Man crafts world's largest beer tray collection of 1,500 items: 'Part of history'

Richard Percival, 62, has forked over thousands of dollars for metal brewery trays, which he keeps at his home in Rutland, England. He stores the 300 trays - all pre-1970s - in the double garage that serves as a small museum. But there's even more than that. 

"I've got the biggest tray collection in the country and in the world. It really is a great British collection," he told news agency SWNS. (See the video at the top of this piece.) 

The retired business consultant began his quirky collection in 1982 while at a Brighton pub watching soccer.

A Notts County soccer fan, Percival was gifted a tray by the landlord, after which he began collecting a memento every time he traveled.

Since then, he's amassed a staggering 1,500 brewery trays from around the world, which are worth, on average, between $25 and $130. 

"When I first started going to matches and going to pubs saying, 'I have this hobby,' my friends and family all cringed," he said, as SWNS reported.

Percival admits his wife, Susan, 69, thought he was "mad" at first - but now his family members staunchly support his unusual hobby.

"It all started with [soccer]. I'm a fan of away days and have done 84 league grounds with Notts County."

He added that when in Brighton, "one of my fellow supporters asked the landlord, 'Have you got a beer mat?'" 

A beer mat is the English equivalent of a coaster used in bars in America.

"The beer mat wasn't there but [the] landlord had a tray. The supporter didn't want it, so I took it."

After that, Percival continued to go to games and pick up mementos. 

"After the first 15 times I realized [the beer trays] were ornate objects - and it spiraled from there," he said.

All the trays are British-made and from British breweries, but Percival has had people from as far away as Australia and America send them to him.

"Individually, they're not worth that much, but as a collection, they're a part of British brewery history," he said.

His oldest tray is a copper piece from a Black Country brewery called Fred Cutler that dates back to around 1870. 

His favorite is an oval tray from Warwicks & Richardsons brewery in Nottinghamshire because he prefers "distinctive, weightier, black-backed steel trays."

"It's from 1904. It's got a picture of the brewery and the label of their beers."

As for why all the trays are pre-1970s, it's because mass manufacturers all closed and stopped mass-producing by then.

"I've also got Britain's biggest collection of memorabilia of a brewer called Thomas Salt and Co., which was taken over in 1927," he said.

His "Holy Grail," Percival said, is to acquire a tray with the Thomas Salt cross logo, which is the fourth-oldest trademark in the world.

"Salt stuff is rare and quite expensive. I might need to downsize at some point, but I have around 80 more items I want to get."

"It's taken me 20 years to develop and three website migrations," he said.

"People all over Britain and the world use it as an access site. It's got the manufacturing history, videos, articles for everything."