Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Main Lady's mother, Centenarian, is 103 years old and still able to get around on her own.  That condition isn't going to last forever, and in fact I'm not laying any odds on the old freighter making 104.  All that aside, Centenarian has a rather large home packed full of antiques (the real deal here), family heirlooms, high quality housewares and junk.   Separating the wheat from the chaff is not always obvious - for instance, when my own grandfather cashed in his chips we had an estate auction in which one of the items was a wooden cabinet that none of the family would have bothered to chop up for kindling... it fetched $350 at auction.

So.

What I'm looking for is someone to walk through the house, point out the valuable stuff and estimate a price.  I'm willing to pay for the services, but the last time I got involved in something like this I encountered a snake oil salesman that was almost as slippery and underhanded as I am, and that is truly saying something.  That couple (a tag team match) tried making quick buys on valuable items just as a favor between friends.  I declined.  The man, by the way, was a minister who dabbled in politics and professed to be an expert in antiques.  I got him off by himself told him very quietly that if I ever saw or heard of him coming near my loved ones again I'd put some buckshot in his behind.  He got offended and left.  So does anyone have any recommendations?  I need to find someone who is not a thieving, thimble rigging snake oil salesman and does, in fact, have the answers to the questions I'm posing?

Centenarian is local to Sylvania, Ohio.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Call a reputable museum or historical society for a reference. Likely you will need to look at the closest big city. You may also try the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in NC for listings of appraisers in Ohio. MESDA casts a wide net but likely a museum focusing on decorative arts up there should know of a straight shooter.

Mad Jack said...

Thanks vicomtesse, I'll call.