Pick your favorite period lighting. Betty Lamp? Candle? Whale Oil? Kerosene? Gas? Maybe there is some light at the end of the antiques tunnel. While March apparently will come and go without one of our favorite antiques shows, known locally as the Nazareth show, the Genesee Country Antiques Dealers Association that sponsors that show and one in June has posted a June 19, 2021 date for their Canandaigua, NY show. The Genesee Country Village and Museum in Mumford, NY. has scheduled May 14 and 15 for their antiques show. With some luck there will be more on the way.
To say it has been tough to plan shows during the pandemic is an understatement. It seems though, that they can be safely held by following pandemic protocols set by various government agencies. Still, it remains a difficult call for the organizers. The emergence of some scheduled shows is a hopeful sign of the slow return to normalcy.
During the pandemic more auction houses have added one or more on-line bidding options for their sales. As a collector I’ve participated in internet “live” auctions and a few “timed” sales. Those timed sales come in a variety of formats, some that end with a closing time followed by a live component. While I’d rather bid from a gallery, at least the pandemic didn’t bring the regional auction businesses to a halt. With the increased number of people at home and the necessity of internet access upgrades, the pandemic may have actually brought more collectors into the fold. For buyers there are more sales to preview and perhaps “attend” and our anecdotal observations tend to show improving prices for sellers.
Antiques malls in many places are also up in running with appropriate safety precautions, so it looks like spring will bring more opportunities to get out and go antiquing.
We’re still suffering “withdrawal” from the inability to stop at some of our favorite inns and restaurants and we are looking forward to near normal for those spots in the months ahead. So, pick your favorite antique lighting (mine has been the whale oil period). There’s light at the end of the tunnel.
