The owner of the house had owned an antiques store, and you could tell by the way she had furnished her home. Now holding only a fourth of her belongings, the home still bore tables of beautifully colored glass, stuffed chairs, clocks, Oriental rugs and an eclectic choice of other collectibles. Getting yourself a piece of antique furniture will certainly add some class and sophistication to your home, just looking through these works of art form this woman’s collection was amazing to see, to have such beautiful woodwork in your living room/bedroom or even kitchen will certainly get people wanting what you have!
“It’s like walking into a haunted house,” one auction-goer said to me as she strode through the door from a small porch. She was exaggerating, of course, because the house wasn’t stuffy or menacing. Just worn out and tired from years of living – and some neglect. That’s what happens when you get too old or too sickly or too worn out or too busy to keep your stuff sparkly.
Paint was peeling from the ceilings. The walls seemed to have their original wallpaper, which had been left stained by framed prints (most of the prints in the house were of dogs) that had hung for years and were lately removed. “Do Not Enter” signs had been affixed to doors on a room off from the living room and a back stairway in the kitchen. A bedroom and some furniture on the landing were available for inspection on the second floor, but the third was off-limits.
The auction house had set up tables outside in the cold with the not-so-good stuff and had left the good stuff on tables in the large dining room, which held shelves with ruby red and gold-rimmed glassware. Against the wall facing the door was a monstrous but lovely wooden oak bean cabinet with glass-covered cases at the top (which held some small carousel horses, among other things) and a bottom with bins for dry goods. Some beans were still in a display space on the front of one of the bins.
On the tables inside were glass and other items that would make lovely Christmas gifts for family and friends, but my auction buddy Janet was convinced that most of the buyers were dealers. That wasn’t surprising since the items were both antique and vintage and could possibly bring in big bucks.
The stairwell to the second floor was amazingly beautiful and in perfect shape, and seemed to have withstood the vagaries of time. The owner, according to a relative, had been selling antiques since the 1960s, finding her inventory at flea markets and antique shows, and selling the collections of her aunts and cousins. The relatives had chosen what they wanted, the auction house had carted off items for sale at its location (only a fourth of the owner’s belongings were still in the house, according to a relative) and the “Do Not Enter” room held even more stuff.
One of the items auctioned was a disassembled 1973 Cadillac Coupe De Ville with 48,000 miles that the husband had intended to restore. The front grill of the car had been laid out in the back yard.
Here are some of the items that I loved or thought were particularly interesting:
Oil lamp with this note of provenance: “Original Gone with the Wind Oil Lamp Signed by W.H. Sechter Painter. Revised Price $2,000.” Originally called parlor lamps, these types of hand-painted lamps took on a new name after the Margaret Mitchell movie of 1939. The lamps were used in the Civil War-era movie, but in reality they were not made until decades after the war. The lamp at auction sold for $650.
Sewing stand and accessories with this note of provenance: “Under yellow paper first drawer ‘Given in 1847 to Sue Cromwell Age 12 years.’ Look behind Cupid pictures.” The stand included a sewing kit with a note: “Victorian Velvet Sewing Kit w/ brass accents, Includes punch, scissors & bodkin also thread and needles.” It had a price tag of $150. I wasn’t around when the stand was sold; if I had been, I would have asked that the sewing kit be offered separately.
