| |
Collecting
is a universal affliction, known as 'that gentle
madness', a desire to possess for as many different
motives as there are minds who desire. Begun
in childhood (perhaps with marbles or baseball
cards), in some continued, in some fewer, refined,
collecting is a fellowship of shared excitement,
experience, and humor, that like fine cigars
and malt whiskey, seem to know each other without
introduction.
Collecting
provides a sense of order and a delirium of
desire, of chase and capture, of appreciation,
in that physical act of seeking out and surrounding
oneself with possession of the beautiful, the
beguiling, the evoking. But this is only one-half
of the equation. Success in securing, possessing
the object, and ruminating on its reverence,
is the other half.
The
essence of collecting has not changed through
our civilization: consummate art accompanied
by superb discrimination which allows the assemblage
of any great collection. Though taste and style
revolve and protocol and medium may be different,
the impulse and aggravation are timeless. So
is the passion. Acquisition is always a chase
and capture, and sometimes the possession becomes
the possessor.
A
basic philosophy of the discriminating collector
is to acquire objects that please aesthetically,
have cultural-historical interest, and stimulate
study and learning. Serious collectors are individuals
indelibly tattooed by their love of beauty,
form, function, and design. They are fluent
in the language of craft and technique, of objects
as tutors of civilization.
Antiques
are indulgence for most of the population. But
for many, that 'gentle madness' is that part
of our soul that craves and understands the
essential non-essential. Then they become sustenance,
as necessary as drinking water to live. This
drives the market, a market that has changed
little over the last nine hundred years, insofar
as collectors and the dealers who serve them.
The antique dealer is essentially a gambler,
like a stockbroker or a venture speculator.
She is also an tangible asset broker whose knowledge,
connoisseurship, and business savy are the only
criteria for success--repeat customers. Shrewdness
tempered with honesty, reticence with fairness,
and above all knowledge, are equally important.
As is showmanship. Most important however is
the necessity of years of hands-on experience
and education to derive a formula for savvy
buying. This is the expertise you pay for when
you purchase an object for more than what the
dealer paid, and are happy to do so because
you now own the possession.
As
maverick retail operations in the business of
purveying essential non-essentials, no antiquarian
shop has the same inventory, management style,
or clientele, they are as individual as their
proprietors. If you ask ten antique dealers
what they did before they became dealers, you
will receive ten different answers. No one as
a child ever said, "I want to be an antique
dealer," though some of us did wish we
could make a living on our taste. God has answered
our prayers and now we are compelled to.
A
FEW HELPFUL DEFINITIONS
Antique,
an object that has at least a century of age,
is representative of a period, style, or type,
and hangs together aesthetically.
Collect,
from the Latin col, together, and lect, choose
or gather.
Collecting,
to assemble, accumulate; secure (specimens,
books, &c.), for addition to a set...
collector,
one who collects &c. for addition to their
set
connoisseur,
one who collects &c. with superb discrimination
The
Quirks of the Antique Trade
Imagine
being a business owner having an imperative
of livelihood to constantly find and purchase
and turn inventory to maintain a cash flow,
when your goods and services are tied to an
appetite for an intangible idiosyncrasy, and
your clientele do not need your goods or services.
And there are five hundred other competitors
within ten miles with their own superfluous
goods and services.
The
antique and antiquarian book trade are unlike
retail markets in the most essential consideration--
competition does not diminish but rather expands
the potential for collective success. The Clinton
antique renaissance benefits every dealer on
the shoreline, because that is the way this
specialty market--like no other--operates. Quirky,
unpredictable, sometimes lean and sometimes
fat, a roller coaster livelihood certain to
bring on agida, and no dealer really wants to
be doing anything else.
The
dealer is selling his and herself as a product
and service only they can provide. It is a win-win
situation, perhaps for that reason competition
is benign. Antiques give good value for consumers
even if they not collectors. Old and used goods
in comparison to contemporary mass-production
are of far better quality of workmanship and
detail and usually a fraction of the cost. Living
with, decorating with, and enjoying period decorative
arts is an acquired taste, education is essential,
and experience is the best education. Not everything
old is valuable, and valuable is not always
old.
The antiques business is a tightrope of balancing
market savvy while trafficking in a desire for
possessions. An antique will seek its own level,
selling repeatedly at higher and higher prices
until it reaches a cap off. Quality, condition,
desirability dictate staying power of an object.
A good antique or well-crafted period piece
does not lose its value when it goes home with
you. You can sit on, drink from, eat at, sleep
in, walk on, and live with your antiques. But
one thing is certain, the good antique or period
piece will be worth more when you go to sell
it than when you buy it. You don't have that
certainty in the stock market.
A
FEW HELPFUL DEFINITIONS
Antique
:
an object that has at least a century of age,
is representative of a
period, style, or type, and hangs together aesthetically.
Collect
: from the Latin col, together, and lect, choose
or gather.
Collecting
: to assemble, accumulate; secure (specimens,
books, &c.), for addition to a set...
Collector
: one who collects &c. for addition to their
set.
Connoisseur
: one who collects &c. with superb discrimination.
|
|
