Antiques and Martha Stewart

ANTIQUES, IMMERSION, AND BOOK LEARNING - NO SHORTCUTS

UNDERSTANDING ANTIQUES AND THEIR VALUES REQUIRES A LOT MORE THAN A PRICE GUIDE

WE'VE JUST RETURNED FROM A NOT-SO-REGULAR-ANYMORE SUNDAY ANTIQUE HUNT, WITH SONS ANDREW AND ROBERT. THEY'VE BEEN SO BUSY RECENTLY, AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF WORK TO DO AROUND THE HOMESTEAD, SUCH THAT OUR TRADITIONAL SUNDAY ADVENTURES HAVE BEEN GREATLY PARED DOWN TO ONCE A MONTH, IF THAT ANYMORE. IT WAS SUCH A FABULOUS DAY TO MOTOR ABOUT, SO WE HEADED SOUTH TO ORILLIA, WHERE THERE ARE A HALF DOZEN SECOND HAND PLACES WE CHECK OUT…..FOR ANTIQUES AND FOR VINTAGE GUITARS. I'M PLEASED TO SAY THAT WE DID OKAY, AND THE FINDINGS WILL MORE THAN PAY FOR GAS, LUNCH, AND THERE STILL BE A PROFIT IF EVERYTHING SELLS….TO REINVEST THE NEXT TIME A GOOD DEAL PRESENTS. THE BOYS GOT THREE ELECTRIC GUITARS AND TWO ACOUSTIC, ONE BEING A FIXER-UPPER. THEY GOT SOME RECORDS AND ANDREW GOT A LOVELY LITTLE UKELE TO REFURBISH. I FOUND THREE NICE LITTLE PAINTINGS FOR A TINY AMOUNT OF MONEY, TWO BEING FROM THE EARLY 1900'S, THE OTHER, A WELL EXECUTED SIGNED OIL, OF A WINTER SCENE, THAT LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE THE BOG OVER HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW. SUZANNE STRUCK OUT TODAY, BUT ON THE WAY TO ORILLIA AND BACK, SHE FINISHED UP A CUSTOM ORDER OF WINTER CARNIVAL MITTS, FOR THE LEAD SINGER OF THE GROUP, "PRESSURE POINT," TO GO WITH THE SCARF SHE MADE LAST WEEK. IT'S FOR A VIDEO TO BE USED IN THEIR NEW VIDEO FOR THE WINTER CARNIVAL-THEMED SONG, NOW RECORDED AND GETTING POLISHED FOR THE FEBRUARY EVENT.

I HATE COMING BACK HOME, AFTER ONE OF THESE OUTINGS, WITHOUT A PRETTY FAIR LOAD ONBOARD. IT WASN'T THE BEST ANTIQUE HUNT, BUT IT WAS PROFITABLE. I'VE INCLUDED THREE IMAGES OF THE SMALL PAINTINGS FOUND TODAY, THE WINTER SCENE COSTING ABOUT $18, THE MOONLIT CAMP SCENE, (CIRCA 1930'S) $14.00, AND THE PASTEL LAKE-SCENE WITH BUILDING, WAS $7.00. EACH IS WORTH QUITE A BIT MORE BUT THIS WILL TAKE A CLOSER INSPECTION, AND SOME RESEARCH ON THE ARTIST(S).

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT…..IT WAS LIKE CURRIE TRAVELS OF MANY YEARS AGO, THAT ALWAYS PUT NATURE, A MOTOR TRIP, ADVENTURE, OPPORTUNITY, BLUE SKIES, STOPS ALL OVER THE PLACE, AND GOOD FOOD INTO AN ENJOYABLE AFTERNOON ODYSSEY. SUZANNE AND I HAVE BEEN DOING MOST OF THE OUTINGS OURSELVES THESE DAYS, BECAUSE THE WORK IN THE SHOP, FOR THE BOYS, (GRAVENHURST MUSIC STORE), HAS BEEN TAKING UP A LOT MORE TIME……WHICH MEANS THEY'RE BUSY……AND THE ONLY THING THAT'S WRONG WITH THAT……THERE'S LESS TIME TO HIT THE ROAD, AND FIND INVENTORY IN THE MOST CURIOUS OF PLACES. I'LL TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THESE CURIOUS PLACES, IN FUTURE BLOGS.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR KNOWLEDGE AS A DEALER /COLLECTOR

HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, I HAVE PROBABLY ACCUMULATED ABOUT A THOUSAND BOOKS ON VARIOUS TYPES OF ANTIQUES, FROM FURNITURE, GLASS, OIL LAMPS, CHINA, SILVER, PEWTER, AGRICULTURAL AND CARPENTRY ANTIQUES, AND IT WOULD TAKE ME AN HOUR TO LIST EVEN A TENTH OF WHAT WE HAVE FOR REFERENCE. WE USE THEM A LOT. ALWAYS HAVE. ADD ONTO THIS, ABOUT THIRTY YEARS IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER, ABOUT TWENTY-TWO FOR SUZANNE, AND WITH THIS EDUCATION BY FULL, AND UNCOMPROMISING IMMERSION, WE CAN STILL ADMIT……..GEEZ, WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS AT ALL. AS WE HAVE REMAINED GENERALIST DEALERS, FOR ALL THESE YEARS, WE'VE HAD TO BE UP TO SPEED ON ABOUT A BAZILLION DIFFERENT ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES, THAT LITERALLY STRETCH FROM HORIZON TO HORIZON, AND SOME WOULD SAY……WELL BEYOND. IT IS ESPECIALLY SO, WHEN SOMEONE HANDS YOU SOME CRAZY LOOKING THING FROM BABYLON, OR SOME OTHER LOST OR FOUND CITY, AND NOTHING YOU HAVE SHORT OF A TRIP TO THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM IS GOING TO HELP WITH IDENTIFICATION. I DON'T BOTHER TOO MUCH WITH PRICE GUIDES, BUT I DO HAVE SOME FOR GUIDANCE……BUT NOT FOR AFFIRMATION OF VALUES. WE USE THE COMPUTER EXTENSIVELY NOWADAYS, AND IT HAS CERTAINLY HELPED A HUNDRED PERCENT, OVER THE OLD DAYS, WHEN BOOKS AND FIELD EXPERIENCE, WERE THE MOST CONVENIENT AND AVAILABLE TOOLS FOR RESEARCH. NOW WE CAN CROSS REFERENCE A HUNDRED DIFFERENT WAYS, TO FIND PARALLELS, AND VALUATIONS, WITHOUT READING TWENTY BOOKS. IT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN TOSS OUT THE HARD COPY RESEARCH AIDS, BUT THEY DON'T GET THE SAME WORK-OUT THEY USED TO, BACK BEFORE WE COMPUTERIZED OUR ENTERPRISE IN THE LATE 1990'S.

ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, I CAME TO A SORT OF PERSONAL CROSSROADS WITH ANTIQUES……THE WAY WE HAD BEEN COLLECTING, BUYING AND SELLING. LIKE THE OLD BALL PLAYER, WHO STARTS THINKING ABOUT RETIRING THE BEAT-UP OLD GLOVE AND CLEETS, AND HANGING UP THE HAT ONCE AND FOR ALL. I STARTED TO SHIFT MORE TOWARD THE MUSIC END OF THINGS BECAUSE IT WAS WHAT THE BOYS NEEDED, TO FILL THEIR RETAIL ENTERPRISE IN THAT FIRST TOUGH YEAR OF MAINSTREET BUSINESS. THE COMPETITION FOR THE BEST PIECES OF PINE AND GLASS, ART AND CHINA, MADE IT TOUGHER THAN EVER TO BUY FOR RE-SALE. A LOT OF SECOND HAND AND THRIFT SHOPS GOOSED THEIR PRICES, AND ON TOP OF THAT, THERE WERE DEALERS COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK. THE SUCCESSES OF ON-LINE AUCTIONS, LIKE EBAY, CREATED A WHOLE NEW BREED OF WHAT WERE CALLED, IN THE OLD DAYS, "ATTIC DEALERS," WHICH MEANT THEY DEALT WITH ANTIQUES BUT NOT FROM A PROPER STORE. THEY MIGHT BE CONSIGNORS AT LOCAL ANTIQUES SHOPS, OR RENTERS OF BOOTH SPACE AT REGIONAL ANTIQUE MALLS. AT THIS TIME THERE WAS A REAL SURGE IN OUR AREA, OF ANTIQUE-LOVERS GOING ONLINE TO SELL THEIR BIG FINDS. AS WE WERE ALSO DOING EBAY, AND SELLING AT VARIOUS SALES IN THE SUMMER SEASON, WE WERE VERY MUCH OF THE "ATTIC" GROUP, AND DOING VERY WELL. JUST NOT FINDING WHAT WE USED TO BE ABLE, WHEN THERE WERE ONLY TEN OR SO KNOWN, AND ACTIVE DEALERS, BELONGING TO LOCAL SHOPS. AT THIS ROBERT JOHNSON INSPIRED "CROSSROADS," I FOUND A WAY TO MEND THE SPIRIT, REPAIR THE GLOVE AND CLEETS, AND KEEP THE BALL-CAP ON FOR A FEW MORE INNINGS. INSPIRATION CAME FROM A MOST UNLIKELY SOURCE.

WITH A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE JAMMED INTO OUR NOGGINS, WE FELT STUPID BEING UNABLE TO OUT-PERFORM OUR COMPETITION. I DID FIND MYSELF SAYING, FROM TIME TO TIME, "AH, LET'S JUST FORGET GOING OUT TODAY……IT'S TOO LATE IN THE DAY…..ALL THE GOOD STUFF WILL BE GONE ANYWAY." I'D BE MAD AT THE BOYS FOR HAVING THIS KIND OF ATTITUDE, SO I DID FEEL SOMETHING WAS WRONG IN THE INDUSTRY I'D BEEN EMPLOYED FOR SO LONG. SO WHAT SNAPPED ME OUT OF MY FUNK? WHAT GAVE ME A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON COLLECTING, AND THE CREATIVE USE OF ANTIQUES IN A MODERN SETTING?

ONE NAME. ONE TELEVISION SHOW. A LOT OF BOOKS ABOUT ENTERTAINING, COOKING AND DECORATING. IF YOU GUESSED MARTHA STEWART, BULLY FOR YOU! AT ABOUT MY LOWEST POINT IN THE FIELD OF ANTIQUES, MARTHA STEWART'S AFTERNOON TELEVISION SHOW, AND HER ASSORTED BOOKS…..SUCH AS THE BLOCKBUSTER SUCCESS, "ENTERTAINING," AMONGST DOZENS OF OTHERS, GAVE ME MANY NEW IDEAS ABOUT MY INTERESTS IN OLD STUFF…..AND HOW TO MARKET VINTAGE MATERIALS TO HOME DECORATORS. I'D BEEN A PURIST ANTIQUE DEALER FROM THE BEGINNING, AND MY UNWILLINGNESS TO CHANGE DIRECTION, ADOPT NEW APPROACHES, AND THINK, AS THEY SAY "OUTSIDE THE ANTIQUE BOX," ALMOST COST ME A FUTURE IN THE BUSINESS. I WAS LETHARGIC EVEN ON YARD SALE SATURDAYS. SUZANNE WAS STARTING TO WORRY I WAS GETTING TOO OLD FOR HER! CRIPES, I HAD TO PROVE I WASN'T THE PROVERBIAL ONE TRICK PONY. SO ALONG CAME MARTHA STEWART, AND HER INTERESTING APPROACH TO THE INCORPORATION OF ANTIQUES INTO MODERN DESIGNS, AND CONTEMPORARY LIVING. IT WAS NO LONGER THE CASE YOU COULDN'T HAVE BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED VINTAGE COPPER POTS IN THE ULTRA MODERN KITCHEN. SHE SHOWED US ALL, THE WAY TO INTEGRATE THE OLD AND THE NEW, AND TO CREATE AN EXCITING NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH EVERYTHING PAST AND PRESENT. FROM BEING SO WEDGED UP IN MY APPROACH, THAT IT HURT TO WALK, BY GOLLY, THERE WAS A WAY OF ADAPTING TO THIS ADVENTUROUS LINKAGE OF ESTABLISHED TRADITION WITH "TRADITION-YET-TO-BE-MADE." FOR SOME IT BEGAN WITH HER LANDMARK BOOK ON "ENTERTAINING," WHICH, WHILE A HUGE AND EXPENSIVE PUBLISHING GAMBLE, WAS A BOOK THAT HERALDED A RELATIONSHIP WITH "MARTHA" THAT PUT AVERAGE FOLKS IN CONTROL OF THEIR HOME, GARDENING, AND DECORATING DESTINIES. IT WAS AN EMPOWERING WAVE OF SELF-HELP ADVICE, THAT OPENED POSSIBILITY AND POTENTIAL, AS IT HAD NEVER BEEN PRESENTED BEFORE……TO SUCH A HUGE AND WELCOMING GENERAL AUDIENCE. THAT'S RIGHT. YOU COULD, WITHOUT YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, AND DEEP POCKETS, THROW A BIG DINNER PARTY, AND WOW THE GUESTS, WITH A BEAUTIFUL TABLE SETTING, A MAGNIFICENTLY DECORATED HOUSE, FABULOUS FOODS……ON A SENSIBLE SCALE. WHILE IT'S LIKELY MOST READERS DIDN'T HAVE ROOM FOR A HUNDRED PLUS GUESTS, IT WAS A WORKABLE "SAMPLER" OF HOW A HOST OR HOSTESS, COULD ENTERTAIN LIKE A PROFESSIONAL, WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE OUT A SECOND OR THIRD MORTGAGE. IT BROUGHT EVERYONE INTO THE FOLD, SO TO SPEAK, AND THAT'S HOW I GOT HOOKED. NOT THAT WE'RE BIG ENTERTAINERS HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, BUT WE DECORATE THAT WAY.

Martha Stewart let all of us in on the secret of feeling good, about hearth and home…….demonstrating by example, how we could incorporate what we liked, what we needed, and cared for, into an attractive, workable mix, that made home environs so much more exciting and charming…….and changeable if the mood struck….., and if, for example, a buying adventure turned up another antique piece for the abode. She most definitely inspired the uninspired, by showing how easy it all was, and inexpensive, to improve your surroundings…..to make them what you desired. You didn't have to settle. It wouldn't cost the moon, to make even the most profound changes in decor….in home or cottage atmosphere……and then there was the gardening, when even apartment dwellers could start their own window boxes with flowering plants, and find indoor species to generate pleasure year round. But what did her books, her show, her demonstrations, do for an old antique hunter like me?

I was used to selling antiques and collectibles to folks who had homes just like ours at the time. You know the ones. Or you probably know one like this. Antiques stacked on top of antiques. Collectibles by the drawer-full. China cupboards loaded so full, pieces haphazardly balanced on top of each other…..hardly the show of respect and method of conservation best suited to their fragile realities. Places with so much art, that they don't enhance anything, but are always obstacles for the poor bugger who has to vacuum the floor. I've been to the homes of collectors where there will be piles of ten paintings, or more, leaning up against the wall, and not just in one room…..and more than one major pile per room.

The business, as far as it was going for me, was getting too stuffy. Too old for a guy with a young heart. I wasn't an interior decorator, but I had sold hundreds of curiosities to these folks, on and off, for decades, without thinking too much about it. Once again, I was an antique purist, and decorating was just a nice spin-off way of making a few extra bucks. When I started following Martha Stewart's television show, initially, a few years ago, which came on CBC, in the early weekday afternoons, if memory serves, I was instantly struck by the way she would have such interesting features spots, highlighting antiques and restorations of vintage pieces……the one that inspired me the most, was a refurbishing of a very old copper pot, she had totally upgraded for modern day use. It was a fabulous piece. She had indicated to the audience that because it was very old, a sentimental possession, and a great pot for large culinary projects, she couldn't stand to have it retired if it could be saved, with a new copper bottom. There were many, many other features on the daily shows, that brought antiques into modern home designs, that offered both functional and artistic / cultural / heritage character……that were exciting new realities for the modern decorators……you and I, and anyone else who wishes to enhance where they reside…..where they cottage cottage, or where they work. It brought back my own excitement into the industry, that frankly had become a little dull, with my conservative, status quo approach. Suzanne and I began looking at antiques and collectibles, as home decorators…..whether vintage quilts to be restored for eventual re-sale, quilted cushions that could be brought back to good condition, cooking antiquities, art pieces, sculptures, occasional tables, chairs, dressers, flat-to-the-walls, that could fit into just about any home decor…….even the smallest condos, space-restricted houses, and apartments. We stopped buying for the hard core and "purist" antique collectors, (who demand near mint-condition pieces for investment security) and turned over a new leaf, you might say……at no compromise to our interest in antiques. Just how we approach their acquisition, and how we plan their dispersal to the right clientele. We have a lot more fun, and I enjoy the whole decorating-concept, and I absolutely love, selling a pivotal piece to a thrilled customer…..who will go on at great length about how the purchase will enhance their living space. I'm getting too flexible for my old antique cronies.

I have a pretty fair collection of Martha Stewart first editions. I had a collector who wanted a first edition "Entertaining," and in a moment of weakness, and financial need, I sold it. I've been searching for the past two years now, to get one, in near mint condition…..with dustjacket of course. I really want one signed, but Suzanne hasn't relented yet…..but I'm working on her. I know where there's a signed and inscribed copy, but it's going for, what she calls, "a king's ransom." I don't call $200 a king's ransom, especially for a signed first edition hardcover with dustjacket. I'm a book dealer as well, so this is how you describe such a book. But I love the content of the book, and because it was kind of a watershed for us, turning-on to Martha Stewart, her books are a good investment in the future……as we carry on our revised, and much more enthralling antique hunt.

I don't have any problem at all, marching into an antique book shop and asking for Martha Stewart first editions. If they tell me they don't have any……I suggest they should get some……it might improve their business. As for some of my crusty colleagues, who would rather fight than switch…..I'm not going to try very hard to persuade them to think otherwise. As we re-invented ourselves in the antique trade, thanks to advice from Martha Stewart, anybody can do the same…..and I'll tell you…..it makes history a lot more accessible and functional, and traditions……now perfectly adaptable to modern circumstances…..the modern way of living. We can live with antiques long into the future, without ever feeling the drag of history…..the way we knew it in the classroom, and the way we knew it as antique dealers…..mired in old ways.

Thanks for joining today's blog.

More about antique hunting to come.