Letters To The Editor

CHUCKLES

To the Editor,

I've been meaning to write a letter to the editor for some time, listing some of the funny things I've seen or heard in the antique world over the last couple years. If nothing else, I've had a few laughs due to the following:

1. From a woman, while examining the original box in which a cake plate was packaged: "Oh good, an old one—no zip code."

2. Overheard in a shop: "Look, Marge, semi-virtuous china." I can only assume she was looking at something stamped semi-vitreous.

3. Noted as a description on a piece of glass: "Lovely blue bowel."

4. Seen on a rather obviously newer sled: "Reproductive doll sleigh." I'd like to see one of those in action!

5. On an e-mail auction description: "Horn of Copious Vases." Sure enough, there was a pair of cornucopia vases in the picture.

6. Description on a collapsible cup: "Relapsible cup."

Hope the above was worth a chuckle or two. There have been more, but I have to remember to write them down—oldtimers' disease seems to wreak havoc with the memory. I suspect other readers could add considerably to the list.

Bill Stoetzel
Lakeland, MN

OFFENDED

Dear Editor:

We have been subscribers to your newspaper for years. We look forward to receiving it and read it completely from front to back.

In your June issue, an advertisement by Jim's Antiques Ltd. (page 36-E) shows an Indian erotic miniature. I'm sure in the eyes of some it is considered art, but it is pure pornography.

We feel it is a poor selection of art to appear in your newspaper. I am sure there are some who look at it the same as we do.

The Sutherlands
Colorado Springs, CO

WILTON

Dear Sam:

I have just read and reread your paper's review of the Wilton Outdoor Antiques Marketplace, which benefits the Wilton Kiwanis Club and Wilton Y. I am perplexed by it. The emphasis, in a brief review, was on the heat and the traffic, musings about why the show isn't indoors, then a misleading appraisal of sales and show costs.

Yes, the heat and humidity was the highest of the year—not much I could do about that! But one could find respite in the airy food tent and enjoy the "Y's" lobster, poached salmon, and corn on the cob, the Methodist Church's scrumptious strawberry shortcake, and the Covenant Church's homemade cookies and brownies.

Yes, the traffic was heavy—because thousands of potential buyers were drawn to the show from all over the country, and yes, the New York metropolitan area (a knowledgeable and prosperous audience) is certainly our primary market.

Booth cost? Consider the value. The largest and most expensive booth (there are five of them) measures 24' x 15' and is $1300. The majority of the tent booths, however, are $750 and $900, and all include papered walls and electrical service as well as lots of other amenities, even a wine and cheese party on Saturday after the show closes and coffee and coffee cake on Sunday morning.

The booth rents pay for nearly $50,000 of advertising, including ads in The Magazine Antiques, Art & Auction, Folk Art magazine, and Early American Homes; two-column x 10" ads in seven editions of The New York Times (would you like to guess how much that costs?); The New York Observer; and 20 local and regional papers in New York, Connecticut, and western Massachusetts. Let's not forget all the trade journals from Maine to Georgia and west to Ohio, including a large show section in M.A.D. and a record-breaking section in Antiques & The Arts Weekly. Did I mention radio and cable TV spots?

Then, add on $25,000 for tents, plus walls, electrical, field preparation and maintenance, portajohns and sinks, installation of pay phones, and round-the- clock police and fire personnel (required by the town and costing nearly $10,000).

In addition, there are quite a few other cost centers. Yes, it is very costly to produce an "outdoor show that looks like an indoor show," and logistically it is very complex.

Did the dealers do well? Sam, we both know that not every dealer in any show does well. But I work ever so hard to bring in the buyers (impressive in both quantity and quality) and offer them an extensive array of fine antiques shown by a terrific group of dealers. But what happens then is between the seller and the buyer. At the end of the show and in the following days, many, many dealers reported impressive sales during and after the show.

Here's a challenge: call every dealer on the list and ask them how they did. If the plusses don't exceed the minuses, I invite you and your wife to be our guest at one of the fine Wilton restaurants (yes, we do have a few).

Oh, by the way, Young's Nursery (a Wilton fixture for generations) did a lovely job with a floral display at the entry, and the aisles were lined with flowering plants—but all those customers did know they were at an antiques show.

Marilyn Gould
Wilton, CT

P.S. Actually, I invite you to come see what "Wilton" is like at the next show, indoors, on September 21 and have dinner with us even when you find out the plusses won!

PRICES

Dear Sir:

In response to D. Hamme (M.A.D., August 1996) regarding no prices in ads, I agree wholeheartedly. It would be interesting to find out just how many calls the advertised prices on merchandise gets as opposed to no price advertised merchandise. We, the public, are entitled to the same chance to buy merchandise as the dealers.

Mickey Sidoli
Caballo, NM

FAKES AND AUCTIONS

Dear Sam,

I enjoyed very much David Hewett's article on the auction in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with the large amount of fakes. I did think it was a little unfair though considering that a lot of auction houses out there run fakes through on a regular basis. I guess you have to start somewhere. Keep up the good work.

Mike Seward
Rutland, VT

SELLERS BEWARE!

Dear Mr. Pennington:

I have been an ardent reader of your publication for more years than I can remember. It has been an invaluable tool for me to learn and make choices about what and where I can buy. As an active buyer over the past 30 years, I, like many of your aging baby-boom readers, have become a lot more discriminating about attending auctions. I often want to be able to contact the auctioneer prior to driving sometimes great distances to get the right assurances about condition, dimensions, etc. Most auctioneers will go out of their way to return my calls, send photos, fax more detailed information, even if they have never done business with me before. I can't tell you the number of times I have had prompt responses from Willis Henry, Kaja Veilleux, Kenneth Van Blarcom, Kaminski, and a host of others. They are serving not only my best interests, but those of their consignors, whom we all know are the lifeblood of any auctioneer.

But there are a few exceptions in my extensive experience. And I believe it is important for the power of the press to alert other aging baby boomers who will soon turn from buyers to sellers to consider the service habits of auctioneers to their buyers. It is these that will ultimately have potentially a great impact on the prices realized. That's because we all know it only takes two people who really want something to send the price soaring. On two occasions, I have called Quabbin Auction Company and never received a response, after leaving several choices for them on a lengthy voice mail. Obviously, I didn't make the two-hour drive. I wonder how their consignors would feel if they knew?

Sheila Levis
Lexington, MA