Antiquing for the Ages: The Search for Hidden Treasures

▪ 2002

      The promise of huge payoffs sent droves of treasure seekers to attics, basements, yard sales, and trash piles in 2001. Fueling the antique mania was the popularity and high visibility of television shows, including Antiques Road Show, Treasures in Your Attic, and Appraisal Fair, featuring experts who revealed in a number of instances that items thought to be worthless relics were priceless antiques.

      Author and appraiser Helaine Fendelman stated that as the new millennium dawned, Americans became more aware that objects they owned might have monetary value. At the same time, the Internet drew more and more individuals on-line, and Internet auctioneers eBay and Antique Networking brought additional attention to the antiques market.

      Americans began to wonder about the real value of their own possessions. Unless one was careful, someone more knowledgeable might scoop up castoffs and sell them in turn for a profit. As a result, would-be fortune seekers were sent scrambling to learn everything they could about their family heirlooms and attic treasures. They read trade papers, notably Collectors News and Maine Antique Digest, listened to radio shows (Whatcha Got, hosted by Harry L. Rinker), and watched special TV spots shown on Martha Stewart Living and ABC's PrimeTime.

      It was the television programs devoted to appraisals, however, that spurred the antiquing phenomenon of the 21st century. Antiques experts were virtually transported into the average American living room, where they discussed common misconceptions about antiques, told the difference between an antique and a reproduction, assessed the values of antiques, and exposed unscrupulous practices in the industry. Appraisers shared the history and lore of items and their status as collectibles, whereas owners shared their own personal stories.

      Noncollectors were finding that they owned valuable treasures and that the value of the objects increased if they remained in their original condition. An old Depression glass pitcher, found in a box at a flea market, was revealed to be a sought-after piece in the Cameo pattern valued at $1,500–$2,000. Great-grandfather's old railroad conductor's lantern, dating from the 1860s, was assessed at $700–$900. A table lamp, handed down in the family, turned out to be signed by Tiffany Studios and worth $10,000–$12,000.

      During these “at-home” courses on collecting, hopefuls also learned the hard reality that not everything “old” was collectible and worth substantial amounts of money. Though a number of items were preserved, owners found in many cases that their keepsakes' only value was sentimental.

      Nonetheless, the dream of being one of the lucky owners of a precious possession could not be dampened. It was that dream that brought hundreds of collectibles to the surface and that would continue to send Americans on a search for hidden treasures.

Linda M. Kruger

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