Is it Lead or Gold?
September 9, 2006 12:09 PM Subscribe
ThatHouseIsAnEpisodeofAntiquesRoadshowFilter: My friend's family has hundreds of years of history in one area of New York. At various points during that time they were fairly well-off and were able to acquire things--so now the family house from hundreds of years ago has hundreds of years worth of stuff packed in. Some of it seems pretty valuable, but they don't know which is gold and which is junk. What do they do?
I haven't seen the house myself, but he describes it as a mess--rooms packed full of antique furniture, china closets stuffed full of knick-knacks, a run-down table located next to a gorgeous old crystal serving bowl, a plate of uncut Civil War-era bills next to a random painting. The parents want to sort through all of these things somehow and pare everything down, but they have no idea where to begin. Neither they nor anyone in the family has experience with antiques, and for various reasons they don't have the time to spend doing the research necessary to go through everything. It's at the point where the father just wants to toss everything and be done with it, but my friend and his mother are pretty afraid they'd be tossing some very valuable and history-rich stuff.
What do they need to do? Are there people who can do this job for them (for a very reasonable price)? We're not talking about a chronic clutterers situation, they want to get rid of it but don't know where to begin.
I haven't seen the house myself, but he describes it as a mess--rooms packed full of antique furniture, china closets stuffed full of knick-knacks, a run-down table located next to a gorgeous old crystal serving bowl, a plate of uncut Civil War-era bills next to a random painting. The parents want to sort through all of these things somehow and pare everything down, but they have no idea where to begin. Neither they nor anyone in the family has experience with antiques, and for various reasons they don't have the time to spend doing the research necessary to go through everything. It's at the point where the father just wants to toss everything and be done with it, but my friend and his mother are pretty afraid they'd be tossing some very valuable and history-rich stuff.
What do they need to do? Are there people who can do this job for them (for a very reasonable price)? We're not talking about a chronic clutterers situation, they want to get rid of it but don't know where to begin.
Find a couple of fabulous gay boys, or I suppose more accurately men in their 40s, who enjoy antiques and collectibles. They'll be able to walk through the home and point out the finds with little to no problem.
My gay boy, er... man, and I do this at yard sales and in other people's homes all the time.
posted by FlamingBore at 12:15 PM on September 9, 2006
My gay boy, er... man, and I do this at yard sales and in other people's homes all the time.
posted by FlamingBore at 12:15 PM on September 9, 2006
Give a call to a REPUTABLE auction house, Christies, Southeby's, Heritage, all will come out and look and appraise if it gives them a chance at the stuff when they are ready to sell.
Heck, for that matter, look on the Antiques Roadshow site, some of those guys will come look as they are auctioneers and dealers as well.
Regina
(grew up in the antique business)
posted by legotech at 12:22 PM on September 9, 2006
Heck, for that matter, look on the Antiques Roadshow site, some of those guys will come look as they are auctioneers and dealers as well.
Regina
(grew up in the antique business)
posted by legotech at 12:22 PM on September 9, 2006
Unbelievable! This sounds like a goldmine. I would spend some time convincing them that they are possibly missing a great opportunity (for a cut, of course).
posted by tellurian at 12:34 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by tellurian at 12:34 PM on September 9, 2006
Second the reputable auction house--get an appraisal, stat. (Some of the "junk," incidentally, may be worth more than the things that look valuable...)
posted by thomas j wise at 12:52 PM on September 9, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by thomas j wise at 12:52 PM on September 9, 2006 [1 favorite]
I am helping a friend with a similar project in the Bronx.
Sotheby's has a comprehensive list of experts and they do do free auction estimates though the turn-around times is 4-6 weeks.
They do have a minimum consignment and they are truly high end. If you could identify the value of a few of the items in your friend's house through internet research, and they are of sufficient value to qualify for Sotheby's, contact one of their experts, explain what you have and make clear you want help auctioning the whole contents of the house, not just the items they are interested in.
If they are interested enough in some of the items you have they should be able to assist you in referrals to the appropriate smaller auction houses that specialize in the other items in the house.
I am familiar with books and hand tools and I would recommend Swann in Manhattan for books and Clarence Blanchard in Maine and Martin J. Donnelly in upstate New York for tools.
If the collection is big enough Blanchard or Donnelly will come to you and handle everything - cataloging the collection, transportation to their facilities and marketing for the auction.
You need to avoid an estate sale/garage sale AT ALL COSTS.
As FlamingBore points out, people who are knowledgeable will pick a house like your friends clean.
There are plenty of book and tool collectors who know a lot more than me, but even I have been able to score real "finds" (e.g., a tool for $100 that is worth $750, books for $5-$10 worth >$100) at estate sales in the NYC suburbs.
posted by mlis at 2:37 PM on September 9, 2006
Sotheby's has a comprehensive list of experts and they do do free auction estimates though the turn-around times is 4-6 weeks.
They do have a minimum consignment and they are truly high end. If you could identify the value of a few of the items in your friend's house through internet research, and they are of sufficient value to qualify for Sotheby's, contact one of their experts, explain what you have and make clear you want help auctioning the whole contents of the house, not just the items they are interested in.
If they are interested enough in some of the items you have they should be able to assist you in referrals to the appropriate smaller auction houses that specialize in the other items in the house.
I am familiar with books and hand tools and I would recommend Swann in Manhattan for books and Clarence Blanchard in Maine and Martin J. Donnelly in upstate New York for tools.
If the collection is big enough Blanchard or Donnelly will come to you and handle everything - cataloging the collection, transportation to their facilities and marketing for the auction.
You need to avoid an estate sale/garage sale AT ALL COSTS.
As FlamingBore points out, people who are knowledgeable will pick a house like your friends clean.
There are plenty of book and tool collectors who know a lot more than me, but even I have been able to score real "finds" (e.g., a tool for $100 that is worth $750, books for $5-$10 worth >$100) at estate sales in the NYC suburbs.
posted by mlis at 2:37 PM on September 9, 2006
This sounds familiar because it happened to us. We bought a house packed to the brim--every single room--with "stuff". It is a daunting task to sort through it, but we did it. We're still doing it AND renovating the house at the same time. Our neighbor and my husband wanted to chuck it all and I was certain that there was history in there. There was. Some valuable artwork, historical papers and books, and some family treasures. Although it was hard, dirty work, I loved every minute of it. (And still do when I can dedicate the time.) It is a blast.
The tough part of getting someone else to come in and appraise it is:
a) such a vast collection of stuff requires that the business you work with has breadth AND depth in the amount of items that they are qualified to research,
b) you will find that the most unlikely sounding/looking items are actually worth something. Seriously, some of the valuable stuff was something I thought was godawful ugly.
c) you want to work with someone reputable and trustworthy who will not want to buy your stuff from you, merely appraise it. For this appraisal, you will pay them money, which is quite worth it because of all of the knowledge they have and the time that they will save you.
d) Or, you will spend hours and hours researching these things yourself.
e) If you sell them to dealers, realize that you will probably get 1/3 to 1/4 of the price that you would get if you sold them to a private collector and, honestly? That is actually fair. Some items take months/years to sell, relationships with clients can take work/time, storage space that is safe and controls temps/dust costs money, etc. You will also get rid of a large amount of items at once, instead of one at a time.
If you want to email me, I can give you a quick overview of how I approached the task. I don't know if I would do it the same way again, by hindsight is always 20/20. (Email is in the About Us section of the website in my profile.)
And then, there is the blogging of it. We sold a major amount of stuff after we began to blog about what we were finding, even a few years after we blogged about it. (If we still had it.) Unplanned. Search engines would bring up our site when folks were looking for things and they contacted us. It has truly been a bizarre experience but also a great education.
We have relied on the extensive knowledge and honest reputation of Brian Meyer at Chicago Antiques Guide (who is also a pal of Mefi member, BigHappyFunhouse). Brian is a great appraiser with vast resources and breadth/depth of knowledge. If you can't find one nearby to you that you like, consider contacting Brian and flying him out there. He would be worth it.
posted by jeanmari at 2:51 PM on September 9, 2006
The tough part of getting someone else to come in and appraise it is:
a) such a vast collection of stuff requires that the business you work with has breadth AND depth in the amount of items that they are qualified to research,
b) you will find that the most unlikely sounding/looking items are actually worth something. Seriously, some of the valuable stuff was something I thought was godawful ugly.
c) you want to work with someone reputable and trustworthy who will not want to buy your stuff from you, merely appraise it. For this appraisal, you will pay them money, which is quite worth it because of all of the knowledge they have and the time that they will save you.
d) Or, you will spend hours and hours researching these things yourself.
e) If you sell them to dealers, realize that you will probably get 1/3 to 1/4 of the price that you would get if you sold them to a private collector and, honestly? That is actually fair. Some items take months/years to sell, relationships with clients can take work/time, storage space that is safe and controls temps/dust costs money, etc. You will also get rid of a large amount of items at once, instead of one at a time.
If you want to email me, I can give you a quick overview of how I approached the task. I don't know if I would do it the same way again, by hindsight is always 20/20. (Email is in the About Us section of the website in my profile.)
And then, there is the blogging of it. We sold a major amount of stuff after we began to blog about what we were finding, even a few years after we blogged about it. (If we still had it.) Unplanned. Search engines would bring up our site when folks were looking for things and they contacted us. It has truly been a bizarre experience but also a great education.
We have relied on the extensive knowledge and honest reputation of Brian Meyer at Chicago Antiques Guide (who is also a pal of Mefi member, BigHappyFunhouse). Brian is a great appraiser with vast resources and breadth/depth of knowledge. If you can't find one nearby to you that you like, consider contacting Brian and flying him out there. He would be worth it.
posted by jeanmari at 2:51 PM on September 9, 2006
If you throw any of the 'junk' on ebay, let me know.
posted by pieoverdone at 2:52 PM on September 9, 2006
posted by pieoverdone at 2:52 PM on September 9, 2006
Or you can do what my brother did when preparing for the sale of my mom's house 2 yrs after my dad's passing... Call the 1-800-Got-Junk guys to come haul it all away. No joke.
It was all I could do to get across country to salvage what I could before they arrived.
I'm talking about a garage filled stem to stern and floor to ceiling with my parent's treasures. Still makes me ill to this day, but there were deadlines to be met, blah, blah, blah...
Do whatever you can to sort through the possessions piece by piece. The most obscure item can hold priceless items.
Good luck!
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 8:39 PM on September 10, 2006
It was all I could do to get across country to salvage what I could before they arrived.
I'm talking about a garage filled stem to stern and floor to ceiling with my parent's treasures. Still makes me ill to this day, but there were deadlines to be met, blah, blah, blah...
Do whatever you can to sort through the possessions piece by piece. The most obscure item can hold priceless items.
Good luck!
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 8:39 PM on September 10, 2006
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posted by fire&wings at 12:12 PM on September 9, 2006