We enjoy a visit from friends with similar interests to our own. Jack and I miss the company of people who used to come see us when we had our antique shop. There were always interesting people discussing American Decorative Arts of earlier times, furniture, paint colors, fireplace iron, textiles, pewter, and on and on.. Where was it made, who made or used it, and how and when? What are the good/better/best points of this item? How should it be restored? (Or should it be!)
This was an endlessly fascinating study and dialog for us, a tapestry of interests so wide and varied it could never all be learned. That was what being a dealer in antiques meant to us, not the more publicised TV image of making some great find, bought for pennies and worth great sums. Rather we concentrated on learning to see.. and to identify and evaluate what we found. Form and surface and provenance were our measures of value. We both are grateful to have had the good fortune to live this lifestyle for a few years. Our home is filled with reminders of all those years of adventure, very saticefying indeed!