What A Year! Thank You From Antiqueswest...

It has been a nutty year on many fronts, with great change happening on the broader front of national and world news. We're hoping for better things in 2009, with our people back from foreign lands, some resolution to the attack on our country and a return to the value set that made this land great but which many seem to have lost sight of in recent years.

On the antique front, it was a good year, with many new things coming up out of the weeds - partly due to the "new economics" which changed the fortunes of many. We were pleased to handle many new items and move them along to happy new caretakers, helping out their former owners in the process.

What was moving? Antique arms did well, with concentration on flinters and muzzle-loading arms from the Civil War, and edged weapons selling briskly, especially the presentation-grade models.

With our Western focus, Gold Rush and Early California items did well this year, with buyers exhibiting interest from all over the world and not just the Golden State. As we have in years past, we were pleased to re-unite family pieces sold off and forgotten long ago with descendants eager to re-connect with their ancestors.

This was done on an almost regular basis and always added a sense of joy to what we do. We may be a business, but we like the idea of old things going back to the people who made or originally owned them. Antiqueswest was also pleased to find its photographica collection eagerly sought out by researchers, scholars, and writers looking for ways to illustrate their research. We were pleased to help with this where we could, as we appreciate the effort to study and learn from our past.

We rung in the New Year quietly, with an appropriate bottle of bubbly and time spent with family. A check of the computer this morning shows more people lining up to have their antiques hosted on the site so look for more fine things in the days to come and keep in touch when you can... we like to hear from you.

All best, and best wishes for our collective success in 2009!


J.D.