Three things with Claudia Chan Shaw- ‘Pull out a Bic four-colour pen in a meeting and it’s a real icebreaker’

In Guardian Australia’s weekly interview about objects, the TV host and collector shares her ‘daggy’ stationery – and her childhood obsession with Humphrey Bogart
Read more Three Things interviews Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAs told to Katie CunninghamSun 20 Oct 2024 10.00 EDTLast modified on Sun 20 Oct 2024 19.10 EDTShareNo one loves stuff as much as Claudia Chan Shaw. In an age when many are devotedly decluttering their homes, the TV host is a proud “nostalgic maximalist”. She loves collecting – and has even built a career on delighting in the accumulation of strange, beautiful objects. Chan Shaw was formerly the host of the ABC program Collectors – where she met other Australians who share her passion – and has authored a book on the topic called Collectomania.
In keeping with her love of all things yesteryear, the Sydneysider is now the co-host of the TV series Antiques DownUnder, and runs art deco tours around the world. In all her years of collecting Chan Shaw counts one item as her most sacred find – a replica of an object from a Humphrey Bogart film. Here she tells about the beloved purchase and shares the stories of two other important belongings.
What I’d save from my house in a fireI was never one of the cool kids. At age 11, I became obsessed with Humphrey Bogart. It’s not unusual for young girls to have posters of their idols plastered to their bedroom walls – but Humphrey Bogart? A long-dead actor, not exactly known for his looks, famous for playing tough guys and gangsters in films from the 30s, 40s and 50s.
In the years that followed I haunted the Bogart film festivals, always sitting in the front row, tape recorder in hand, recording the entire movie (this was before video cameras existed!). I started collecting anything and everything Bogart-related: books, posters, soundtracks, lobby cards.
View image in fullscreenClaudia Chan Shaw with her replica Maltese Falcon, just like the one from the 1941 filmIf my house were on fire, the first thing I’d grab would be my most treasured item: a black plaster replica of a Maltese Falcon, just like the one from the 1941 Bogart film. In the early 1980s, with no internet, I tracked it down in San Francisco at a store called the Mystery Bookstore.
The original film prop sold a few years back for over $4m! Nowadays you can buy a replica Maltese Falcon online and have it delivered in a week. But I still hold on to my special falcon. It’s not worth much but to me it’s priceless.
My most useful objectI love stationery. I’m old school and still use a pen and notebook. When I was in primary school I was jealous of the kids who had the classic Bic four-colour retractable ballpoint pen in their pencil cases. Now I always have one in my handbag.
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It’s such a neat invention. It’s four pens in one – black, blue, red and green. It’s daggy and cool at the same time. With one click you can switch between colours and note taking becomes a magical, colourful experience. And the pen comes in medium point. I love a medium-point pen! Not a scratchy fine point.
It’s a conversation starter. Pull out a Bic four-colour pen in a meeting and it’s a real icebreaker. Colleagues exclaim, “Oh, I remember those pens! I didn’t know you could still get them.”
The item I most regret losingI had the most wonderful toys growing up. But when I hit my teenage years I decided it was time to be more grown up and sophisticated, so I sold off all my childhood treasures. I set up a stall at the Balmain markets and parted with my precious memories. By the end of the day I realised what a huge mistake I’d made. The toy I regret selling most is the Jumping Jeep, a 1960s battery-operated car made by the Japanese company Alps.
Three things with Sami Shah: ‘None of my watches tell me how many steps I’ve walked – I can imagine nothing more useless’Read moreThe Jumping Jeep was driven by a balding clown in a bowler hat, with goggly eyes for headlights and an accordion at the back that moved up and down, playing music. Whenever it hit something, the whole car would jump! It was such a colourful, noisy, joyous toy.
Letting go of my favourite toys is something I still regret. Since then I’ve been making up for it – overcompensating by collecting toys that remind me of my childhood and the TV shows I loved growing up.
I’ve spotted a few Jumping Jeeps online at auctions but for some reason I’ve never been able to bring myself to buy a replacement. This is the toy that got away.
Claudia Chan Shaw is leading two tours with Renaissance Tours: Art Deco to Art Now: Singapore in January 2025 and Art Nouveau and the Belle Époque in Europe in May 2025