Here’s an article from Antiques And The Arts Online about the Antiques Show that took place in Bridgehamptom, NY on August 14-16. Sales were so brisk that one dealer with a 22-piece furniture ensemble had to endure the teasing of other dealers when he ran out of merchandise early.
May
27
Long Sutton, as I have come to understand, is a market town in Lincolnshire, England. I’m geographically out of my element here, but what’s going on there very soon is something that will amaze any lover of antique Victorian furniture and Victorian antiques. Dealers and collectors will be licking their chops over this one.
An English woman named Edna Northam collected and dealt in Victoran antiques for more than 40 years and decorated every room of her house with an astonishing array of antiques.
She had ceramics, glass, china, porcelain, furniture, metalware, and taxidermy. Auctioneer Clinton Slingsby says, “This is one of the most remarkable collections I have ever seen and probably one of the best examples of Victoriana remaining in the country.” And that means England itself!
Every room in Mrs. Northam’s house was themed by color: cranberry glass, blue glass, green glass. Her Victorian furniture was in mahogany, walnut and rosewood.
I’ll let the article tell you the rest. It’s from a publication called Cambs Times 24, and it has a link to a gallery of photos. Wow. Click here to read it.
The sale takes place on June 16 and 17. A full catalogue will be online a week before the sale. Let’s keep our eyes out for it.
Feb
24
I’m not sure that “Economy slows antique sales” is the best headline for this article from The MetroWest Daily News, out of Framingham, MA. But that’s what you’ll see when you go to read it.
One hundred dealers showed up from around New England and New York for the Holliston Antique Show, sponsored by the Citizen Scholarship Foundation of Holliston. There were 400 people waiting to pay $6 at the door when the show opened for its first day on Saturday, despite weather conditions that kept some away. In the end the scholarship foundation was able to add $10,000 to $12,000 to its endowment.
Of the three dealers mentioned in the article, two were positive and one negative.
Phyllis and Sam Petnov of Millford, MA remarked that it wasn’t like the good old days, when they could make $10,000 to $20,000 at the show. “Those days are gone. It reflects the economy. It’s universal.”
Alan Seymour, on the other hand, owner of Franklin Street Antiques in Natick, MA, said he did well at the show, after setting various price points for broader appeal. He wants to remind people that antiques are a good investment.
And Tom Nagy of Hampton, CT, who sells 18th and 19th century accessories, also said it was a good show for him. His sales included an 18th century Sheraton server and a Victorian mirror.
Why put a negative headline over that? I prefer mine.
And here is my growing collection of posts about the current economy and its effects on antique Victorian furniture and on antiques in general: Feb. 17, Feb. 7, Dec. 9, Dec. 8, Nov. 27, Oct. 25.
Feb
6
I found an interesting article at the WorthPoint blog, written by WorthPoint worthologist Tom Carrier. Tom tells how he had the chance to follow Will Seippel, WorthPoint founder and CEO, around the huge antique show in Brimfield, MA. Three times every year the town of Brimfield, population about 5,000, doubles in size as 5,000 antique dealers show up to create the “Antique Capital of the United States.”
Will Seippel wanders around commenting on various things he finds, including a Sheraton style New England work table dating to around 1820, with its characteristically thin legs, some Victorian drawer pulls, and a Victorian bed. Will remarks that the bed is “a little bit higher end of Victorian furniture.” Fruit carvings adorn the head and foot of the bed.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a video accompanying the article. We get the chance to follow Will Seippel around ourselves. The Victorian bed comes at the end.
Dec
9
Here’s another article out of the UK on the state of the market for antique furniture. Unlike the article I linked to yesterday, this one, which comes from the Telegraph, takes a negative view.
This makes the second article I’ve found that paints a gloomy picture of the Victorian furniture market, and the first negative one to come from the UK. Yesterday’s article and the one from the post on October 25 were both from the UK and both positive. Today’s sounds more like the one from November 27, which predicted a permanent collapse in the market for antique Victorian furniture.
And it would appear to blow up my theory about British Victorian being in a stronger position than American Victorian.
Here are some things the article says. Prices are at their lowest level in ten years. The 90s were boom years, but things have gone downhill since the 9/11 attacks. Collectors are selling off pieces to pay off debts. Many dealers are thinking of throwing in the towel. It could be a good time to buy if you could wait 20 years for prices to recover. Business at auctions is up because so many people are selling. The low prices are actually attracting a new generation of buyer.
The article provides a list of specific pieces, with their prices a decade ago vs. their prices today. Here are a few that may interest you (prices are in British pounds):
- Victorian Pembroke Table (200 in 1998, 50 today)
- Victorian Dining Room Table with Braided Legs (800 in 1998, 175 today)
- Victorian Chesterfield Sofa (400 in 1998, 75 today)
- Set of Six Victorian Dining Room Chairs (900 in 1998, 300 today)
The article does not give its sources for this information, by the way, so it’s probably based on the word of a few dealers. Not all dealers are struggling in this market, by the way. On November 25 I linked to an article about a man who recently opened an antique shop in the economically devastated city of Detroit. He’s now enjoying great success selling high end antiques and also selling online.
Perhaps it’s the case that the market got overinflated, much like the housing market. If a new generation of buyer is now able to afford pieces previously out of sight, Victorian furniture could be getting a whole new life. Out of the hands of investors and speculators and into the hands of people who actually live with it and appreciate it?
More on this topic to come, I’m sure. We’re getting quite a variety of messages.