The Sad, Sad Story About the Decline in Antiques Collecting
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
By Bill Primavera
It has been so many years since I took an interest in antiques collecting that I really don’t remember what first attracted me to them.
I don’t think I began collecting items from yesteryear for investment purposes because, as a youth, I lived only for the enjoyment of the moment. I just know that I found antique furniture and accessories fascinating, of great editorial interest and I wanted to surround myself with them.
Perhaps a major influence was where I went to college: William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. where I sat in the same classroom as had Thomas Jefferson. I must have absorbed that 18th century environment as satisfying and comfortable.
When I moved to New York City more than 50 years ago, there was an abundance of antiques shops, especially along lower Third Avenue and in Brooklyn Heights, which I discovered as an historic district, where apartments in very old buildings were just begging for furnishings and décor that matched their period.
When I married, my wife was strictly a contemporary gal who brought to our marriage a thoroughly modern bedroom set, while my living and dining room furniture I had been collecting was very 18th and 19th century American. We live with many of those antiques from our first household to this day. And we continue to appreciate them in a world that seems to have discarded any interest in them. What are the reasons? Let’s speculate.
Some say (not necessarily me) that younger people have little or no respect for the values or preferences of their parents, and they want their living environments to be open rather than weighed down by heavier furniture and “things” to fill space, which is more at a premium today.
Today we seem to want cleaner, heathier environments, rather than the “dust collectors,” as my mother used to say. That’s what antiques suggest.
I should think that antiques that will survive the crunch will be smaller items. For instance, I have a large collection of children’s playing marbles from the 19th century that fill a glass bowl, taking a minimum of space on my coffee table.
I have some larger antique pieces, such as side tables, but they have to be functional and in good shape to stay around. I couldn’t imagine buying any antique furniture that requires frequent upkeep, like a sofa that can easily fall apart with daily use.
At a distant point in the lives of my wife and me, we owned an antiques shop in the city and every once in a while, we’d benefit from an estate sale where antique items would come part and parcel with a lot of other stuff we didn’t want, such as old shoes. Man, was that ever depressing. It makes one think: What will happen to all the things we’ve collected and cherished through the years after we’re gone?
Then again, why should I worry about that? I’ve enjoyed taking possession of some beautiful old things and I like to think that after I’m long gone, those things will be enjoyed by future generations as I have enjoyed them.
Will there ever be a revival in old things? Who knows? Tastes and trends can be cyclical, and maybe antique items will benefit from that.
If not, I’ve enjoyed my personal ride of living with items that have given joy to me and hopefully will give joy to those who follow me.
Bill Primavera is a realtor associated with William Raveis Real Estate and founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc., the longest-running public relations agency in Westchester (www.PrimaveraPR.com). To engage the services of The Home Guru and his team to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.
