Auction Fever!
I’ve caught action fever. When I was 10 my mother and I would go down to the local auction house and check out the previews for the evening’s auctions. Everything was lined up on long dusty tables — I remember suitcases, old wooden kitchen utensils (my mother collects them still) and pink plastic dirty toys. My memories are hazy — I was 10 after all — but I also remember that coffee and sandwiches were sold in the back of the room and the old men sitting on stools. My favorite part was that the auction house sometimes ran a silent auction, so that if an item didn’t go for more then was bid at silent action during the live auction you’d still get to claim it. I think I even won a couple of things, but, I somehow don’t remember what I won. I also remember losing something I had really wanted (again, don’t remember).
This past weekend, I visited my parents, now living in North Carolina, and we went to the local auction house on Saturday night.
What amazed me was how much was the same — long tables (less dusty), coffee and sandwiches, old men sitting on stools. No pink plastic toys (but there were lots of christmas ornaments). However, on the whole there were some great antiques and good prices too. My parents bid on a sweet neoclassical loveseat and lost to a serious looking bidder on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, two silver haired women in their 60s right in front of us bought up prints and silver. The action was awesome, as was the mood in the room. My parents went go home with a wing chair for $60 dollars and two lovely lamps for $200.
High from the auction, I started researching good auctions near me in NY — any suggestions out there?
February 27th, 2007 11:19
What a wonderful way to order the chaos of the auctions. I look forward to more reports on your discoveries.