What are you waiting for??

At Garth's, and we'll bet every other auction house in the country, there remains stuff that was purchased and been paid for, sometimes years earlier. This perplexes us greatly. When we make a purchase, we simply cannot wait to get our grubby little paws on it. Seriously, for Andrew, it's worse than waiting to open presents Christmas morning.

So, last week, Andrew needed to pick up a consignment in Virginia, and Hollie tagged along (always a great help in providing top-notch customer service, and she's a charming traveling companion). And since Hillsborough, North Carolina was only a couple hours from the pickup, we decided to swing down and visit Leland Little Auctions. Despite arriving at near closing time, Leland and staff were tremendously hospitable.

Of course, the real purpose of this visit was to pick up a one-drawer stand that we purchased in their December auction (shown on the right...image courtesy of Leland Little Auctions). It was catalogued as southern, and not surprisingly as there are a number of tables and stands with similar cabriole legs that were made in the lower Mississippi River Valley, particularly in the New Orleans area, in the early 19th century. However, we don't think it's a Lousiana stand. Most of the stands from that area utilize cypress as the secondary wood while this stand has poplar. So what is it?

We think it's Midwestern. During the second quarter of the 19th century, thousands of Germanic settlers flooded into the Midwest, establishing communities from Ohio to Missouri. These communities held tightly to their European culture and the furniture they made and used reflected this.

In the case of this stand, if you remove the brass pull (the stand originally didn't have a pull), it exhibits a simplified neoclassicism that is very reminiscent of the Biedermeier furniture made in Europe during this same period and in the same parts of Europe from which these Midwestern German settlers came. And the woods--cherry and poplar--are exactly what you would expect from a Midwestern stand. Voila!

That's what we love about this stuff...making connections, finding that next piece of the puzzle. It's particularly exciting with this stand as the early furniture of the Midwestern Germans is the next big puzzle that Andrew is tackling.

So, we have to ask...why would we wait any longer than absolutely necessary to pick up our stuff??

Reader Feedback

In response to our column, "Commodity Futures (or the Risk of Commodifying Antiques)", which you can read here, we got the response posted below. We thought we'd put it up here and get your thoughts!

Email from 12/30/08:

Hello-

Guys, guys, guys--I am the author of a new book, Three Steps to Investment Success: Buying the Right Art, Antiques, and Collectibles, which you no doubt noticed on line but certainly failed to read.

I am an ISA Certified appraiser and have been a full time art and antiques appraiser for the past nineteen years, as well as having been a dealer and degreed in Art History. I suppose that I'm one of those 'experts' (maybe I should talk to my attorney?) that you dismiss so blithely in your sloppy and perfunctory article advising buyers of art and antiques not to utilize any clear strategic financial thinking when making purchases. (I'm sorry, YOUR qualifications were...?).

Your article recycled the same old illogical slogans and platitudes current in the industry for years, parroting the typical art and antiques trade 'party line' about 'buying what you like' and 'buying the best that you can afford' (why should anyone bother to 'buy the best' that they can afford one might initially ask, if that doesn't coincide with what they really like?). You sort of weave in and out of financially considered art and antiques buying, unsure of the logic of your arguments and ultimately appearing not to have carefully analyzed what you are talking about. The results of such ideas are predictable: clients with collections of expensive and ultimately valueless junk who have done nothing but 'buy what they like', buyers who interpret consideration of the 'best' that they can afford to what carries the highest price tag, an overly emotional commercial process, and ultimately an ongoing negative picture of the art and antiques industry in the minds of the rational buying public.

Guys, talk about a yawn; you might as well have saved effort and ink in you determined quest not to offer anything actually useful to the collecting public. Certainly your stance is not one which anyone could characterize as useful, enlightening or innovative in any respect.

Scott Zema
BA, MA ISA CAPP
Ark Limited Appraisals, Inc.

We're not old, but our stuff is!

We're atypical thirty-somethings. We don't live in some hip apartment downtown furnished by Pottery Barn, and we don't live in a 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath in the 'burbs with 2.2 children. Nope, not us. We live in a 19th-century schoolhouse furnished with stuff older than our great-grandparents.

But, it's to be expected. Andrew is an antiques auctioneer and historian of early American furniture, and Hollie is librarian who works for an Internet antiques price database. Fortunately, we rather enjoy being different. And that's good, because in our business, we are somewhat of a novelty because we are under 50. We spend many of our weekends at auctions and antique shows, and generally we have the least amount of gray hair of anyone there.

A little over a year ago, we started writing a column in the monthly newspaper Maine Antique Digest about the antiques and art marketplace from the perspective of a couple of its younger participants. You can read our archived columns at MAD's website (www.maineantiquedigest.com). Here, you'll be able to read stuff that just couldn't quite fit in our regular columns, such as notes on our trips to shows and auctions, tidbits that we see and here about in the marketplace, and we'll address some of the letters and emails we get in response to our columns (we are big fans of open dialogue).

We also hope that this foray into cyberspace will attract other young folks with an interest in history, antiques, and art. We're always looking to make contact with folks who share our interests! So, thanks for reading, and happy New Year!