All you need to know about the intriguing world of antique shopping …
By Jean McClelland
HQ 39 | SUMMER 2000
Annie’s chairs have been part of my life for over a half-century. Annie, my grandmother, had them on either side of a hall table. The chairs were separated when my mother decided she didn’t need both and gave one to a good friend. They were reunited 35 years later when the friend downsized her household. They now reside in my dining room. They are not particularly valuable antiques but the memories they evoke make them priceless.
I have since decided I needed two more just like them so they could be used around my dining room table. I easily found one but the other has evaded me. My search automatically began with the Antique Capitol of West Virginia – Old Central City in Huntington, West Virginia.
This antique district in Huntington is located on 14th Street West. It is easily accessible from I-64 and has a sign on the highway giving travelers directions. Old Central City, as this area is called, is easily shopped for antiques. There are numerous shops close together so one can lazily meander from one to another touching, admiring and purchasing antiques.
In these stores you can find collectibles of all sorts whether it be quilts, linens, fine china, pottery, primitive farm tools, dolls or jewels of yesteryear. And of course, there’s beautiful antique furniture from the late 1700s to the early 1900s along with the knick-knacks of the times. The hunt for that special object is what brings joy to the veteran antiquer. This small town within the confines of Huntington is fertile ground for those who appreciate fine old things.
Many people are collectors of specialty items from the past. One quick look shows that some shopkeepers focus on these collectibles. Old and rare books, for example, can be found at Hattie & Nan’s Antique Market. Owner Joanna Sexton Figlia named the store for her two grandmothers. Her vintage books are enhanced with a notable rug collection and other sundry antiques.
Loretta Baker is an eight year veteran on 14th Street. Her shop, Central City Antiques Mall, has welcomed many an out-of-town shopper. It always tickles her when someone who has never been in the area finds this pocket of antiquity in the fair city of Huntington. Often folks from out of town will question the source of such fine antique merchandise found in one area. Baker answers by explaining that the Huntington community has a sound respect for the past. She adds that the community has many fine homes where antiques have been preserved from generation to generation. When the time finally comes to dispose of these items, Huntingtonians readily find a market for their belongings through the 14th Street merchants.
Baker is quite proud of the Old Central City Association whose sole purpose is to promote this “Antique Capitol of West Virginia.” The group organizes lots of activities for the enjoyment of the shopper. Every June they sponsor their annual “Old Central City Days” which includes everything from a flea market to pony rides and parades. It is quite an undertaking and both the tourist and the antique hunter will find the affair a treat.
Fourteenth Street West is not just for antiquers, although this is the focus of the majority of the stores. There is quite a variety of shops which includes an open flower and farmer’s market, a florist, a dress shop, a miniature store and when one gets tired of shopping, restaurants to soothe the tired hunter.
Central City Cafe is quite a gathering place for many locals and a stop for those passing through. Good homestyle cooking is readily available to those in need of refreshment. On the other end of the street one can find Wiggins Restaurant which specializes in dishes many Huntingtonians remember from another place and time.
Numerous services such as lamp repair, picture framing and refurbishing of furniture and brass are easily found on the street. Shops more in tune with the 21st Century are also tucked in the antique community. One can find a camera store, a meat market and a bakery busily helping customers on any given day. In 1953 the Daily News Digest reported that, “There are few products you may want or need that you cannot find in a store on this street.” It seems little has changed in the last 50 years.
If one wants to widen their search for a particular antique to other communities, they wouldn”t need to go far. Barboursville and Milton both sport several merchants specializing in antiques. Crossing the bridge and driving 20 minutes lands an antiquer in Russell, Kentucky. Here there is a bevy of antique stores located within walking distance of one another. Charles “Porky” Nichols has filled an old Baptist Church with room after room of antiques. Like the Central City community, this budding antique center has an association to promote their fare.
Restricting the hunt to just antique stores limits your possibilities of finding a desired item. Mary Clay Bays and Susan Record are local shoppers who have learned to work the moving and estate sales. They both believe bargains can be found in this venue. Bays tells of finding three sterling carving sets for a paltry $10. Record paid a mere 25 cents for a sterling silver necklace later appraised for over $100. Mary and Susan both caution that bargains such as these are few and far between and often are a matter of luck. However, if one is ever faithful to the hunt, there are bargains out there. Bays advises that prices are better if the product is purchased directly from an owner rather than a dealer who had been hired to run an estate sale.
Mark Hall, like many other antique shop owners, also organizes estate sales. Hall feels that a family is saved the heartache of having to watch strangers go through a loved one’s personal belongings by engaging the talents of someone who knows the value of household goods.
By employing the services of someone like Hall, a family gets to bypass the stress of disentangling a lifetime of personal effects. The seller maintains their anonymity yet is able to harvest a fair price for nice furnishings. Hall advises a family to never throw anything away – they may unknowingly dispose of some precious item that could bring them a good price.
There are two ways of disposing of an estate. One is to sell all the personal effects at one time to a dealer like Hall. The other is to hire someone to sell everything and give them a percentage of the funds generated. Hall feels it is best to sell the estate outright to a dealer because it is simpler for all concerned.
When working with a dealer who is going to liquidate an estate, one must realize that they have hired an expert who knows the value of a household. The seller is paying for that expertise much like paying a doctor or lawyer. The seller will have to share some of their profits with the dealer.
Having failed to locate Grand-mother’s look-alike chair, there is one more area in which to look. For the more adventurous shopper there’s the auction. The brave soul that ventures into this arena needs to go forth armed with some battle equipment.
A magnet to check brass, a flashlight to better see underneath things, a magnifying glass to verify markings and a general idea of what one is willing to pay for an item is good advice given by auctioneer Porky Nichols of Russell. He is often hired to sell off estates through his auction house.
Like other antique dealers, he has the knowledge and the facilities to showcase household treasures.
An auction is fun to attend even if nothing is purchased. It’s interesting to see how much a product brings on the auction block. It’s fun to observe the crowd and try to figure out who’s bidding for personal reasons and who’s bidding for the auctioneer. One should become very familiar with the process before entering the fray. It is easy to overpay for an item.
Nichols points out that it is the auctioneer’s job to make you buy and it is easy to be swept up in the competition of bidding for a favored object. One should set a price he or she is willing to pay for an item before the auction even begins and then not waver from the course.
Again it is important to thoroughly inspect an item prior to the auction. If there is no time set up for pre-inspection, then Nichols advises one to bypass that auction.
Suggestions for the Antiquer
- Have an idea as to the value of a product prior to purchasing to prevent overpayment. There are numerous books and pamphlets available on the subject. Checking what things sell for on Ebay (www.ebay.com) gives one a general idea but things do differ from community to community.
- Always offer less than what the price ticket indicates. Usually one can save 10 to 20 percent through negotiation. Bargaining over a price is acceptable behavior in the antique business.
- Estate sales often have a box for written offers – make one regardless of how ridiculous. No offer is intimidating and it just might bring a bargain.
- Big items are usually bargains at auctions. The auctioneer must empty his sales room to make room for incoming merchandise.
- Examine the product for breaks, tears or chips which would make the item worth less but could be good bargaining points.
- Examine the article for evidence of wear that verifies its age. Many skilled reproductions are on the market.
- Once a treasure is found and you truly want it – buy it! Waiting often causes one to lose the item to another buyer.
- Remember all sales are final and the ability to return an item is not part of the game. Once bought, the object is yours. Resale is an option
- take back is not.
Have fun! It is an interesting hobby that can take a person anywhere.
Community Antique Stores
Barboursville (downtown area)
Brady’s Hardware Call (800) 541-9619
DeJa Vu Antiques Call (304) 733-5288
Miller House Antiques Call (304) 733-5288
Grandmother’s Attic Call (304) 736-0845
Huntington (14th Street area)
Adams Avenue Antique Mall Call (304) 523-7231
Antique Center, Brass Master, Inc. Call (304) 523-7887
Black Cat Antiques Call (304) 697-6955
Bus Barn Antique Mall Call (304) 429-8207
Central City Antiques Mall Call (304) 523-0311
Cream of the Crop Call (304) 522-4299
Collectors Store Antique Mall Call (304) 429-3900
Fitzpatrick Furniture Store Call (304) 523-8741
Graham’s Antiques Call (304) 522-6504
Hattie & Nan’s Antique Market Call (304) 523-8844
Horsin’ Around Antiques Call (304) 525-6573
Marjorie J. Willet Fine Jewelry Call (304) 523-0311
Mark’s Antiques Call (304) 525-3275
Old As the Hills Antiques Call (304) 697-0633
Lucky Penny Call (304) 522-1777
Memories of the Heart Call (304) 697-5301
Priceless Possessions Call (304) 522-6692
Milton
Somewhere In Time Antique Mall Call (304) 743-1708
Hutchinson House Call (304) 743-4473
And so the question remains: Have I found another chair like Annie’s to round up my dining room? Unfortunately no, but the fun is the chase and I will continue to look until I find it.
Patience is everything when searching for a particular item in the antique world. Wait and it will eventually appear. In the meantime, the perusal of wonderful paraphernalia from the past continues as I meander from shop to shop to shop.
