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 placed
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, bootjack collections, and more.
We have also helped
sell portions several large antique collections and others in their
entirety for collectors who were ready to sell after years of enjoying
their collections.
We are experienced and 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, and stuff that is simply ordered new from catalogs being offered
up as antiques and collectibles.
General line Auctions around the country
which use to have great stuff are now full of
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. That is going on some 30 plus years now. We use to
chuckle as we were still buying and selling some great stuff back in the
80's and early 90's.
But now we feel it has finally come to be
true for most antiques, and is certainly true for those types of
antiques that are of primary interest to us.
We have come to the
conclusion, and must now reluctantly admit, that the vast majority of
quality antiques we are interested in are already in collections around
the country.
The days of good stuff
coming out of the attic or being dug out of the basement or garage are
pretty
much over. 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 who recognized the significance of the piece a long time ago. The common thread is that the vast majority of the great pieces
that come to market today always seem to come from older collections purposefully assembled over the
years.
We
are actively seeking to 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 at
www.Patented-Antiques.com .
It Works, and it is a Win / Win for all involved.
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 end buyer is almost certainly
not going to be interested in buying both the collection of fans, and
pencil sharpeners that one collector of office related antiques assembled.
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 and rarity or value of the pieces in a
collection.
We are willing to sell
the good, the bad, (or the more common) and everything in between in order to acquire
the key pieces of the collection as part of a package deal. This arrangement works to the
benefit of the owner / seller 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 from a collection are sold.
We
take on the task of how to categorize and then disperse the different aspects of a collection
when it encompasses different categories.
Take for example the iron
and laundry collection that we handled 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 smaller collections it was so large and
diverse. The sheer size of this collection made it unmanageable to
the typical buyer, collector, dealer or even auctioneer as a whole.
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.
By analyzing which items should be sold at which venues we were able to
resell this collection for full maximum benefit. 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 "diluting" their value by selling them in the same venue as
the lower end items. It was quite an
undertaking, but worked out well.
The
entire endeavor including an auction 2,000 miles away was accomplished
in a little over 6 months. Selling other collections has taken longer, and should, and
each collection should be handled according what is the best way, not
just what is
fastest in order to realize full value.
We are interested helping you sell antiques and
antique collections, be
they large or small,
diverse or tightly focused. 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.
If
you have any interesting antiques or a collection similar to what I have pictured on this
or other pages you want to sell please contact me by email at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com. If you are not able to send emails call me at 530-620-7019.
To see examples of the
caliber, condition and quality antiques that we have
sold in the past, and want to help you sell please visit the past sales
archives through the links at the right.
To see related antiques
that I have for sale now please go to our sister site
at www.Patented-Antiques.com.
and
visit the numerous sale pages you will find there.
