Estate Sales

I have started to document my Estate Sale excursions....it always takes me a few days to shake off the ritual...it always makes me sad to think of the people that didn't have family who cared to save the vintage photos and other family keep-sakes...I remind myself that I am on a rescue mission and I try to take a piece of their life and find something with identification on it to keep in a box to remember them....

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My wife and I have been going to estate sales, auctions sales and contents sales for a dozen years now. I am often struck by the lack of interest shown by immediate relatives.

Years ago I obtained the tunic, shirt and trousers of a Canadian First World War pilot. I did a lot of research on him and found that he had served as a fighter pilot in Nieuport 17’s , had been shot down while on noon patrol in November 1917 and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. The uniform predated his crash and, I suspect, was the one he was wearing when his plane went down. The sad part was that I purchased the lot from the man’s daughter. She was just happy to be rid of it. I was appalled.

The same thing happened another time. This time the uniform was accompanied by WWI trench maps that the fellow had annotated with his person experiences. He had even marked his brother’s grave on one of the maps. How can people sell this sort of stuff?

Like you, I view this as a rescue mission. Any collector knows that you are just acting as a custodian of the material…it will be around long after I’m gone, hopefully. It’s better off in the hands of a person who cares for it.

MissJeanavive said:

I t always makes me sad to think of the people that didn't have family who cared to save the vintage photos and other family keep-sakes...

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Don't be too sad, in many cases the family has already had their pick of such personal items and include residual items in the sale to raise cash for estate taxes. My mother used to drag me to estate sales when I was a kid. She rarely bought home furnishings, jewelry or art at retail, preferring estate sales and auctions.

One of her cronies ran a high end estate sale business in NYC for over fifty years and would let my mother cherry pick the sales, even before the dealers were let in. Estate sales and auctions were her addiction; her crack. She always had so much stuff in storage that everybody said she should open a shop and deal but she said going pro would take the fun out of it for her.

I see it every day. I have a close friend who is an antiques dealer and he told me that anything that is old and cumbersome has no interest for modern families. I almost acquired a 4 foot wide by 3 foot high antique Czechoslovakian handmade crystal chandelier for nothing. It cost $10,000 canadian in 1968 used. A client of mine's mother sold her home and wanted all of her antiques to go to an appreciative home. Her daughter, my client, knew I love antiques and asked me if I wanted the chandelier as no one had expressed any interest at all when she tried to sell it. I of course said yes. Unfortunately, the movers that took it down, dropped it and broke several of the bulb holders beyond repair. Too bad for me. Also, all of the lady's antique crystal glasses and other serving things as well as her antique dishes, furniture and flatware had NO interested parties at all.

Apparently this is par for the course as most people want Ikea slimmed out kitchens with minimalist views.

Also, anything large like a dining room set, piano, organ and especially billiards table have no demand at all. So sad.

Happy family and comfortable house, that is a dream

I used to estate sale all the time but then I had kids and I tried to keep going for a while but then my son threw up at an estate sale and threw in the towel till they get older.

How kind you are..Jeanavive