colors, she said, and I do all the French matting by myself. French matting is created by hand-drawing decorative lines to provide additional linear borders to a print. Frames also come in a wide range, from simple wood to custom frames with finished corners and gold leaf decoration.
You can reach Fiona Mittag at M & F Antique Prints, by calling (203) 858 6816.
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