Old China Hmart

Old China Hmart

            Monday morning we had two house call appointments in Scarsdale and Bronxville, Westchester Co., NY.  Both were for “old china” “collections” “inherited”.  Scarsdale was much better than Bronxville.

            That home, in its attic, was littered with opened boxes of truly old “old family china” with that “old china” scattered all about the attic after having been poked, peeked and looked at over a twenty year time span. Nothing had left the attic or been sold “yet”.  We were stunned by the “old” quality and the abundant quantity of the “old china”.  Verbally querying we followed the trail back to Chicago, 1890 through the 1920’s including “summers in New England”.  The boxes came east in the 1950’s and “have been here” (the attic) ever since.  Quickly, to our eye, came the “somebody knew what they were doing” message AND the “LIKED old paste (English earthenware 1780 – 1840).  “She (“my grandmother”) gathered it on her trips I suppose”.  Looked like that to us inclusive of old antiques shops north of Boston labels, stickers and… original purchase bags (!).  “NICE old china” we said and explained, noting that there appears to be 150 to 200 lots… that the “collection” (for it IS one) will stand piece by piece as attractive to collectors even though many of the more singular and earlier “old paste” items “have old damage” including “staple repairs”.  They let me take a few photographs of what is a representative specimen of “old paste, old damage & old staple repairs”.  We recommended the collection was best kept out of the public eye until completely “market ready” “for sale”.

            Bronxville was lesser, newer, cleaner and had no trail to follow back beyond a “bought every year at the shows at the County Center.  Long ago “The White Plains Show” at the Westchester County Center was an antiques dealers “must” and “breath taken away”.  It declined.  Declined.  And declined… to be back filled with four decades, at least, of “not the way it used to be” shows.  It is from those later shows that “this stuff came from” (owner’s words).  We charitably explained our “no thank you”; too little (quantity), too late (age) so not enough to make Maine a profitable destination.  Condition was, actually, great.  Approaching high noon, our hunger was great too.

            We went up to the brand new just opened Korean Hmart on Central Ave. in Hartsdale.  We sashayed (senior style) the whole store comparing it with the “we like” Burlington, MA “it is super” Hmart.  This one is a notch below the Burlington “astonishing” rating.  At the food court there were three choices; Japanese, Chinese or Korean.  Stand in line to order and pay on one side while your order is put up… and then put up by number… for pickup… on the other side of the adequate tables & chairs dining area.  I had the rice cake & dumplings in broth with a ginger ale.  We were well fed, thoroughly pleased and out of there in twenty minutes and under twenty dollars.