Fakes and Finds: More Coming in Every Day

Well, the economy is having a strange effect on the antiques world. More people are finding themselves in situations where they have to sell things, prices are soft in some areas and stronger than ever in others.

It's really hard to get a handle on what is happening to us. "Book Prices" are out the window, which is okay especially since Antiqueswest.com has always relied on comparative valuations when determining value.

We've been on the road a little these past few weeks, travelling to established collections and meeting with people who have contacted us in recent weeks to see what's out there and, also, to buy when possible.

As I've said, there are still plenty of nice things out there (watch our pages for more on this later), but there is also an increasing number of fantasy items and outright forgeries in the marketplace.

Initial impressions: Furniture is soft, particularly here in the West, with good pieces available for a relative song; paintings are also selling at about a half of what they were doing a year ago. We're seeing some very good copies of English pottery out there, and more facts are beginning to intrude on the historical arms and accoutrements sectors. Paper is, as it has been for some time now, very dodgy as several accomplished copyists are producing Civil War letters, commissions and even some diaries. This is disconcerting to say the least.

Like most of the country we're hoping the stimulus package has some positive effect on the national malaise, but we're not holding out hope as sentiment appears to be running deep and many old buyers are sitting on their wallets right now.

That said, whenever we get a nice piece in - check out our badge collection - they continue to sell briskly. The "best" continues to sell - and not just to semi-retired bankers and financial advisers on the lam from the SEC.

So, hang in there with us and give us a shout if you're buying and selling. We'll help when we can (some of the stories out there are horrendous) and try to get us all through this thing and back on track.

Thanks for visiting... and reading!

Antiqueswest.com

Fakes and Finds

Interesting times out there, economically and otherwise.

We have been gratified to be on the receiving end of several new finds lately as individuals and families pass their items on to us, either for display in our collection of early California, police, and military items - or for passage on to you.

We had a great collection of 19th and 20th Century art come through Antiqueswest.com and it all went quickly, with some nice French impressionist canvasses selling well and briskly. Furniture is coming in by the van load and selling slowly, it seems, as the power and price point of Ikea holds until people come to their senses and realized nice, early pieces are selling for a relative song.

The forgers, or copyists perhaps, are also out in force during economic times... knocking out a quick painting or Crimean War letter to make ends meet or just to say they fooled their area's resident "expert."

Please be careful of autographs, particularly those sports stars we've all heard of as this market has been flooded by spurious examples of signed mementoes. Civil War items, once red hot and highly desirable, have fallen off slightly as interest - and family fortunes - wane in light of recent givebacks in the stock market.

Still, there are still buyers out there and people hoping to counter the vagaries of the antique market with that one, great "Eureka" of a find. They're still talking about two recent finds here in the Bay Area we'll get into a bit later.