The Sad Tale of the Demise of the Antiques Craze
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Bill Primavera
A few weekends ago, I suggested to my wife that we might consider going “antique-ing,” by visiting shops in nearby Cold Spring. She looked at me as though I had suggested a trip to the moon.
I guess I had forgotten that, about 10 years ago, we downsized from a six-bedroom colonial home (originally from the colonial period, not a contemporary style) and had an inventory of antiques, both furnishings and décor that we needed to dispose of.
“Sorry, but nobody’s interested in antiques anymore,” the antiques dealer told me as he declined my request to buy back some of the many items I had purchased from him over a 25-year period.
What? Aren’t there hordes of people out there who would want to take advantage of my letting my precious collectibles go now that I was downsizing?
“Apparently not, not anymore,” he said.
Boy, was I ever annoyed that I was out of sync with contemporary trends.
I’m of an age where I can remember clearly the fervor with which we celebrated the 200th anniversary of our country, and Americans were very much into their history, including how they lived at home. Historic houses held a special charm for buyers and everyone seemed to be into antiques collecting, including my wife and me. Why, suddenly, is the interest in antiques dead?
Having originally studied to be a museum curator, specializing in American furnishings, I came to my interest in antiques honestly both by education and inclination. The greatest influence surely was my having attended The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. I felt a real affinity to my surroundings there and all the decorative objects that to me seemed infused with the hopes and dreams of those Americans who came before me.
Or, maybe my interest stems from the fact that I’m a first-generation American with no family heritage here, and I wanted to purloin that of others. I started collecting old things as a bachelor and was fortunate to find a wife who developed the same interest.
The real explosion in our collecting came when we moved from the city to Westchester almost 50 years ago. In the city, we lived in the first two floors of our historic home (circa 1826), comprising 2,000 square feet and only two bedrooms. There was only so much room for collectibles.
Our move to the country was to a home that was 2,000 square feet larger, affording us plenty of room to spread out and add to our already considerable collection of antique furniture and other items that decked the walls and tabletops. There seemed to be no quenching our thirst for finding special, precious things to add to our collection. It was our hobby to the point of obsession, with many weekends designated for trips to local antique shops that existed at the time and further north to roadside dealers.
When it came time to downsize, I thought it would be an easy chore to pass on many of our treasures, big and small, to other proud owners. I was wrong. After my first rejection mentioned above, I called a second shop where I had bought many items in the more recent past. In fact, one year, the owner gifted my wife and me a Christmas present for being her top customers of the year. I did not receive a call back from the phone message I left.
A third inquiry to a dealer yielded the suggestion that I call an auction house to come pick everything up “if you can get them to come.”
I then ventured into all my marketing techniques and held an open house for collectors and managed to unload some things, but at bargain basement prices. The one antiques dealer that did come by selected only a few items.
So why is the interest in antique collecting dead?
One blogger, a former antiques dealer, seems to have summed it up very well: “There’s a whole new mindset taking over. The up-and-coming generations are embracing things such as minimalism and living off the grid. Many of the younger generation are devoted to economies, going green and living simply. The prevailing thought is that less is more; get rid of those vintage, fancy objects. Out with the old.”
However, I hold the hope that perhaps someday millennials may notice that the 19th century oak kitchen table with claw feet, like the one I left in the kitchen of the large home I had sold, will last a lot longer than some of the pressed-wood furnishings one is likely to find manufactured today. When that day comes, maybe people will get excited about antiques once more.
However, I’m not holding my breath.
Bill Primavera is a realtor associated with William Raveis Real Estate and founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc. (www.PrimaveraPR.com). His real estate site is www.PrimaveraRealEstate.com and his blog is www.TheHomeGuru.com. To engage the services of The Home Guru to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.
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