The year 2022 was the 70^th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who was still mentally robust but, at age 96, physically frail in the few photos taken of her this year. As it turned out, and as so often happens with close couples, she also died that same year, after losing her husband, Prince Philip, the year before. Not many have lived, as they did, to celebrate 74 years of marriage!

Elizabeth reigned for 70 years, nearly the lifetime of many Discover Vintage America readers, including me! That made her the longest reigning monarch in British history. As we know, those seven decades were tumultuous, not just in terms of what was happening in the world in general (first hydrogen bomb test, discovery of DNA, the Berlin Wall, etc.) but also within the royal family itself (divorce, tragedy, castle fire, etc.). Amid all the controversies, consternations, and calamities that would befall her family during her reign, Queen Elizabeth kept her royal counsel and her self-possession. Her unflappability, not to be confused for a moment with a lack of feeling, appears to have been part of what endeared her to so many of her countrymen: she was an emblem of stability even amidst unstable times.

Royal Collectibles

Collectibles devoted to British royalty have long graced the antique trade. In fact, Queen Victoria and her lifelong devotion to her deceased husband, Prince Albert, whose life departed from hers after 21 years of marriage, inspired an entire era in the latter 19^th century that was named after her. Victoria had one of England’s longest reigns, although, at 63 years, still short of Elizabeth’s. Examples of Victoriana can still be found in the antique trade, ranging from china to furniture. Victorian furniture even has a distinct look, heavy and made of dark wood and wood stains, that seems to reflect Victoria’s grief.

Among the commemorative items most found in antique stores are plates and mugs celebrating coronations, marriages, and royal births. Somewhat less often seen are pieces of commemorative silverware. There is also a collecting market for images of British kings and queens adorning coins minted in the era in which they reigned. Then, of course, there is the ephemera related to royals, from photographs to autographs. Due in no small part to both her glamor and her early demise, Princess Diana commemoratives are especially popular.

Because Elizabeth is the only British monarch to have reached the milestone of a Platinum Jubilee on the throne, collectibles related to that milestone are expected to increase in value. Second to her image in future value are collectibles celebrating the marriage of Prince Charles (now King Charles III) and the late Princess Diana. Biscuit tins, however, are common and not terribly valuable, though they could still be an interesting collectible for those more interested in what they commemorate than what they cost (https://www.hobbsonlinenews.net/most-demand-royal-memorabilia/).

She was not your typical buyer. She looked more like my inner stereotype of a “biker chick” in her leather jacket, boots, and dark makeup. I had my doubts that she’d be a paying customer when she came into the Antiques Collaborative, where I was temporarily working as a desk manager and cashier while the owners, Bill and Isabel Bradley (featured in my last month’s article), were away attending a family wedding in Isabel’s homeland, Great Britain.

The young woman – let’s call her Sally – seemed scattered and unfocused. Adding to the impression she gave of flightiness were the number of pieces she wanted me to call the dealer and “make an offer” on. But I made it a point to be courteous and friendly to her as I and the other staffer opened cases for her to inspect merchandise.

The offers weren’t a small annoyance; as we neared closing time, a couple of other customers heard her making offers and saw me and my fellow staffer making phone calls to dealers. So they decided they’d like to make offers, too (In those cases, we could not reach the dealer, and the customers bought the items anyway). 

Meanwhile, Sally left the building to chat with her husband, a few times and for lengthy periods, about the things she was considering buying. Once or twice, she seemed to disappear altogether from the parking lot! We had just about decided that she’d left without buying anything at all when she finally returned with her husband and his checkbook – and bought just under $2,000 worth of items! For me, the experience was a lesson in not making assumptions about other people based on their appearance or behavioral quirks.

Merchandise Vetting Matters

I made it a point to greet everyone who came through the door, to welcome them, and to ask if they’d ever been in before so that I could direct their traffic to all three floors if they were first-timers. And, as it turned out, more than half of them were new to the shop.

I also made it a point to say a cordial goodbye and thanks to browsers as they left, and several told me, in commenting on the merchandise, how much they appreciated seeing an antique shop that actually is one. They said they’d never seen anything like it for the age and quality of the offerings. This is consistent with my own shopping experience, where the majority of antique shops I’ve visited are actually not much above an old-time second-hand shop, where “antique” just means more than five years old. (I’ve written at length on this topic in other articles for this column, so I won’t beat the hobby horse to death again now!)

Years ago – actually, more years than I can count! – I worked at the Antiques Collaborative, off Exit 1 of I-89 on Route 4 in Quechee, VT, as the front desk manager. That high-end business www.antiquescollaborative.com/catalog is still owned by the couple I worked for then, Bill and Isabel Bradley. Having myself reached the post-retirement age of 71, it was my pleasure to make myself available in late August this year to run the multi-dealer shop, widely and affectionately known as “the Collab,” while Bill and Isabel take a much-deserved vacation.

What makes this shop unique among all those I have visited in my career as a collector is the age and quality of the merchandise. Much of the inventory in the three-story mall, artfully renovated from an old farmhouse, is genuinely antique (as in, past the 100-year mark) from the 18th through the 20th centuries. Bill himself specializes in merchandise made of pure silver, but other dealers feature furniture, glass, old books, and almost anything else of fine quality that may come to mind. While the inventory is deeper and there seems much more of it than I remember from my earlier days at the Collab, it still manages to be artfully displayed, avoiding the “tossed in” effect of so many multi-dealer displays in other shops.

For years, the Antiques Collaborative has done a healthy business in fine paintings by name New England artists, the most famous of which sell quickly. Bill and Isabel also feature high-end Native American pottery and artifacts as well as a collection of fine Oriental rugs, historically a big seller for the business.

Bill reports that one of the changes in inventory is the increased percentage of consignment merchandise at the shop; there aren’t as many dealers buying and selling directly. Since he and Isabel vet all the merchandise, the quality remains high whether consigned or brought in by dealers for their own displays. I did notice that on small items such as jewelry, many prices were more affordable than I remember from when I first worked there. Famous names and high-end stuff (e.g., Georg Jensen silver jewelry) still command the premium, but there’s plenty of quality stuff there also for those focused on affordability.

COVID Impact

Like most Vermont businesses, the Collab was shut down from mid-March through latter May in 2020 as COVID struck. Bill still went to the shop nearly every day, making Facebook posts on the shop’s inventory and conducting web sales. The shop was open to one occasional customer at a time and did some curbside business as well, but Bill reports the volume was nowhere close to keeping the business afloat. Government COVID subsidies helped keep it going.

Remarkably, the business didn’t lose dealers during the shutdown despite the quietest two months of the year. Now, two years later, a larger percentage of the business income is from consignments rather than dealer rental spaces.

Thanks to the state’s handling of the pandemic, Vermont had the lowest COVID rate in the country, and Bill reports that, when the doors reopened, customers “came flocking in.” The Bradleys have noted a change in the customer base since I first worked there.

What’s new and what’s not

Each year, my column revisits this theme for any changes from prior year in the popularity of various antiques and collectibles. There were some surprises in trends for 2021-2022 over those for 2019-2020, but perhaps most surprising were categories unchanged by the pandemic.

Furniture, for instance, from Art Deco to Mid-Century Modern, has remained a popular seller across buyer age groups although it would seem to involve buyer pickup rather than shipping.

For 2021, I want to cite again the listing by the Asheford Institute of Antiques (www.asheford.com/2021-survey-results.html), which breaks down nationwide popular buying trends by three age groups, 20-40, 30-60, and 60-80. Although the survey notes that some categories may have experienced a drop in buying popularity as a result of the pandemic, Mid-Century Modern furniture still remained popular across all three age groups, despite the pandemic and despite predictions of a waning interest.

Costume jewelry was popular among the youngest two groups, whereas Art Deco was sought after by the older two groups. Youngest buyers shared with the oldest group an interest in lighting items. Other categories of collectible were more age-dependent.

Youngest buyers liked outer space collectibles, toys (especially toy cars and vintage board games), kitchen and barware, and “the 1970s” (especially furniture). The 40-60 age group liked antique and vintage watches, ephemera, Victoriana, paintings and sculpture, automobilia and petrolina, and glass (i.e., art glass and milk glass). It shared with the older age group an attraction to Victorian furniture as a particular opportunity for cash-strapped buyers. Also attractive for the oldest age group were vintage outdoor furniture, Georgian style furniture, Chinese antiques, lighting, Victorian paintings, Art Nouveau, and silver (especially flatware and belt buckles).

In other sources, sales reports depended on types of inventory particular shops offer. According to Sandy Erdman, columnist for the online Post Bulletin in Minnesota (www.postbulletin.com/lifestyle/what-was-hot-in-2021-should-remain-hot-in-2022), “farmhouse style” is especially popular in the Midwest. The following categories were also popular with her readers: automobile and petrol-related items, vintage Pyrex, farm and other toys from the ‘80s, older advertising pieces, cast iron pans and toys, stoneware crocks, vinyl records, camping and hunting items, fishing-related items, vintage clothing, and Fenton Art Glass.

Terry Kovel’s take

No consideration of recent trends in sales would be complete without reference to Terry Kovel. On her website (www.kovels.com), she notes what’s hot in antiques and collectibles for 2022, some of which echoes the Asheford survey but others of which are unique to her (probably because her list is more item-specific):
• Copper pots and pans
• Modern copper jewelry
• Name-brand costume jewelry
• Very early Meissen porcelain
• Anything by Georg Jensen (silver), L. C. Tiffany (glass, metal, lamps, jewelry), and Georg Ohr (pottery)
• Photographs by name artists like Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952) and Ansel Adams (1902-1984
• Neon signs
• Early American blown glass flasks
• Fashion handbags by Chanel, Judith Lieber, Hermès, etc.
• Pedal cars
• 1930s oak furniture (for repainting!)

Asia-based buyers

For this month’s column, I’ve been especially interested to see the impact of Asia-based buyers on the market for American-made antiques and collectibles. While you can find articles documenting the highs and lows of this impact from as far back as 10 years or more, Asia-based buyers retain a very current impact on the global secondary market, including here in the U.S. Today’s Asian buyers buy what they like regardless of cost, often paying exorbitant “Buy It Now” prices on eBay for items posted by crafty sellers who have already noticed what Asian buyers are willing to pay. And those buyers are picking up everything from art glass to real estate, not just within China but beyond it. In online auctions, most Chinese bidders “tend to be younger Millennials and Gen-Zers with higher disposable incomes or wealthier social backgrounds” (“Why Online Auction Marketplaces Could Become Key to Chinese e-Commerce,” The China Guys, 11/4/21).

What’s going on with Asia?

With the loosening of restrictions on private wealth as communist China seeks to grow its economy, private affluence has become a real possibility. According to the online journal “The Art Newspaper, “ In March [2021] there were 626 billionaires in mainland China, a 62% increase from 2020, according to Forbes’s Billionaires 2021 report. There were a further 71 in Hong Kong, bringing the total number of billionaires in greater China to just 26 fewer than in the U.S. And then, of course, there is South Korea (43), Taiwan (47), Singapore (27) and Japan (49)” (“Young, monied, and keen to gamble on art: the super power of Asian collectors,” The Art Newspaper).

Buyers interested in Asian antiques

These buyers remain interested in Asian antiques in porcelain and furniture, but as authenticity issues abound in porcelain and the available supply of genuine Asian antiques has tightened, young buyers have begun to look elsewhere. Online auctions for Fenton Art Glass, for example, have seen prices jacked up by hungry Asian buyers, sometimes well beyond U.S.-based collectors’ willingness to pay. As recently as earlier this year, items such as Fenton wheat vases were considered “pricey” in the U.S. at half or much less of what Asian buyers are today bidding on them at eBay auctions. These vases were produced in two different batches at different times and distinguished by color. In the 1960s, they were made in Wild Rose and Coral (the two hardest colors to find), Powder Blue, Honey Amber, and Apple Green. This first series is not labeled on the bottom with the Fenton oval mark, which wasn’t used until 1970. A set of lighter colors was issued with the Fenton mark in the 1980s. Traditionally, collectors were willing to pay high prices only for the scarcer colors in the early edition. More recently, even the commonly available colors in the later issue are selling in three figures. Affluent Asian millennials are simply bidding up what they like until they win it, without regard to color, scarcity, age, and history that have usually mattered to older collectors.