6 Useful Resources For Lovers Of Antiques
Mass-market items are a necessity of modern life, but they can never compare to the character of an antique, which possesses a history and uniqueness only afforded by time. If you're passionate about collecting or decorating with old, rare, and singular goods, check out the resources listed here, which range from auction houses to consignment shops and blogs. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.
6 Valuable Resources For Antiquarians
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Olde Hope Antiques | Holds a large inventory of exceptional American folk and decorative arts |
| Crocker Farm | Family-run auction house that sells antique American stoneware and redware pottery |
| The Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville | Annual charity event exhibiting the highest quality antiques, landscaped gardens, and horticultural items |
| Flea Market Insiders | Website run by vintage and antiques enthusiasts, helping readers find flea markets where they can find true gems |
| Old New House | A premiere online source for vintage and antique rugs, with a small batch approach and large scale selection |
| Cowan's Auctions | A full-service auction house selling American Indian art, modern ceramics, and fine art, among other things |
An Example of Crocker Farm's Antique Stoneware
Tips For Live Auction Bidding
- Set a limit for how much you're willing to spend
- Check the payment terms before the auction takes place
- Review the full auction list and plan your bids in advance
- Be confident about your bid
- Don't get excited or pressured into entering a bidding war
- Dress appropriately
- Secure your purchases
Discover the Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville
In Depth
Objects from the past can be enchanting, conveying through touch and smell a feeling for history that could not be learned from a thousand books. Such antiques that survive the onslaught of time are also frequently quite valuable, fetching a pretty penny at flea markets or auctions. This list, presented in no particular order, explores vintage shops, events, auction houses, and information sources certain to delight the dedicated antiquarian.
At #1, Olde Hope Antiques was opened on July 4, 1976, the U.S. Bicentennial, in New Hope, Pennsylvania, a town famous for antiques. In 2001, it moved to a farm elsewhere in Bucks County, and later added a New York City gallery. Inspired by an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, "The Flowering of American Folk Art," founders Edwin Hild and Patrick Bell focused the store's inventory on Americana.
The Olde Hope collection includes accessories, furniture, paintings, sculpture, and textiles. In its own spaces, as well as at galleries and in traveling exhibitions, the group presents exhibitions of its antiques. In addition to maintaining its own inventory, Olde Hope offers a wide range of services to collectors, designers, and those looking to sell similar items, including advice, examination, delivery, and installation.
The Olde Hope collection includes accessories, furniture, paintings, sculpture, and textiles.
The #2 position is held by Crocker Farm. Owned and operated as a family business by Anthony, Barbara, Brandt, Luke, and Mark Zipp, the company has been selling stoneware and redware pottery since 1983, and claims an unsurpassed knowledge of the art form. The group maintains a gallery and auction site called Gorsuch Barn in the town of Sparks, Maryland.
Crocker Farm auctions have seen some of the highest prices ever paid for American stoneware and redware, setting multiple World Auction Records. Its full-color, lavishly printed catalogs serve not only as sale guides, but also valuable reference tools in the field, as does the Crocker Farm blog. In addition, the company offers consignment services, evaluating pottery free of charge.
#3: The Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville is an annual charity event whose purpose is to raise funds for Cheekwood Estate and Gardens and the Economic Club of Nashville Charities. It does so by exhibiting antiques, landscaping, and horticultural items and by offering a related educational outreach program. Each year the event concludes with an auction.
It does so by exhibiting antiques, landscaping, and horticultural items and by offering a related educational outreach program.
Talks in the annual show's lecture series touch upon subjects of interest to antiquarians. Taking place at the large Music City Center, its dealer floor hosts more than 150 exhibitors, including purveyors of antiques, such as Sheridan Loyd, Roberto Freitas American Antiques & Decorative Art, and King's House Oriental Rugs, among many others.
The #4 entry is Flea Market Insiders. Maintained by vintage and antiques enthusiasts, its mission is to help readers find the flea markets and shops that are actually worth their time. What began as a small passion project by founder Nicolas Martin has grown into a large online reference guide, receiving major press coverage and publishing blog posts from a sizable stable of guest contributors.
The site publishes surveys that highlight, for example, the largest flea markets in the United States, as well as guides to the best vintage and antique shopping in different cities and regions around the world. Other articles offer information and advice related to antiquing and flea markets, like relevant idioms, currently popular styles, and how to get involved in selling items.
Other articles offer information and advice related to antiquing and flea markets, like relevant idioms, currently popular styles, and how to get involved in selling items.
For #5, we've got Old New House, an online source for vintage and antique rugs that was founded by couple Melissa and Dave Dilmaghani, the latter a fourth generation rug seller on one side of his family and fifth generation on the other. In addition to the website, the group maintains a flagship retail store in the town of Katonah, New York, which is also home to the barn the company uses for photo shoots, trade sales, and cleaning and restoration.
Old New House's specialty is vintage and antique hand-knotted rugs, mainly of Persian and Turkish origin. The website has a number of functions, like a size range tool, designed to make shopping for these specialized items as intuitive as possible. Both online and at the brick and mortar location, ONH also sells other types of vintage and newly handmade home decor such as pillows, vases, maps, and lighting in addition to small batch furniture made in-house.
Closing out our list at #6, Cowan's holds over 40 auctions each year, totaling annual sales of more than 16 million dollars. From offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, and other cities, the full-service house reaches buyers around the globe. Several of Cowan's specialists are frequent appraisers on PBS' Antiques Roadshow, and regularly give lectures across the country.
Several of Cowan's specialists are frequent appraisers on PBS' Antiques Roadshow, and regularly give lectures across the country.
The house is noted particularly for its American Indian Art, Modern Ceramics, American History, and Fine Art departments. The full suite of collections spans from Books and Manuscripts to Historic Firearms and Militaria to Coins and Currency. It has represented the estates of luminaries such as former owner of the Cincinnati Reds, Marge Schott.
