Growing up in Louisa – Collectables!
Weekly feature . . . by Mike Coburn
I did it again! I have to hang my head knowing that I have given in to one of my weaknesses and attended yet another auction. Maybe I have an urge to do that because of all those years of having little and wanting to have some of those unattainable things that I saw others had back in the day. I don’t know the cause and I think it is too late to care. I am what I am, to quote Popeye. I’m sure Sigmund Freud would have some explanation that would pigeon-hole my behavior, but he’s not here and besides, I enjoy suffering with this kind of ‘ill-health’ if that’s what it is.
During this recent auction Sue and I picked up some real steals on three oil paintings and bought the cutest convertible highchair that we can put to use right away. Out of thirteen grands, four are toddlers and two are infants. The challenge is to keep them in chairs throughout family dinners. Everything my wife and I bought fits well into our lifetime of collectibles. In fact, we probably need to have an auction ourselves to cull out some of the things we don’t need and lack the space to house.
When writing I’ve grown a little weary of using the word antique because as soon as it is used people glaze over. Many readers either fall asleep or leave the room. I call it the ‘empty eye’ syndrome, which is something like the vacant stare of a cadaver in a murder mystery. Hmmm. Anybody there? I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago about family trees, but it is a rare youth that gives a ‘hoot’ about the past. We adults warn them by quoting George Santayana who wrote (The Life of Reason, 1905): “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” What worries me is that I remember the past quite well, but still am repeating it. Maybe it’s not enough to learn but rather applying what we’ve learned. There’s always a catch.
Another problem of using the word ‘antique’ is that there are so many different opinions about what is meant. So what is an antique? It used to be that the designation required an item be at least one hundred years old, unless, of course it is a car, which took only twenty years to qualify. But what if you’re a person? Who knows? When I was a kid anyone in their twenties was too old to pal around. We will all remember the slogan of the time that we should not trust anyone over thirty. Middle age for people used to be the thirties, then the forties or fifties. Somehow it is the sixties now. Gads! That still makes many of us old, even if not antiques. Maybe I’ll just stick with inanimate things in this article.
One of American’s, and Great Britain’s, favorite TV shows are the two forms of Antique Roadshow. The traveling events are fun to watch for nearly everyone and are educational, but they are also an economic boon for the lucky host cities. Great crowds of people surge in all around the area with their personal treasures and stories. The folks that make it into the American convention centers only get in after winning a lottery for the limited supply of tickets. Once there, many are shocked by the appraised value of their items and some are disappointed when their sacred family history is debunked. Both shows move all around the respective countries to different venues, but alas, there’s more places than there is time. The summer filming allows for only a handful of shows. Undoubtedly, they could easily do the filming year around and still attract crowds, but the experts who do the appraisals have businesses of their own that need attention. They likely also have a family somewhere, so having this ‘side’ job must take a toll on those relationships.
I remember two kinds of stores that were around when I was growing up. One type was simply a second-hand store that resold used items. Some went by the name ‘junk store.’ I recall that one or two of these were located just as you entered town near the Hinkle Motel. Another was on the corner of Franklin and Clay. Usually their inventory came from families where the kids had moved out of the family home and the parents or grandparents had passed. Sometimes, the items were sold to raise necessary cash to pay off debts, or because someone had bought new stuff and the old had to go. In some cases merchants had to work hard to buy or consign estate items when the heirs wanted the old family homestead to remain just so. That sentiment is understood, but it denies the opportunities for these items to be enjoyed by others, even if in a museum setting.
The word ‘antique’ was rarely used to describe the stores that resold the more common, well-worn, or obsolete furnishings. Real family heirlooms were left for another, fancier kind of store that carried only quality antique furniture and decorative items that had come from ‘high-end,’ or ‘high-society’ homes. These stores were careful to not pile or clutter, and to keep the atmosphere free from dust like sometimes was prevalent in the second-hand stores. These fancier places were set up more like a showroom, often having displays of whole living room, or bed room suites. Their furniture inventory was chiefly made from mahogany, oak, rosewood, walnut, or chestnut, and often carried a pedigree such as Chippendale, or Louis the 15th. The art glass displayed was from well-known makers like Tiffany of New York, Lalique, or some other famous name. You could bet the prices were higher than those found in the ‘junk’ stores. These higher quality establishments always branded themselves as an Antique Store and listed as sellers of ‘Fine Furniture and Furnishings.’ I remember seeing some of these in Paintsville and Ashland, but I don’t remember if Louisa had any of the fancier places. If I’ve overlooked something, I know someone will let me know.
The practical difference between the two kinds of stores had to do with the perceived quality and price of the wears for sale. A wise shopper might occasionally find a valuable antique in a second-hand store, or ‘junk’ store as they were sometimes called, and pay less than they might have in the other, more fanciful shop. It is also possible that what is sold as an antique may turn out to be a reproduction, or fake. Therein lies the challenge even today. The junk stores buy from the estates of families, including hard-pressed folks, from the middle and lower classes. The antique stores buy directly from the estates, or at auctions of the ‘collections’ of middle and upper classes. These merchants rarely paused to look at the hidden treasures that may be hiding in the attic of a farmhouse, or an old outbuilding. Both kinds of dealers buy from estate auctions and often do so at really low prices.
To make money, or to justify even being in business, dealers have to buy their merchandise at a low enough price to allow them to mark it up to cover their overhead and to make a reasonable return on their investment. Usually, if a merchant buys from an auction or an estate they will want to take the price they paid and at least double or even triple the price when they put it on the sales floor. This isn’t always easy because there will be competition from other dealers and from consumers who may be willing to pay a little more. Sometimes the best approach for a dealer is to buy the whole estate outright before it goes to auction. Then, they remove what’s fit to cleanup and resell, and then cut a deal with a junk shop for the remainder. Finally, the remnants are sent to the landfill. Everyone’s dream is to find a valuable ‘surprise’ when sorting it all out.
For those infected with the bug to discover bargains, there are also garage sales, estate sales, and flea markets. Depending upon the venue some of these provide an excellent buy from heirs who know little of the true value of the dusty or obsolete artifacts left in the barn. Sue and I browse these quickly for gems, or to find a cheap price on something needed by one of the kids. Our grandchildren have benefited greatly when we pick up clothing in just the right size and color, often unused still adorned with the original store tags. We have found good tools, old toys, boxes of Legos, and fine leaded cut glass bowls and baskets. We have nicer things than we could ever have had by buying new.
I once knew a lady who ran newspaper ads offering to clean out people’s attics, basements, or barns at little or no charge. Her angle was that some of the stuff might be worth keeping or reselling. The rest would be trashed. While she sometimes found items of value she told me that it occasionally turned out to be just a day of hard work. She learned to ‘preview’ the site and once spotting some possible profits, she would make an agreement that the final disposition of all the stuff was her decision. Her promise was that the space would be empty and cleaned. It was her personal ethic that anything she found having personal value she would offer to give back to the owner. That sounded like fun to me, but then again at my age it also sounds like work. The prize might be an old trunk that is holding memories left from the war years, or maybe something even older. I’m thinking an old painting, vintage clothing, musical instruments, pottery or glass, or even a certificate signed by Lincoln or some other famous person would be a great find. Today there’s a lot of war souvenirs stuck in footlockers or trunks. Some of these can have value. Some should be researched and possibly returned to the rightful owners if it is found to be stolen. Pick the right attic and you may find a real treasure and loads of museum pieces. Some barn finds are worth a fortune.
Suzie and I still love to attend estate sales and auctions, but not as dealers. Certainly we have sold a few things, but usually what we buy we will put to use or will provide for our children, grandchildren, or a friend that tells us they are looking for certain things. The word is well out in our circle that if anyone needs anything they should speak up and we’ll try to find them a real bargain. We pass it through to them without markup. The result of being out in the market is that my home is full of antiques purchased at a fraction of their worth. I doubt I will ever see the profit, but I’ll enjoy the stuff while I still can. Guests will sometimes exclaim appreciation of an item and we’ll laugh at how little we actually paid. I’m at the place now where I need to sell off some of the things we’ve collected over the years. I know that what I have is worth owning. I guess the kids will have a big auction when Sue and I are gone. They know enough to not just throw the stuff away, I think.
Because of the baby-boomers and those generations just a little younger, the furniture and items that were ‘new’ when we were growing up are now in high demand. Mid-century modern is a phrase heard over and over again. Well, I am from that time, but I’m not keen on mid-century modern! In the end I think that people should buy what they want and what they like. To me buying some new things is a waste of money. Having studied cabinet-making for a time I am of the opinion that much of today’s stuff is cheaply made and will not hold up. That’s okay to some people because in a couple of years they will grow tired of their décor and want to replace the furniture anyway. If you can afford that, more power to you. In the beginning I couldn’t make ends meet, so I had to find bargains and I needed things that would hold up to the abuse of a house full of kids. The old furniture fit the bill and was all I could manage, anyway. Looking back, I’d still do it that way because I know the materials and craftsmanship would be there and it would still look good and function as it should.
As an artist I know that I can pick up nineteenth and twentieth century paintings at bargain prices. I even come across some really old art on occasion, but I’m not as comfortable with that. I also know that modern abstracts attract more people and usually earn a higher price at auction. I tend to paint in impressionistic styles, but I also do some abstract paintings that goes better with today’s décor. The last group is far easier to sell. I like all kinds of art, sometimes wild with a storm of color with foamy waves crashing all about.
Also, there’s an important issue about our personal memories and tastes. The stuff that filled my house when I was growing up was sold, or lost, after I went off to the Air Force. A lot of it was just plain junk, but some things meant something to me, but alas it was gone. I recently bought a cookie jar like the one I saw every day of my life when I was growing up. I’m sure it is not the very one, but it seems to have the same look as I remember, faded paint and all. It might be one of thousands made by Shawnee Pottery, but it took years of searching and some help from a reader for me to find it. This nice reader gave me the appropriate link and I was able watch the prices for a time before finally buying it on-line. That cookie jar is now in my kitchen on top of the heirloom Hoosier my wife got from her great grandmother. The elephant jar serves as a reminder of my childhood. That’s the real value for me regardless of whether it has commercial worth or not. I suspect it was commonly sold in stores during the days before my birth. Maybe some of your family had the same jar that you enjoyed in your childhood. Maybe yours was a Mickey Mouse, a bear, or a clown, but whatever it was, it’s the kind of thing that keeps us all tied to our memories of the time growing up.
I would encourage others to be grateful for the things you have and the memories that they invoke. As Americans we are so blessed to have lived in these very times. Many of us now enjoy an abundance of ‘things’ that remind us of harder times and the struggles that made us who we are. The best of those things aren’t material belongings, but family and friends. I am reminded of the good people I remember and love from Louisa who can be proud of their heritage, their moral values, and their moxie to stand tall in their beliefs. I treasure most of all those faces from the past. I shall look forward to that grand reunion in the by and by, and maybe before.
Thanks for reading this and drop me a line or two sometime. I’d love to hear from you.
