We Sell
Quality Antiques
& Collections of Antiques
Collections
of antiques and collectibles have a special meaning and presence in the world
of antiques, and even seemingly
mundane individual items can take on new
meaning and significance when pl
aced in the context of a well-focused
and thoughtfully assembled antique collection.
Antique collections can be used to
demonstrate how a particular
idea or object evolved through its
different stages of development, or as a powerful and interesting visual
design statement, or simply as a means of preserving a portion of our
heritage for future generations to enjoy, view, and learn from.
Over the years we have bought
and sold numerous collections of antiques from all over the country ranging from tool
collections, collections of irons and laundry-related
antiques, antique pencil sharpener collections, a collection of antique
hotel or call bells, several collections of antique sewing machines, and more.
We have also
helped sell several collections in their entirety for
collectors who were ready to sell after years of enjoying them. We are
experienced and are well positioned to take on the task of the considerable
work involved in properly dealing with this sort of endeavor.
The
Situation
Today
At every
imaginable venue where quality antiques use to be offered
there is now stuff that's not even as old as I am, or stuff that is simply ordered new
from catalogs being offered up as antiques. Auctions which use to
have great stuff are now full o
f nameless insignificant
fill and fluff.
We have
heard this refrain from dealers and collectors alike ever since we have
been involved with the antiques business, which is going on some 30 plus years now. We
use to chuckle as we were still buying and selling some great stuff.
But now we feel it has finally come to be true for most antiques. It is certainly true for those types of antiques that
are of primary interest to us.
We have come to the conclusion, and
must reluctantly admit, that the vast majority of quality antiques we
are interested in are already in collections.
The days of good stuff coming out of the
attic or being dug out of the basement or garage are pretty much gone. Over the years we have consistently
bought the majority of our best and
favorite antiques out of 
collections and from private collectors, individuals,
and fellow dealers
around the country. The
common thread is that these great pieces always seem to come from
collections purposefully assembled over the years.
We are actively seeking help you sell large or
small collections
of antiques specifically related to those categories that are of interest to us.
We are helping several consignors sell good condition, quality antiques and
collections of antiques on
our sales pages.
Our Role
Collections
of antiques often need to be dispersed in a different way
from that in which they were
originally assembled, and it takes a
special knowledge and acumen to properly catalog, identify, appreciate,
and properly redistribute some of these larger collections of antiques.
For example, a broad tool collection or a collection of diverse office
antiques could well hold more significance and interest when re-focused or
re-assembled upon specific segments or themes, say just planes with a tool
collection, or just pencil sharpeners or typewriters from
a collection that was focused on general office antiques. The same buyer is
almost certainly not going to be interested in buying both the collection
of fans, and pencil sharpeners.
Another consideration is that in any
collection there is always a small
percentage of the whole that is much more desirable than the bulk---this
can't be avoided given the nature of collecting. We are willing to
sell the good, as well as the bad, (or the more common) in order to acquire
the key pieces of the collection as part of a package deal. And this
arrangement works to the benefit of the seller as well who is not faced
with the dreaded task of what to do with the "fluff" or lesser items that
are always left over after the top pieces disappear, or how to categorize
and disperse the different aspects of the collection.
Take
for example the iron and laundry collection that we purchased which included over
3,000 antique
pressing or sad irons and
laundry related antiques. There were also over 60 full size washing
machines, 200 or more washboards, and 1000 or so trivets included in this collection.
This collection had to be carefully sorted and inventoried and then
strategically placed and re-distributed into a
number of collections as it was so large and diverse. The sheer size
of this collection made it unmanageable to the typical collector, dealer or auctioneer.
We
carefully inventoried, sorted, identified, cleaned, and categorized the
different segments of this massive collection and then carefully and
methodically distributed most of it back into other more focused and
smaller collections, analyzing which items should be sold at which venues.
Some pieces were sold for $1 or less and
other pieces sold individually for thousands. The theory was to
enhance the value of the upper end items by not "polluting" them by
selling them in the same venue as the lower end items. It was quite an undertaking, but worked out
well and we were able to add a few select pieces to our own collection as
a bonus for taking on this task. The entire endeavor including
an auction 2,000 miles away was accomplished in a little over 6 months.
We are interested in buying
or helping you sell antique collections, both large and small, diverse or tightly focused, and
entire collections as well as partial segments
of antique collections.
Of course you
could call the local auctioneer to do this, but it has been at some of
those auctions that we have acquired some of our best pieces at very
reasonable prices due to a lack of proper marketing or recognition of
the importance of select parts of a collection.
Call or Contact Us!!
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We Sell Antiques!
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We want to Help you Sell Your quality Antiques
