THE DAILY RECORD
March 2, 2000
Off the Record: This Old Stuff Playing the Collectibles Games

Charlene O'Malley of C.H. O'Malley Antiques in Roland Park says,
"there's a lot of interest in American pieces and because there are
less of them available than, say, English pieces, they are becoming
more expensive."

Just as fashions in clothing regularly change, so do trends in collecting antiques.

Of course, what affects such swings is a complex mix of supply and demand, cultural influences, increases in the population, changing centuries, and human psychology.

"Today, on huge influence on antique collecting is what we've just entered a new century," says Tim Naylor, of Naylor Antiques Ltd. in Stevenson. " A beautiful painting from 1904 is now worth vastly more than it was five years ago."

Not surprisingly, a booming economy has both increased the interest in antiques and driven prices up.

And that's not just Chippendale sideboards going up in cost.

A prototype of Eero Saarinen's (1910-1961) chair, the likes of which are in virtually every airport in the world, recently sold for $37,000, while a piece of Fiesta dinnerware sold for $65,000. Furthermore Fiesta ware, which first hit the market in January 1936, is still manufactured today.

Still, for Baltimoreans interested in purchasing pieces locally, there's both good and bad news. Traditionally, the local antiques market has sold pieces for less than they would bring in New York or Dallas. However, word of this has gotten out and increasingly, buyers from all over the United States are coming here to make their purchases.

"Because people have more disposable income, we're seeing prices going up, especially with American antiques," says Charlene O'Malley of C.H. O'Malley Antiques in Roland Park. "there's a lot of interest in American pieces and because there are less of them available than, say, English pieces, they are becoming more expensive."

However, Gaines McHale's Jean McHale adds that, while English antiques have traditionally sold for less than comparable American pieces, British items are quickly catching up to the Yankee cousins.

McHale, who does a considerable trade in French antiques, adds that availability drives prices. For instance, a French country dinning table is likely to fetch considerably more than an armoire from the same period: while usually there was one dining table in a home, armoires could br found in several rooms.

Nevertheless, those armoires aren't going for just a few francs. "Usually they start at $6,000 and can go up to $30,000 or $40,000," says McHale. "But these are purchases that will continue to go up and up in value... after all, there's a whole tree and a half in each armoire."

Part of the popularity of these pieces, she notes, is the sophistication - wonderful woods, such as walnut and cherry, and intricate carving - and, ironically perhaps, how that sophistication dovetails with our increasing casual style of living.

Another influence on the desirability of a particular genre is the media. "I know those dealers who advertise in "The Magazine Antiques" often want to know the editorial schedule in advance of publication." says Naylor. "they'll then lay in a supply of pieces that matches the editorial content because they know as soon as an article is published these items will become popular."

Similarly, he adds, trends are fueled by museum exhibitions. "If Winterhur has a show on Boston bentwood furniture, it'll become more and more in demand... and will start going for higher prices."

Another development on the collecting scene is the appearance of the baby boomers, apparently tired of decorating their homes and offices with Jimi Hendrix posters. "I'm seeing more and more 40 -to 50-year-olds getting very interested in collecting," says O'Malley. "It's often about status and individuality and the fact that people are often pigeonholed by what they do in their jobs.

"When these people are exposed to unique things, it becomes a way of reaching out and putting their own mark on a home and who they are."

Antiques increasingly function as a way to hide all the high-tech gear in today's homes. "I get a lot of requests for armoires, for example, to house televisions and assorted computer equipment," says McHale.

Still, indiscriminately making changes to do this can ruin the structural integrity of a piece, not to mention what it does to the future value of an item.

"I won't do any work on a piece that will keep me from getting it back to normal," she notes, although she adds that she will do "weird stuff" on pieces that aren't of consequence.

For the first time, says Naylor, later furniture is hitting the antiques market. "Christie's and Sotheby's have had sales of Victorian furniture, which people used to look down their noses at," he says. "Part of the reason is that earlier furniture has gotten so expensive and the demand so intense, that there was not enough to meet the demand.

"So, a decision was made to make Victorian furniture popular."

Yet, Jean McHale disagrees. "For me, Victorian pieces are really out."