FLorida - As the spring weather arrives, so do many of the first outdoor antique and vintage shows. Those in the business know that this can be an excellent time of year to nab some early inventory deals for their shops or online concerns, but it can also be a time to reflect - and perhaps double-check the source of that newly found stock. Over the years, many dealers have reported that the likelihood of inadvertently purchasing stolen items seems to be highest during the spring equinox, as outdoor shows and markets bloom across the country. While particulars regarding the reasoning behind the seasonality of such thefts remains vague at best, a recent case of missing Civil War items in Missouri this past March, clearly highlights why dealers and collectors might want to consider doing as much due diligence as possible before making any substantial first-quarter purchases. The case in question, involved a Sedalia county museum curator from Missouri, who made local headlines when his report to authorities of several missing Civil War items from the museum he worked at, caught the attention of the media. Charles Wise, who co-curates the museum's displays, stated to police that a musket rifle, a sword, a surgical kit, and a brass-barrel Blunderbuss firearm, were all missing from the premises. In his report to police, Wise placed the value of the stolen items at about five to ten thousand dollars. While waiting for authorities to investigate the theft, Wise decided to do some online sleuthing of his own, and managed to find a few of the items on a Tennessee Civil War website owned by a Mr. Rafael Eledge. After some discussion with Mr. Eledge regarding the pieces, Wise was able to ascertain that a man who had worked previously for the museum as a volunteer, had been responsible for the theft, as he had signed a standardized waiver form when selling the items to Eledge, attesting to the fact that none of the goods were stolen. In the end, Eledge worked with authorities in helping return the artifacts to the museum, though a few items remained unrecovered, as they were sold for cash with no traceable records. It was also through Mr. Eledge's assistance that the police were able to catch the thief, and charge him for the crime, based on the signed waiver. However, for his efforts in assisting authorities, Mr. Eledge ended up not only being out of pocket for the purchase expense and sale price of the items - through no fault of his own - but additionally had to suffer the indignity of the media associating him with a criminal act related to his business. To compound the issue and make matters worse, local police went on camera, releasing a public statement expressing their concern for Eledge getting a bad reputation for dealing in "stolen goods" - which, while a seemingly beneficial sentiment at first glance, is probably not the kind of publicity that's going to help Mr. Eledge regain his business reputation in the long run. When the damage was finally tallied, it was Eledge who ended up suffering the highest fiscal loss of any of the parties involved, even though he did absolutely nothing wrong. While the aforementioned series of events is unfortunate, the takeaway from this tale is that the situation could have been much worse for Mr. Eledge had he not insisted on the waiver from being signed. For the rest of us in the industry, this story might harken back to Murphy's Law of "...no good deed goes unpunished." Regardless of one's take on the matter, it's certainly a cautionary tale that dealers and collectors should probably keep front-and-center this spring while out buying and picking - along with a fully stocked waiver book! - AIA Staff Writer's NOTE: For readers seeking more information about the Asheford Institute Of Antiques distance-learning program on professional-level appraising, the study of antiques, collectibles, vintage and mid-century modern items, please click here to visit the school's Home Page. Should you have additional questions about the Asheford program, you can also write to the school at: [email protected] or call the Registrar's Office toll-free at: 1-877-444-4508. Florida - It's been sometime now, but the shift, while seemingly imperceptible at first, has finally come full circle. The terms Antique Shop, Antiques Store and to a lesser extent, Antiques Business, have generally always referred to the concern of one who collects and sells old things - even if some of the items didn't quite match the 100 year-old "antique" threshold - they were usually still included as such. Fast-forward a couple decades, and what was once considered the granddaddy of collecting terminology - antiques - is now not only sharing its king-like moniker with a new upstart, but in some cases it's being completely replaced by the "V" word. The term vintage has slowly managed to creep into the lexicon of general consumer collecting over the past twenty years - spurred on originally by the reselling of textiles and vintage clothing, but now encompassing literally all areas of the collecting universe. In some instances (as we've written about in the past), there has even been a comingling of the words to form such eye-catching creations as, "vantique" or "Vintique Items For Sale." And, while the meaning behind the term antique may be quite clear, and the term vintage somewhat clear, new descriptors such as vintique and vantique are beginning to blur the lines. Collectors and dealers who once referred to toys and games from the 1970's merely as collectibles, can often find themselves being viewed sideways now by a hipper and younger group, who'll often insist on the vintage moniker being applied to virtually anything in the store. Tom Ridgemore, a dealer from West Texas said that he feels almost antiquated himself unless he signs-on to the new verbiage being used by the younger collectors and buyers. "These kids will literally refer to anything in my store that isn't brown, as vintage!" Ridgemore isn't alone in his assessment as many other dealers have taken to adding the vintage moniker to their storefront, web pages and business cards. "It isn't about whether we actually carry vintage items," said Shirley Dinsmore, a dealer from Wichita, Kansas, "but whether or not we have the term vintage associated with our business." Older dealers admit that it's taking some effort to adjust to the new world order of expressions and terminology, but that it's simply a sign of the times. "A new generation of collectors and buyers are here," said Ridgemore, "they're the one's setting the rules of the road now, and if I don't like it, I'll just have to park on the side - or choose to go with the flow I guess..." For many, the explosive growth of mega sites such as Etsy, which allows collectors and dealers the chance to hawk their wares on their own online vintage store, is all the proof most people need when it comes to acknowledging the changing of the guard in the lexicon of collector expressions. "Five years ago there were antique shows, said Sue Holloway, a social media developer for antique malls and shows across the country, "today, there isn't a show out there that doesn't incorporate the word vintage into its overall advertising campaign." For the rest of us, acknowledging these changes may take some time, but the truth of the matter for those within the business is pretty clear - the sooner the better! - AIA Staff Writer's NOTE: For readers seeking more information about the Asheford Institute Of Antiques distance-learning program on professional-level appraising, the study of antiques, collectibles, vintage and mid-century modern items, please click here to visit the school's Home Page. Should you have additional questions about the Asheford program, you can also write to the school at: [email protected] or call the Registrar's Office toll-free at: 1-877-444-4508. |
A.I.A. Staff
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December 2019
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