Price of Antiques

Since the age of 8 I've always had a little ol' lady side of me.
I absolutely love antiques, dark wood furniture, carved things, tea sets and on and on.

Obviously this is completely out of fashion right now and antiques are Cheeeeeeeeeeeeap!
Seriously, they can't give this stuff away fast enough.
I got an original painting from a known American Artist for $200.. It is easily worth 10x that amount.
I have a small stockpile of stained glass lamps and chandeliers in my basement.
I got a Spanish lead crystal chandelier for the whopping price of $0..... The people just wanted to get rid of it.

Not trying to make my house look like a scene from Hoarders, but Antiques are very cyclical and we are definitely
at one of the lowest I've seen.

I'm also trying to scoop up some more wood furniture before ever darn thing is painted!

a reply to: JAGStorm

Just don't forget that being old doesn't make it an antique.
A cheap piece of furniture from 1921 is still a cheap piece of furniture in 2021.

I have a slice of a Hawker Hurricane propeller from the Battle of Britain, with a painting of St Paul’s ablaze.
Kinda wonder if that Hurricane was downed when St Paul’s was bombed
$2.00 Australian, about 50 cents US give or take

a reply to: JAGStorm

I have some museum quality stuff that's held its value or gone up. I bought most of it because we have a Victorian home and not for investment reasons but it's nice to know I can unload it on some sucker if I have to.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: JAGStorm

I have some museum quality stuff that's held its value or gone up. I bought most of it because we have a Victorian home and not for investment reasons but it's nice to know I can unload it on some sucker if I have to.

I only buy what I personally love or can use. I am not into nick/knacks types of antiques. I love the more substantial pieces. I also have a weakness for old lamps. There was a real art in lamp making in the past.

Tell me about some of your items, any marble carvings etc?

originally posted by: JAGStorm
Since the age of 8 I've always had a little ol' lady side of me.
I absolutely love antiques, dark wood furniture, carved things, tea sets and on and on.

Obviously this is completely out of fashion right now and antiques are Cheeeeeeeeeeeeap!
Seriously, they can't give this stuff away fast enough.

I'm also trying to scoop up some more wood furniture before ever darn thing is painted!

So funny. I could have written this with regards to the furniture. I love it just for the amazing craftsmanship and wood quality. And as you say cheeeeeeeeep!

originally posted by: JAGStorm
I only buy what I personally love or can use. I am not into nick/knacks types of antiques. I love the more substantial pieces. I also have a weakness for old lamps. There was a real art in lamp making in the past.

Tell me about some of your items, any marble carvings etc?

Yeah, we use nearly all of it. It's mostly American furniture and smalls, focusing on Gothic Revival. I have a few Meeks pieces, a couple of Alexander Roux, a Belter, a Hunzinger set and some other known makers.

This is probably the single most valuable piece, it's a J. and J.W. Meeks chair that they only made 10 of, 1 happens to be in the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Actually, I take that back, the Belter sette is much more than this.

a reply to: igloo

So funny. I could have written this with regards to the furniture. I love it just for the amazing craftsmanship and wood quality. And as you say cheeeeeeeeep!

I love mahogany and teak, but this generation says “ewww brown wood”
People also don’t want to move heavy pieces anymore. Tons and tons of china cabinets and stuff like that
For sale for cheap in my area. I guess not many people collect china anymore either.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Love it! That rosette in the back is really the show stopper.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
Love it! That rosette in the back is really the show stopper.

It's supposed to be a stylized oriel window from a cathedral.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Last week I was bidding on an Edwardian table from the Astor estate.
It sold for $17K at auction about 8 years ago.
Just sold, again, for $4K.

Antique prices are way down...except from some important artists and evergreens like Tiffany.

When I got rid of my shop, the walls were full of antique tools. I found good homes for a lot of them...the ones I gave away were worth about three grand. My brother brought some up to his big garage up north to hang on the walls of the old rock mine building. I gave about a grand worth to my youngest daughter, and about a hundred bucks to the oldest daughter. There were about two truckloads and a trailer load that I got rid of. I gave the guy I know from the scrap yard a nineteen nineteen generator, it was a put put generator. I gave some mechanic friends some forty and fifties mechanic tools. I still kept maybe two grand worth of the ones that have memories behind them or are worth a real lot. I liked the hand crank drill press from the thirties, and had two people who wanted that, I gave that to my daughter instead of my brother.

The collection of cap guns and rifles from the sixties I gave to a guy who collects antiques, found all of those over the years at spring cleanup. There were six kids rifles and one handgun. They weren't all tools, there were a lot of sporting things.

I felt like Santa Clause for a few months while I was cleaning out the building before I sold it.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
a reply to: JAGStorm

Last week I was bidding on an Edwardian table from the Astor estate.
It sold for $17K at auction about 8 years ago.
Just sold, again, for $4K.

Antique prices are way down...except from some important artists and evergreens like Tiffany.

They will all go back up when it's back in fashion.
I love love love Edwardian & Victorian pieces. The rich wood color, the details, the glasswork.
I like some things from the 20's & 30's but notice that my interest drops off at the 40's & 50's and then does a nosedive for anything after that period.

a reply to: rickymouse

When I got rid of my shop, the walls were full of antique tools.

Isn't it amazing how well made some of those tools were.
I have a small antique shovel. The entire piece is metal. No wood handle, no rot.
This thing will outlast me and several other generations. That's why they don't make them like that anymore.

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: IAMTAT
a reply to: JAGStorm

Last week I was bidding on an Edwardian table from the Astor estate.
It sold for $17K at auction about 8 years ago.
Just sold, again, for $4K.

Antique prices are way down...except from some important artists and evergreens like Tiffany.

They will all go back up when it's back in fashion.
I love love love Edwardian & Victorian pieces. The rich wood color, the details, the glasswork.
I like some things from the 20's & 30's but notice that my interest drops off at the 40's & 50's and then does a nosedive for anything after that period.

I've gone through so many eras of antique colleting over the years, Medieval, Jacobean, Early American, Shaker, Nouveau, Deco...always trading up and keeping my favorite pieces from each period.
Strangely, it all goes together.

Lately, I'm collecting pre-Columbian pottery...as I have no more room for large furniture pieces.
If I do get something big...I have to sacrifice something for space.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
If I do get something big...I have to sacrifice something for space.

Buh-bye, DB, and enough extra room for a indoor tennis court.

a reply to: IAMTAT

I've gone through so many eras of antique colleting over the years, Medieval, Jacobean, Early American, Shaker, Nouveau, Deco...always trading up and keeping my favorite pieces from each period.
Strangely, it all goes together.

I totally know what you are saying. It goes together because it's probably all made from high quality natural materials, wood/leather/marble etc, and not this fake plastic wood they are using now.

Slightly off topic. I'm looking for a mantle clock with brass plaque dedicated to Aaron Cowburn for his bravery fighting a fire and rescuing miners. My uncle sold it to an American without the families permission. It's a long shot but I've gotta try.

originally posted by: crayzeed
Slightly off topic. I'm looking for a mantle clock with brass plaque dedicated to Aaron Cowburn for his bravery fighting a fire and rescuing miners. My uncle sold it to an American without the families permission. It's a long shot but I've gotta try.

If you have a photo of it, I would share it on FB. There it will make the rounds and probably your best bet of finding it.
Also if you know what state it was sold to.

a reply to: JAGStorm
Don't have a photo, we never saw the need. My uncle was living in the Royal Mews in London. We only know he sold it to an American in about 1970s. Don't know where he came from. I couldn't even tell you the full proper writing on the brass plaque. Just that it was black with 2 columns either side. I don't think it's that valuable, it's sentimental to the family.