We're Moving...Sort Of....

Hi folks! I (Andrew) have just been awful at providing you with regular, decent blog postings.  So, I think I'm going to try a new strategy by largely moving TYC's internet presence to Facebook (www.facebook.com/TheYoungAntiquesCollectors).  So, like us and follow our feed.  I should be able to put up a few posts per week.  

We'll still blog from time to time, so don't delete this bookmark just yet!

The Newest Young Collector...

Just a quick note to announce the arrival of Nathaniel Byrne Davis Richmond (aka Nat) on November 16.  Everything went perfectly and we are enjoying some peaceful family time at home.  Pics to follow....

Any day now....

If you've read our column, you might have caught a couple of references to an impending addition to our family.  That day will soon be upon us.  Baby #2 (gender is not known) is due any day. And Andrew's work is very busy--Garth's has 2 January auctions, and BOTH catalogs are due to the printer on December 7, which also happens to be the day of an Eclectic auction and 2 weeks after our marathon Thanksgiving auction.

So....our postings here in the coming months may be even fewer and farther between, for which we apologize, though I will post something about the baby when he/she arrives.  We appreciate you reading (and your patience!), and we wish you all the most joyous and peaceful holiday season!

The Cincinnati Windsor Chair

In our recent column (and in at least two earlier columns), we mentioned our Cincinnati windsor chairs.  We purchased four of these ages ago at the Cowan's sale of the collection of John Auraden and have happily used them around our dining room ever since.

This pair retains its original finish.  The other "pair" has one with original finish and the other has been refinished (this is the one that Nora sits in).  I say "finish," because it's so grunged up, I'm not even sure what color they were, but I think dark red.

The firm of Jabez Waters and Silas Barret began manufacturing goods in 1859 using steam to bend wood, and producing all manner of goods.  They received a patent on this type of windsor chair, which they call The Oriental, in 1873.  Their partnership ended in 1880.  This is their mark on the underside of one of the chairs.

They are fairly distinctive chairs--heavy, stout turnings, backward leaning--exactly the type of chair that would be perfectly suited to riverboats.  And active toddlers.

Just announced!

A date for the 2013 Midwest Antiques Forum! April 26-28 in Cincinnati. We're looking to add more programming and, potentially, a way to participate in the panel discussion even if you can't make the Forum! Keep your eyes HERE for more info as it becomes available.

Yep, Still Here.

I won't even try to explain our absence.  Okay, well, just a little: busy at work, toddler at home, baby on the way.  We'll try to do better.

At any rate, just a quick update on a the Michigan schrank (wardrobe) I posted about a while back.  As Hollie was sitting in front of it working, she noticed something.

Do you see it, too?  Over the original blue paint (visible here on the diamond panel), a later family member, probably in the late 19th or early 20th century, added a much more, at the time, chic paint treatment: oak graining.  We had thought about having it removed to show off the original blue (there are plenty of things with original oak graining, but not many in original blue).  There was much debate, including a lively debate at the Midwest Antiques Forum.  We were comfortable with our decision to have the wardrobe cleaned down to the blue, but then Hollie noticed the word "Michigan" clearly integrated into the oak graining.  I guess with the family repainted it, they wanted to express a little regional pride.  The family that sold it didn't know about this, nor did the very knowledgeable dealers from whom we purchased it.  And we lived with it for months before Hollie noticed it.  But now...it's going to stay right where it is.

The 2nd Midwest Antiques Forum

It has been a whirlwind couple of months, and we'll go into greater detail in an upcoming "Young Collector" column.  But it is worth a few lines here to thanks those who spoke at and attended the recent Midwest Antiques Forum.  It was a small but enthusiastic crowd at the Airport Marriott in Cincinnati (ssshhhh!  don't tell anyone that the forum was technically not held in the Midwest).  

From our perspective, as organizers, it went smoothly, with the notable exception of one missing speaker.  Ellice Ronsheim, whose highly anticipated talk on interpreting landscapes and portraits from a decorative arts perspective, became ill and was unable to make the trip.  Thankfully, northeast Ohio appraiser Kathleen Weischaus, stepped up and discussed her ongoing research into the enigmatic Ferdinand Brader, who drew immensely detailed portraits of Ohio and Pennsylvania farms in the late 19th century.  She is curating an exhibition at the Canton Museum in 2014.

The other talks were fantastic!  Wes Cowan (auctioneer) detailed the life of sand artist Andrew Clemens of McGregor, Iowa.  Tova Brandt (curator) discussed Swedish and Danish immigrants and how they have chosen over the generations to decorate their homes.  Ian Simmonds (dealer/scholar) gave a wonderful Midwestern Glass 101 lecture that taught even the very knowledgeable a thing or two.  Amy Dehan (curator) discussed Cincinnati silver, which is the subject of a forthcoming exhibition and catalog.  Hollie highlighted Midwestern stuff in the marketplace.  And I blathered on about this and that.  There was also a lively panel discussion about restoration and conservation, and whether you should or shouldn't.  

For me, this event was very gratifying.  As I told the crowd, I love what I do, but any job, no matter how great, does, from time to time, get to be a grind.  And the MAF is one of my intellectual recharges.  To be in the presence of such scholarship and passion...it really reminds me of why I do what I do.  So thanks to those of you who were there.  And to the rest of you....you only have about 12 months to register for the 2013 Midwest Antiques Forum (follow us on Facebook or keep tabs on the website).

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money

I am finally working my way through Maureen Stanton's Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: Seeking History and Hidden Gems in Flea-Market America, and I must say, I'm enjoying it. So many books on the antiques biz are fun reads, but don't really say much about the business and how it operates. Stanton, however, through her dealer friend Curt Avery (not his real name), does, in fact, paint a pretty accurate picture of what a life in the antiques trade can be like.

Of course, our favorite part was the entirely unexpected mention our "Young Collector" column in Maine Antique Digest. Thanks, Maureen!

Article Links

If you just read our recent column,, then here, as promised, are the links to the full articles and stories we discussed:

The Meaning of Our Gadgets:

http://articles.philly.com/2012-02-03/news/31021636_1_iphone-popular-culture-laptop

Conspicuous Conservation:

http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/04/21/conspicuous-conservation-and-the-prius-effect/

How Our Mobile Phones Became Frankenstein's Monster:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/28/opinion/mobile-frankenstein-keen/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

The flexible phones article has already been sucked into the void of cyberspace. For info on flexible phones, a simple Google search will suffice. Additionally, a bit about how mobile phones our changing our lives, including becoming our identity, check here: http://mashable.com/2011/02/18/mobile-trends-commerce/

Down South...

Andrew here...I hope to add to the discussion on our previous post this week, as well as post some of the interesting tidbits I hear while at the Williamsburg Antiques Forum. I like Americana Week in New York, but since I'm a researcher at heart, WAF is my favorite week in the biz.

Opinion Peace....DISCUSS!

What did you think of our two-part series on dealing with mis-identified or poorly catalogued items and shows and/or auctions? Have you encountered this? If so, how did you deal with it?

Okay, really, I'm sure you ALL have encountered this. The fact is, there are thousands of folks out there selling antiques and while many are very very expert in what they sell, many are generalists who do there best, but can't possibly be expected to know everything. Is there a way we can create a marketplace that inspires confidence on the part of buyers rather than the "caveat emptor" attitude that has been used in the past?

Michigan schrank

I told you that I would show it off, so here it is...the Bleicher family schrank from Washtenaw County, Michigan, circa 1835.




Victorian oak graining over original blue (someday I may have it cleaned down to that blue, but not now). That part of Michigan saw much German settlement in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. I was fortunate enough to purchase this right out of the family by way of Eric and Gary at The Chelsea Collection.