Related Posts

• The amazing truth about hoarders

  

  August 26, 2011 The popular new television shows on extreme hoarding have recently made more people aware of the problem. Because of this awareness, I’ve begun to hear comments such as, ”can you imagine seeing a place like that?” or “have you ever seen one of those houses?” The sad fact is, I have. Many times. It’s a lot more common than you might think. Between my work for various Boston area auctioneers in my youth and the years that I spent as an estate liquidator, I estimate that I’ve been involved in the dismantling of between 15 and 20 extreme hoarder’s homes. The difference is, I was usually dealing with the homes of hoarders who had either died or had gone to a nursing home. It would be unusual for a hoarder to part with their possessions, so antiques dealers are rarely called until after the occupant is gone. I used to attempt to explain the conditions of these houses, describing rooms piled with debris, sometimes up to the ceiling and only isles to walk through. Now people can see these ...

• 2014 recap blog

  

  January 16, 2015 I looked at our last blog over the weekend and I was embarrassed to see that it was posted over a year ago. Well that is certainly not due to lack of effort. 2014 was the busiest year I can remember. Now we are headed into 2015, which will be my 40th year in the antiques business. It seems fitting that I start by recapping 2014 and highlighting some of those things which have kept Matt and I too busy to blog. Then I promise to keep up with events and maybe sprinkle in some “best of” stories from the past 40 years. The last blog was prior to the opening of an exhibit of Early American Musical clock that I curated at the Willard House and Clock Museum. The exhibit was a massive success. The clocks all played their music beautifully and it was impressive to see all these masterpieces together in one space. Thank you to all who participated. The catalogs are still available at the Willard House. You can take a video tour of the exhibit here. The ...

• Early American musical clock project in high gear.

  

  July 11, 2013 It’s been a while since I have given an update on the progress of my American musical clock book and exhibit. Matt and I have been working nearly full time on the project for the past 6 months. Thus far we have visited and photographed about 70 clocks in private collections and institutions and have been welcomed with enthusiasm at each stop. What initially appeared to be a daunting task is proving to be quit rewarding. Due to the extraordinary cost of these rare musical clocks, the original purchasers usually chose exceptional cases that represent the very best examples of their period and form. Not only that, they preserve the recorded music of our ancestors just as they heard it 200 years ago. They have been likened to an original iPod. We have begun to gather the clocks that will appear in an exhibit at the Willard House & Clock Museum in North Grafton, Massachusetts. It will take place this fall from October 6th-November 17th and will include approximately 36 pre-1830 musical clocks. They will all be running and playing their ...

• The Keno Brothers new show

  

  September 9, 2011 Leigh and Leslie, the keno Brothers of Antiques Roadshow fame have a new show on Fox. It is called “Buried Treasure”. The new show is similar to, but different than their old PBS show which was called Find!. As with the old show, they travel the country visiting people who have objects that may have significant value. What sets Buried Treasure apart from the old show is the personal component. Leigh told me that they are looking for situations where the value of the objects can potentially make a significant difference in the lives of the owners. The problem with this scenario is that it eliminates a great number of the possible guests and makes it much more difficult to find good houses to visit. I don’t know how they accomplish what they do. The twins are just a few months older than I am, but I wouldn’t dream of trying to fit what they do into a day. I’m tired just thinking about it. In addition to filming the show this summer, Leigh has his auction coming up ...

• Keeping Time exhibit on schedule

  

  September 23, 2013 We have been working day and night transporting musical clocks and installing the new exhibit at The Willard House & Clock Museum. This has been an all consuming process for the last several months, so if I failed to return your phone call or respond to an email, please forgive me. My antiques business has definitely suffered during this project and Matt is just as busy as I am. We hope to soon get back to locating great pieces and spending the proper amount of time working with our clients to place those things in the proper collections. The exhibit is coming together nicely and most of the clocks are in the building. It is entitled Keeping Time, Musical Clocks of Early America and will include 38 functioning musical clocks (mostly American).  The image is a graphic from the table of contents and really gives an idea of how amazing these clocks are. The exhibit will be open on Sunday, October 6th and will run only six weeks, until November 17th. The museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10-4:00. Visit ...

• Antiques Week Update

  

  March 4, 2013 We have been very busy the last several months and the blog has been an unintended casualty. Preparing for the only show that we do in January each year is a tremendous amount of work. This year was no different. We brought a number of fine pieces of Americana to the Metro Show which took place during Antiques Week in NY City. This was only the second year for the show, which replaced The American Antiques Show (TAAS), often referred to as the Folk Art Show. Like last year, the turnout for the Metro Show preview party was tremendous (see photo). At some points in the show, it was about impossible to move through the isles. Metro is a nice venue and the promoters put on a first class show, but it has moved a bit toward the modern-art side for my taste. The show featured some up scale and very edgy art, which is great, but I wish it included a few more American furniture dealers like myself. Despite encouragement from me and in some cases, free passes, a ...