Cowboy Down
A Conversation Between Two Professional Thrift Shopper
Part Nine
"Fourteen Feet Away"
“Well...
we’ve SET-stage pretty well.
Haven’t we. (with the
previous discussion – Part Eight)
Yep. Soooo... the
story...: WE... ARE AT... a large
box store scale thrift store and... she (my wife) meets me at the head of the
metal isle (things [rummage is a better word] made of metal for sale) carrying
a sprig creamer. Ok so right there
that’s an antique. First off it’s
priced ninety-nine cents ($.99) but, OR of GREATER IMPORTANCE in this
discussion is the WHAT it is. Now
I... and her (my wife) don’t ever even discuss that... this is a perfectly
formed classic poise English Victorian breakfast table... or tea service...
cream pitcher... mold cast of earthenware clay with modest decorative relief
cast cartouche within the casting ...and that this little pitcher is, aside
from the should-be-there ‘appropriate’ light age toning to the ...clear
glazed... cast clay form... in perfect condition with the... classic and modest
hand painted in polychrome colors... ‘sprig’ decoration on it with this
pleasingly found in its traditional ...understated... embellishment...: Yep.
“THAT
conversation between us is ‘unnecessary’ for we both already know-what-it-is...
well more than I just described it... on to the further ABYSMAL state of this
‘old china’ in... BOTH... the general populace AND the antiquarian populace
culture connect of... being... NOT ‘popular in the market’ meaning ‘sprig’
‘china’ has lost it’s (cash value) collecting allure... mostly because ‘no
body’ ‘knows what it is’ ‘anymore’
“So
what and that’s never stopped the antiquarian I 1... and the ...eye... of my wife either so
this... in fact... little gem... without words... is EMBRACED as ‘a good find’
and onto the NEXT antique-on-its-journey (Part Seven ) WE go... with her
carefully carrying the little pitcher.
My wife ‘dumps’ (abandons and leaves for I to ‘do’ [search]) this metal
isle and goes to the next isle. I... scanning down one side from a poise at the
upper center of the opposite side encounter, half way down, visual blockage of
my view by a woman poking at something on a shelf. Beyond her, toward a full fourteen feet to end corner of the
isle, a classic ‘big butt blockage’ is in progress with an older ‘let herself
go’ (Part Eight) woman physically having rolled her upper torso on to the kiddy
seat section of a shopping cart for support... the cart IS holding her ‘up’...
with this cart blocking (‘jammed into’) the far corner region of the metal isle
shelves. SOOOO... I am, ah...
stymied... in that direction.
“The
first... center-of-isle woman... moves off UP the isle as I scan DOWN the
isle. She vanishes and I...
embrace... the... big butt – cart supported – flotilla mass as I rapidly scan
the newly opened shelf space on down to... VERY QUICKLY (two seconds)... the
blocking flotilla mass... to “NO-YES-NO!” see an ‘it’; a true good rare
antique... on an upper shelf... front and center... before (and therefore
‘within’ the blocking flotilla) the FACE of the blocking woman... “SHE’S
STARING AT IT?”. No.
“In
fact ...no... no... no, no. I
have, now suddenly, oodles of time (seconds) to, ah... is it really ‘get to it’
(reach out and grab the antiques).
I mean... I KNOW what it is.
I KNOW. And I am fourteen
feet away. I know that it is
priced at ZERO value. I KNOW. I...am looking at the woman’s butt? Her cart. Her pitched upper body upon the cart... NOT MOVING with her
dim-wittedly viewing the this far corner of the metal isle BEYOND the end of
her wedge-in-the-corner cart... I...
“Have
complete control of myself; she WILL MOVE (come back to life) eventually and I
stand in my position. I stand
there... looking at ‘it’; the good antique priced too-too low fourteen feet
away ‘over there’ past her ...butt.
“My
wife appears at the other head of the isle; where she’d gone off to. I, seeing her, drop my vigil upon the
antique, acknowledge her and... gesture for her to come. She does. ‘Watch this’ I say just as the flotilla breaks position at the
corner and I step into her voiding space; space... a void... and I hand... my
hand goes out and up and through the space to the shelf to PLUCK it as she (my
wife) TOO DOES SEE THIS ‘it’ TOO.”
“Oh
my God.” I hear behind me. Yes and
as I turn her hand takes it (grabs?) to affirm what we already know is an early
New England pewter whale oil lamp...:
“Is
it signed?” and the bottom of the lamp is, mid isle, scanned to “YES”
“WHAT?”
“Putnam”
(James Putnam Malden MA 1835-1850).
“After
these five seconds that includes the notice of the three-ninety-nine ($3.99)
price stickers.... we continue looking for ‘more’ ‘antiques’. And do not find anymore ‘that day’.
“OK
so we as the baron and baroness of thrift store antiques... leave and lunch and
the rest of the day and yeah, yeah, yeah because WHAT ELSE went into that
‘find’ beside maneuvering around a... big butt. YES there was more and so... much more that the word “FIND”
is best considered ‘denoted’ or... even... ‘noticed’. I mean... it WAS just sitting there at the end of... ITS...
journey (Part Seven, again) to the thrift store. WE were the ‘notice given’ it? Only us?”
“I
would have known.”
“Yes
but you weren’t coming across the parking lot towards us flaunting it.”
“Yes,
yes.... I know that. You were
there. And your so right about
this. You really did nothing. THE LAMP was on the journey. You just happened by.”
“And
noticed it.”
“And
noticed it.”
“THERE
is the whole pivot point. The
store was FULL of shoppers with no one noticing either the sprig ware or the
pewter lamp. Just simply no one
knowing. You would have known.”
“Easy
(both the creamer and the lamp); not a second thought.”
“But
who else? The salad bar woman?
(Part Eight) SF? (Part Four). We... really are ... on our own. I’ll review the lamp; the ANTIQUE
heritage of the lamp. You pop in
with anything.”
“Ok.”
“So...
I first knew what an American pewter whale oil lamp was, like... in the late
sixties. I know I had (bought and
sold) my first Putnam (maker) lamp when I was in high school. They were, like, sixty-five bucks
then. Tops. This one is, well... four hundred tops
these days. This is a good one;
great condition, great burner.
Anyway... when I say ‘knew what’; that’s the big thing here. First off... I’ve never STOPPED
‘knowing what’ AND using that knowledge.
Since the sixties. Same for
you, right?”
“Absolutely. I’m always ready to go on signed
American (pewter).”
“Did
you read a book?”
“Reference
books... well... sort of. Again, I
have some (on pewter and American pewter) and I looked at the pictures.”
“Never
read the book?”
“Well....”
“Poked
at it (the text)?”
“Ok...
leave me alone.”
“So...
like... these lamps you learned about mostly through seeing them and handling
them on your antiques show circuit?”
“That’s
fair. Probably. That’s where I first probably handled
them.”
“Is it studied them?”
“Is it studied them?”
“Well....”
“Right. So... your ‘hands on’. So what’s that actually mean? It means your, like, a silhouette
buyer; you recognize the design form from your self education; you know,
generally, that this (a pewter lamp) CAN BE a good signed American maker pewter
lamp when you, like, SEE ONE forty feet away.”
“Forty feet... maybe not.”
“Forty feet... maybe not.”
“Want
to bet. I bet you know the form at
forty feet. UP CLOSE... I’ll beat
you out on the details. That’s the
commercial details AND the design details. I know I’ve studied this more that you; actually read the
books. (Plural). AND have handled... pretty much as many
of them (pewter whale oil lamps) as I could. I DO love the form (the pewter whale oil lighting shape,
especially ‘American’).”
“I
would have grabbed it.”
“Of
course. It’s just that you
wouldn’t have a price on it for, like, six WEEKS of ‘research’ that includes,
like... asking ME what I ‘think it’s worth’.”
“WELL...
“
“It’s
low rent (behaving like that as a dealer).”
“Well...”
“Look: I know in the five seconds EXACTLY
where that lamp is in the WHOLE HISTORY of the design form so, like, four
hundred; it’s ready to go (is for sale).”
“Four
hundred? Really?
“Sure. What are you gonna do? Beat me down?”
“Sure. What are you gonna do? Beat me down?”
“Well...
that’s a LITTLE high for me.
“Yeah but LOOK, Ms. Push Comes to Shove: I’m, like, I EARNED THAT. I mean, I’m in a God damn BOX STORE full of people who don’t even know what a DESIGN FORM is let alone what a signed New England pewter whale oil lamp is. That’s, like... just didn’t HAPPEN. I get paid for that. YOU can go find YOUR OWN pewter lamp. You know: Have a nice day.”
“Yeah but LOOK, Ms. Push Comes to Shove: I’m, like, I EARNED THAT. I mean, I’m in a God damn BOX STORE full of people who don’t even know what a DESIGN FORM is let alone what a signed New England pewter whale oil lamp is. That’s, like... just didn’t HAPPEN. I get paid for that. YOU can go find YOUR OWN pewter lamp. You know: Have a nice day.”
“Right,
right. It is fair. I guess. I mean: You
bought the books. And read them.”
“Like...
I bet I’ve spent four hundred just on pewter reference books period
(alone). And while we’re at it;
what’s the last museum pewter show you... attended?”
“Oh
come on.”
“Me? Brandywine (Chadds Ford , PA). How about five years ago. Maybe six.”
“Yeah.... That too. It is fair. You
made yourself there (at the thrift store). It’s not like it just happened . You aren’t just wandering by.”
“There
we go: From fourteen feet and butt
block: ALL MINE.”
“So...
how do you book that (use reference books to discern the lamp)?”
“I
didn’t touch a book.”
“Yeah... but... what books would you? My books aren’t clear on just lamps.”
“Yeah... but... what books would you? My books aren’t clear on just lamps.”
“Right. I like that. Have to feel around in design huh. Like... let’s see... there’s PEWTER design... and
LIGHTING... DESIGN... and LAMP design... and WHALE OIL LAMP design... and whale
oil. You know HERE (on the thrift
store lamp) that’s actually a camphene burner; a ‘fluid lamp’. Camphene was early kerosene. It pushed whale oil out of the
way. They ran out of whales
too. Anyway; that’s, like,
DETAILS. Got to do DESIGN first. Huh.”
“So
what books?”
“Well...
for pewter, I just skip ‘em all to go to Montgomery (A HISTORY OF AMERICAN
PEWTER, Winterthur, NY, 1973). He
was the king of antiques at Yale then.
The book breaks open pewter as a full fledge design form. He has some lamps in it
(pictured). It’s the best
introductive survey to the DESIGN FORM.
If you READ IT.”
“Your
so nice when you help someone.”
“I
told ‘em the truth. Bring that
book with you in your mind... AND ALL of the OTHER pewter books you READ after
that... HEY: Maybe you’ll FIND
something.
“What
else (for books).”
“I...myself,
jump right way back to (Arthur H.) Hayward COLONIAL LIGHTING”. That’s, like, 1927. But it’s all over the place in (modern)
paper back (editions). Always beat
up. I use a hardcover first (first
edition).”
“Your
so....”
“HEY: It’s a real book. That’s actually the improved second
(edition). I’ve used it my whole
(antique dealer) life. Have some
quality in your life. What is
yours; beat-up paper, right?”
“I
don’t think I ever even SEEN it in hardcover.”
“I work with idiots.”
“So... that book just covers a little on pewter lamps.”
“I work with idiots.”
“So... that book just covers a little on pewter lamps.”
“Yeah,
like, one plate with text. So
what. The book covers ALL American
lighting. The DESIGN of American
lighting. I mean; I know this
(lighting design) totally COLD including being able to tell AMERICAN DESIGN
from, like, the rest of the world’s old lighting. Got to be able to do that THESE DAYS. Lot of, ah... ‘imports’ in the market.”
“Right.”
“And
at the thrift stores”.
“Yep. There’s a lot of crummy old lighting
out there for sale.”
“So...
the big plus here is our knowledge of design. Again. Design
for pewter. Design for sprig ware. Design for the stupid little whiskey
taster (Part Seven). Huh? Bet they (the reader) didn’t even know
there IS design for ‘whiskey tasters’.
Ok so... I’ll say it: I really like being into (knowing
about) different design forms and knowing those design forms really....
really... well. And...knowing
other people don’t.
“You’ve
scalped them at the thrift store before you start.”
“So
let’s get THAT right. But first,
come on: Do you know what the BEST
marked (old) New England pewter whale oil lamp is? Here you go... FOR FREE: Marked ‘Brook Farm’ (Montgomery pg. 218) and made by Thoreau”.
“Really!”
“Well...
not actually by Thoreau. Ephraim
Capen (1844-45) at Brook Farm. New
England Transcendentalist pewter really.
Go look it up. I’ve never
found one. But I will. Ha, ha. Ok: Back
to design and thrift stores.... Yeah: bugs you don’t it. You wouldn’t even know it. You’d be going ‘what’s this it says
‘Brook Farm’ on the bottom what’s a brook farm?’ Find a pair of those at a thrift store.” (Notice the very
short active production date 1844-45; how many did Capen make? How many did he actually sell? How
many, therefore, ‘survive’? They
are rare, particularly a ‘perfect pair’."
1 Do I have
to yell at the reader in a footnote to establish ‘sprig ware’? Is its antiquarian object status THAT
vanquished? OLD New England and MY
grandmother and HER grandmother before clutched ‘sprig’ and treasured ‘sprig’
and ‘showed’ sprig as ‘antique china’ and... I grew up that way. What that understanding was (and is) is
that I, the antiquarian, could find the finest Colonial era English earthenware
teapot and... wander home with it to proudly display it only to have it
silently dismissed as ‘not being as nice as my grandmother’s own (sprig ware)
teapot’. The emphasis is on the
word ‘silently’. Appreciation of
‘sprig ware’ in old New England was and STILL IS... a ‘rock of
Gibraltar’...silence. Therefore...
this purloined creamer... although commercially ‘a nothing’ IS, in fact, a DEEP
DARK TREASURE from ‘old New England’.
The pure strain of old New England (high Victorian farm property front
parlor) eloquence is found in ‘sprig ware’... is what I am saying? Yes it is. And what more... could it mean? It means that ...if here at the thrift store is us finding the
sprig ware THAT then LOOK AROUND for MORE ‘antiques’.
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