The Antique Victorian Furniture Blog

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.

Here’s the article.

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.

Technorati Tags: 18th Century, Antique, Antiques, Dealers, Economy, Furniture, Investment, Mirror, sheraton, show, Victorian

This post is the third I’ve written on the current state of the antique market in general and the market for antique Victorian furniture in particular.

On October 25 I linked to an article that was bullish on antiques and called Victorian antiques an upwardly mobile investment. Then on November 27 I posted on an article that told us the opposite, that Victorian furniture was going permanently into the tank.

Well, the bulls are back today. An article from The Press and Journal out of the UK, entitled “Antiques new way to beat slump,” tells us that antiques are “bucking the global downturn.” People are taking advantage of the slump and buying up items in the hopes that their value will turn around. Now’s the time to buy antiques, we’re told.

And here’s news for us. Sales of Victorian furniture are on the rise, and you can get the real thing for less than reproductions at the moment.

What do you make of these different messages? It’s interesting that the two bullish articles are from the UK, while the bearish one is from the US. Two separate markets perhaps? Is British Victorian on the rise while American Victorian sags?

Obviously an ongoing story that we need to stay on top of.

Here’s the link to the article in The Press and Journal.

Technorati Tags: Antique, Antiques, Economy, Furniture, Investment, Market, Victorian

I tracked down an article in the Times Online about London’s upcoming Antiques for Everyone fair. The interest in the article for many of us non-Londoners is not the fair itself, since a trip to London is out of the question. But in its discussion of the health of the antiques market in general and in the investment possibilities that antiques represent.

For example, a Victorian spoon-warmer, which will be available at the fair, is expected to fetch 15,000 pounds. The article suggests that in two to three years, the spoon could be worth 25,000 pounds!

The possibility for investment is actually going to be the biggest draw to the fair, especially given the alternatives available these days. And here’s something else for us. The article puts Victorian furniture in the “upwardly mobile” category.

Click here to read it.

Technorati Tags: Antique, Antiques, Fair, Furniture, Investment, Victorian