Charles Rowed

Charles Rowed is a little-known author whose name survives chiefly through Collecting as a Pastime, published by Cassell in 1920. Library and catalog records consistently identify him as the book’s author, but readily available sources offer very little confirmed biographical detail beyond that.

That makes the book itself the clearest guide to his interests. It presents collecting as an enjoyable, accessible hobby rather than an elite pursuit, suggesting a writer who wanted to inform and entertain ordinary readers while sharing enthusiasm for antiques and small treasures.

Because reliable biographical sources on Rowed are scarce, it is safest to remember him as a practical, engaging voice from the golden age of amateur collecting—an author appreciated less for a famous life story than for the curiosity and pleasure he brought to the subject.