FCI - Fans, Fun and Friendship. The Fan Circle International is a charitable society established in 1975 to promote interest in and knowledge of the fan in all aspects. In 1982 it was granted charitable status. Membership of the circle is worldwide with the majority of members in the USA, Europe and Australia.

Have a look at our web pages to learn something about the history of fans, how they are made or even how to start collecting them.

Even better - join the Fan Circle International and join with a group of like minded people with an interest in fans, costume, lace, ivory and other related topics. Enjoy the company and fellowship at our regular meetings and AGMs. You do not have to collect fans to be a member - just share an interest in these beautiful and fasctinating objects

We are pleased to announce that one of our founder members, Patron and the inspiration behind the Fan Museum in Greenwich, Mrs. Hélène Alexander, has been made an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list of 2008. Our heartfelt Congratulations to Hélène and our thanks for all the work she has put in over the years to promote the fan as an important historical and artistic fashion object.

Our current feature fan is a mid 19th century telescopic fan made in the Portugese-Chinese colony of Macow for export to the west. These fans are charactrised by the use of landscapes on their verso side or with the use of bird and flower designs, often on a gold or silver background while the front of the fan has the typical mandarin pattern of many people with silk dresses and ivory faces. These Macow fans are highly sought after by collectors today, and this one is a particulary rare example of the telescopic style of these fans. The leaf on this fan can be pushed back down the length of the narrow sticks, thus halving the fan size so it can be slipped into purses. These are an ingenious sytle of fans that is often unrecognised when not extended by those who do not know to look for the charactaristic heavy lower portion of the sticks and the thin upper section. When closed and not extended these fans look very bulky and are hard to open, and when opened unextended look all bunched up and rather ugly.

Visitors since April 2004 This site last updated: 23rd February 2008