Taking Children Antiquing

At about the same time as we had our first child, my late husband and I expanded out antique business. We added an addition to out existing building just for the antique shop. Soon I began to see a problem with the parents with children. All the children were curious and the parents spent all their time in the shop saying, NO! or Don’t Touch!. The first thing we did was have a truck of sand dumped next to the shop and added trucks and other things for the children to pay with. Everyone loved this. I also had a cabinet in the shop, where I kept small tins and boxes and other items that were unbreakable and let the children explore it.

Soon our daughter became too big to be confined in the backpack or carriage. We didn’t want to give up antiquing and freak out all the dealers. I came up with the idea of telling her that she could touch anything she wanted and ask about it as long as one of us held it. This worked like a charm for all of our three children, with nothing ever being broken.

We spent many days as a family going to flea markets and antique shows. It wasn’t long before they started collecting and, “picking” for us. I think that they really benefited from being exposed to the antique community. They did a lot of traveling, learned history and business and met a lot of interesting people. Although, at this point, none of them are, “in the business” full time, I can see that our encouraging their curiosity and appreciation of the past has been a positive influence on their approach to life.

"Political and Election Collectibles"

Political and Election Collectibles

Well another election is over. No matter what candidate or party I support, I'm reminded, every election, of the freedom we have in this country to campaign. The signs come out, the phone rings, and discussions start. I have been lucky to be in a family with members that have held office, and where differences of opinion are encouraged and respected.

Election eve we went to the courthouse plaza, to hear McClain speak. I thought that we might see some history. It was a nice Arizona night. There were about 10,000 enthusiastic supporters of all ages there, two country western bands. Groups of McCain and Obama signs held mock battles, the square was lined with press vans and trucks, many fancy buses and SUV's arrived, everyone wondering who the dignitaries were. Everyone had fun.

People have been collecting political items forever. This is an original New Hampshire 1882 ballot for the Republican Ticket. Hale was from Keene, NH and was Governor from 1883 - 1885. A voter simple marked their candidate with an X, a lot less complicated that the way we vote today. Election day was, another, “old home day”, when I lived in a small town in New Hampshire. After voting, everyone hung around to talk and a supper was served to the election workers. It was celebration and a reminder of the importance of our community.

"Your Collection is Only as Good as Your library"

"Your Collection is Only as Good as Your library"

That was one of the favorite sayings, of a friend, who had the largest collection in the world in his category, and who couldn't pass up a book about his interests. Most of the most astute collectors and successful dealers (do you know any dealers that don't collect?) have large libraries of books on antiques and read them. My husband, who is a director of his collecting club, has noticed that he is spending a lot of time answering questions, on their forum, that could be found in already published material.

I just listed a book, The Collecting of Antiques, by Esther Singleton that was published in 1942. This book is a true reference, full of information about a variety of fine antiques with some photographs. It contrasts sharply with the typical, "picture and price guide" book that we see published today and that are so popular. "Let's see how many of the items pictured can we find". Price guides are very useful, but cannot always be taken literally. What an item is worth, is what someone is willing to pay, and most importantly, rarity. The price guides, even those that are out of date can give you a good indication of rarity. The picture books are fun, but don't forget to seek out the other many fine books on antiques and collectibles. We are lucky that so many have shared their knowledge with us and should support their efforts.

Another friend of ours, who was a large book dealer in New England, found one of the few rare copies of a book in an old trunk, that sold for huge sum. Someone remarked to him, "You were so lucky". His response was, No, I've been studying all my life, so that I would be ready when I found that item of a lifetime".

What is the difference between antiques and collectibles?

The traditional definition has been: antiques 100 years or over; vintage, under 100 to 50 years; and collectibles everything else. With changing interests this has become somewhat blurry. I'm sure my granddaughter would consider her new American Doll a collectible. Some take into account an item's value, but to a collector sometimes the least expensive item can be the most valuable in terms of sentiment.

This antique, brass candlestick is an fine example, probably made in the 1850's. It has a, "push up", mechanism in the center which allows the candle to be used to the very end. This was important because the housewife probably made her own candles. It has a soft patina. Should you polish it? That's up to the collector. With any antique, it's wise to be careful when cleaning or refinishing. Originally brass was buffed to a high gloss and if you go to the Winterthur Museum, in Delaware, you will see all their brass displayed that way. My grandfather was English and had a brass collection. He would polish it, and everyone's shoes, every Sunday morning, before he went and did the brass at his church. As a child, I loved to help him, and that is probably why I love to polish my silver and brass today.

Most people would consider this knitting and crochet book, published in 1950, Baby Gems by Nell Armstrong a collectible. Nell, the author of many popular knitting books had a store in Lowell, MA for many years. She was a neighbor of ours, and I was able to ask her about her business. She told me that she started to stay up all night working on her designs. She then had people in one of the shelter programs, in Lowell, test her patterns. The president of Woolworths asked her to design and sell her book in his stores, where many of you probably remember finding them.