The Best "Antique" Joke

"I'll know I'm old if I find a photo of myself for sale in an antique store."  Making that statement to her sisters was probably not a good thing because one of the sisters stopped by our store one day with a picture of the "victim" and asked if we could help play a little joke.  Of course we could!  The photo was already framed so we stuck a price tag on it and found a place to put it so that it could easily be seen.  The next day the sisters came to the store (there were 3 or 4 of them and they were all in on the joke, except for the victim) and wandered around finding all sorts of fun stuff.  We wondered if she would find the photo when a very loud scream made it clear that she had.

About a year later, they were in the store again and told us that they didn't admit to playing the joke on their sister until months afterwards.  I'm not sure if the victim ever forgave the others either for playing the joke on her or for waiting so long before they confessed.

Dealer No. 3 Expands

Our dealer No. 3, whose name is Don, has expanded from a single shelf to a whole display case.  Don has been in the antique business for over 20 years and has a great variety of interesting antiques for sale, including Christmas ornaments, Halloween items, and fishing lures and decoys.  I recently bought a couple of nice old beer bottle openers from him (but I didn't take all of them).  He's the one that has the Old Abe tobacco tin for sale - pictured on our main web site (www.antiquesonmainanoka.com).  Come in and see all that he is offering for sale.  For that matter, come in and see what everyone has for sale.

It just occurred to me that he chose an appropriate dealer number (3), since he is the third dealer named Don in our store.

An example of Don's merchandise.

Be patient - It'll show up eventually

My first beer stein, the one that started my modest collection, I found while digging in an old town dump during my college days (ca. 1970).  It did not have a lid (so by some definitions it was a tankard rather than a stein) but that didn't bother me because it was still a pretty neat find.  Then one day I found a picture of the same stein in Antique Steins by James R. Stevenson ... and it had a lid.  It was a rather distinctive lid: a figure of a country woman.  I still liked the stein, but there always seemed to be something missing after that.

Now we jump ahead about 30 years.  I was wandering around an antique store in Red Wing, MN (back when there were more antique stores there than there are now) and sitting on a shelf (for a mere $6) was a stein lid.  It is the only one I have ever seen that was for sale all by itself.  And it was the one I needed.  My stein is now complete!

I guess the moral is that if you have a lot of patience, you will eventually find what you are looking for.  In my case, it took only 30 years.

L-R: My original stein, the one I saw in a book, and the lid I found after 30 years.

15% Storewide Sales

There will be store-wide discounts on all purchases from Thursday March 8 through Sunday March 11.  Some dealers have even greater discounts so look for signs in each booth and/or case.

The next sales will be April 12-15, May 10-13, and June 14-17.

Now for the fine print...  If the price of an item is marked "firm" or already on sale, then the store-wide 15% discount doesn't apply.  Sorry about that. 

New Dealers - No. 34

We would like to introduce you to our newest dealers, Mac and Laurie, otherwise known as Dealer No.34.  They are new to the business and explained to me that they either had to try this or audition for the TV show "Hoarders".  (I think many of us started for the same reason.)  They do not have a specialty, but so far have concentrated on license plates, milk bottles and teddy bears although their area in the store has many other interesting items as well.  Be sure to check out their spot while you are in the store.

The Reality of Antique Dealing

Have you ever wondered what the home of an antique dealer looks like?  Maybe you've seen on TV or in the movies the elegant displays of fabulous antiques?  Well, here's a bit of a reality check for you.  This is a photo of my basement work area.  It's a bit cluttered with lots of "merchandise" waiting to be processed (that means cleaned, cataloged, and priced).  The stereo system is too big for any other part of the house so it is relegated to the basement along with me.  I considered showing a photo of my main floor office, but its not much better than the basement work area.  This is why many of us stay in the "business" even through times of weak sales - we have too much stuff to get rid of.

Enjoy a chuckle (or groan) at my expense.  Maybe in a future post, I'll provides more insights into the life of an antique dealer.

Button Collection

A couple of our dealers recently purchased a very large button collection and are making the individual buttons available for purchase.  The collection was assembled mostly prior to 1960 and won blue ribbons in the 1961 Minnesota State Fair.  The buttons are available through Dealer 31.