The house on Ta Hien Street is known to many people as the ‘Ancient Fan Museum’, because it stores hundreds of antique fans that were made in Europe.
The old fans thought to be thrown away, but through the restoration of “ancient fan king” Tran Cong Phuc and his son, they are worth hundreds of millions of dong. With this one-of-a-kind collection of antique fans, Mr. Phuc was once registered in the “Vietnam Guinness record”.
Mr. Phuc lived with his “ancient fan museum”. Up to this point, “the ancient fan king” Tran Cong Phuc has passed away for more than 4 years, but his love for these ancient fans has not been interrupted. Because his son Tran Hong Duc and student Nguyen Van Ngoc have followed in his father’s footsteps, continuing to “blow souls” to revive ancient fans. “Currently in Hanoi, there are very few antique fan repair shops, only 2-3 shops. Therefore, antique fan repairers are also very rare, me and 2 workers here were trained by my father.” Phuc’s son said. In 2012, Mr. Tran Cong Phuc set a Vietnamese record “The person with the most collection of antique fans”. “Restoring a seemingly discarded fan to bring it back to life almost original is a very interesting job. It gives me a sense of conquest and fascination. Just like you, I can sit still all day to explore and discover the most perfect restoration method.” Mr. Ngoc (a student of Mr. Phuc) shared. In Duc’s house, which is only about 20 square meters wide, there are so many fans that all ceiling fans hanging in the house have to be removed separately. The most are Marelli fans, followed by Dutch Emi fans, French Calor, Russian elephant ear fans, and Japanese 110-volt National fans imported into the South before 1975… “The first antique fan sold for the first time was also the famous Italian Marelli ceiling fan. My father brought it back to repair and his butt was hung in front of the house, not long after, a Western man came to pay 200 dollars in the morning. when the purchase price is only 70,000 VND”, Mr. Duc shared. “Few people know this fan is almost the first generation, when electricity began to appear and made a fan, this was the first line,” Mr. Ngoc excitedly shared. “And this fan dates from the years 1921-1930 and later, the fans are designed to be more compact, saving electricity and materials.” These ancient fans were formerly carried by the French to decorate offices and villas to cool down the tropical heat. Once upon a time, electric fans were only for aristocratic families. They are hung in the house not only to cool, but also as decorative objects to show wealth. This antique ceiling fan hanging in Mr. Phuc’s house is valued at more than 100 million VND. The most prominent in the antique fan collection is the Italian Marelli line, which is known as the king of fans, the details are reaching to the level of sophistication. Fans are made meticulously to each screw, gear, base … Therefore, they are capable of lasting hundreds of years. Currently, Duc’s shop has more than 10 antique Marelli fans, they are all made of pure copper. The cheapest one costs several million, the most expensive one costs hundreds of millions of dong. Not only the expensive Marelli line, but also the antique French fans that cost up to hundreds of millions of dong/piece. Every day, many guests come to the small house to buy a memento bearing the stamp of time being preserved in the heart of Hanoi. And the reason why antique fans are so attractive is not only because of their age, but because of the beauty in their design with classic curves, inside, copper plating of cages and shiny blades…
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