My Horatio Alger Story

Can you dig it, Gate? It's like I'm some kind of minor league Rockefeller. Let me pull your coat to the scene ...

Maybe it was because my parents collected antiques during my childhood, or maybe it because I watched too many episodes of mystery-solving antiques dealer, Lovejoy, on TV, but I've always wanted to go into the antiques business.

For several years I worked for a local antiques store, Retroville, which specialized in American antiques from the 20s through the early 50s. I was able to pick up one or two pieces on my own and sell them at the store. My first big sale was a chrome bread box. Finding things was always a problem ... vintage Americana of this era was a big collectible then and the prices were steep. In 2002 the store went out of business because of the lousy economy.

I had thought about finding a place that had space for rent, but the rents were exhorbitant and then there was getting a case and keeping it filled. I was looking at a lot of $$$ and so it seemed like money losing proposition.

This spring my boss at Retroville decided to open the store again, but with the emphasis on home decor. She said it would be "the girly version" of Retroville. Her new store took off like a rocket. One day she said to me "Why don't you get a glass case and bring it in to the store?" Vout! So I set off in search of a glass case and after a prolonged search I found a 1930s Deco style curio cabinet with three glass sides and a locking door. I purchased it and scoured my domecile for items to sell ... I found a lot of things I could put into the cabinet.

I installed my cabinet and items in October and within a week I had sold one Roseville vase. As the election drew closer I didn't sell anything, but elections are a real lag on the economy anyway. After the election I sold one Edward Gorey book, a reprint of The Fatal Lozenge. I restocked the cabinet with another Edward Gorey book, the 1953 edition of The Unstrung Harp. I sold that the next day. This week I sold the other two Roseville pieces.

My little cabinet is making money! O-roonie!