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Antiques: A Journey Through Time

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by Martin Willis

A look at how antiques connect us to forgotten lives of the past

1790_House,_Woburn,_Massachusetts_circa_1930s
The Historic 1790 House, Woburn, MA

I was walking my dog this morning on the property of the 1790 House, which is a fine colonial structure in Woburn, Massachusetts that houses the auction company’s office.  The property is right next to Rt. 128, which is always very noisy with a constant stream of traffic flowing north and south.

The historic house borders the Middlesex Canal, which was a concept that became a reality in the late 18th century. The canal connected Boston Harbor to the Merrimack River and had 20 locks with the average depth of 3 feet. Barges pulled by oxen transported many goods all the way to Concord, NH and back. The main function of the canal was to transport timber for shipbuilding from the virgin forest of New Hampshire to Medford, Mass. When the canal was built, it was a very substantial feat of engineering for that time.

baldwin_estateAs my dog and I walked near the canal, we came to some brush that my dog  decided to walk into. I forced my way through the thicket to find my dog, and came upon a magnificent chiseled granite post protruding out of the ground. It had a hand hammered and rusted iron eyelet near the top for rope lashing. I wondered when the last time was that someone saw this post lost in time. I realized that objects like these, along with antiques are connections to the forgotten lives of the past.

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The Next Generation

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by Lee Kalfon

chandelierOne of the most pressing issues in our industry today, and one near to my heart, is how to engage the next generation of auction goers and antique collectors. I have read a good many articles on how the younger generations; the millennials in particular don’t care about antiques. All too many times I’ve heard “kids these days would rather have a cell phone than a bedroom suite”. Frankly I am starting to take offense. I am a millennial. I am 25, and yes, I own an IPhone, but I also work for an auction house. I care about antiques, vintage, and preserving our material culture for the next generation. Maybe I’m an anomaly, but I don’t think so.

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Presidential Auction Results, Emotions & Prices Run High

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A historic auction, media frenzy and a night owl’s delight

by Martin Willis

Check out our interview with Dan Meader prior to this auction here.

JFK Bomber Jacket sells for, $665,550!

When you have so many objects of a great fallen president in one auction, anything can happen. The collection was from the estate of David F. Powers, special assistant to Kennedy and the first curator of the JFK Library.  I made an appearance at the auction, braving four hours of dangerous travel in a typical New England snowstorm. I went as I said in the podcast, just to see the people and watch the event.

I want to start by saying, no one in the business could have done a better job, and that is not easy to say, considering that I am a competitor of my good friend John McInnis as well as a friend of Dan Meader who held the auction in Amesbury, Massachusetts. The one thing I certainly bet John wishes he had done differently is, make it a two-day auction. As fate would have it, the auction ended up being a two-day event after all (18 hours long), but not by choice.

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Tossed But Not Lost

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‘One Man’s Trash’ you have heard the expression enough; here is another example how that it rings true.

Back in 1982, my father, (Morgan Willis) and I were at a storage place meeting a woman from a prominent family in York, Maine. She was there for an hour before with family members getting things ready for us, as her main goal was to clear everything out of the storage unit. She ultimately wanted to stop paying rent on it as the family had been doing for at least ten years.

In the storage were items that were inherited from someone in their family, and there were nice period American pieces, boxes of early Canton porcelain and many fine collectibles. My dad and I were both very exited with the items we were listing, but of course, we kept our cool. It is never a good idea to get too excited as it tends to make consignors get excited enough not to sell sometimes.

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Auction Disasters & Challenges!

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by Martin Willis

Auction disasters and major challenges are rather rare, but when they happen they certainly leave an impression and they can be very interesting (as an afterthought). I have been a little apprehensive about posting this blog and in no way am I trying to scare people away from the auction method.  I believe in auctions as the best possible means of selling almost anything on the secondary market. Some of these stories have a good outcome, but not all of them. Keep in mind, this is a small sampling and I am sure if every auctioneer was polled, there would be some great additional stories. Read more →

Artist Walt Kuhn Was No Clown

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Purchased for $6 and later sold for $32,500
by Martin Willis

Back in the 1990s I went on a house call to see a past clerk of my father’s auctions. Louis Sochia was a pleasant man with a great sense of humor. He, his partners Charlie & Tom were selling their B & B (The Inn at Christian Shore) in Portsmouth, NH, and had some nice things to put in my next auction.

After viewing everything, we were at the top of the stairs, and I pointed and said, “How about that painting?” Louis and his partners laughed and Louis said, “You can buy that right now for $300.”  I thanked him and told him I would not do that, but instead would take it and do some research. It was a painting of a clown putting make-up on in a mirror. It stuck me as being masterful, but it was unsigned. There was something about it that made me think it was very good.  The next day, I brought the painting up to Bruce Collins in Kennebunk, Maine who I thought had a good eye and asked for his opinion.  He instantly agreed that it was masterful and most likely by the artist and got out some books and showed me why he thought so. Read more →