A Feel for Quality: The Unexpected Benefit to Family Antiquing

My childhood memories abound with the old and historical. For years, my family volunteered at a living history farm (click here for a link!) where from infancy I was surrounded by the family’s antiques and heirlooms, including a small bedroom in the old log house which was full of old toys (which since have been redistributed amongst the upstairs bedrooms). I still remember sitting side by side with my friend (who was a descendant of the family who built the house) in the old cast iron car with pedals that really made it go. We only pretended we were using said pedals, because there was really no room to move the car without breaking things. We had many hours of enjoyment, too, over the kitchen tools in an adjoining display, and many a “sick” playmate was nursed back to health with the fruits of our imaginary culinary experiments. 

There were always surprises when we played in those upstairs rooms. Some were more pleasant than others. I will forever remember the day we lifted the roof of the dollhouse only to find a mouse's nest inside… I never played with the dollhouse again after that. But there were interesting and delightful ones as well. My favorite surprises were the things like the old container of “black face” stashed among the kitchen wares (still in its original cardboard box) which somehow felt like holding a piece of history in my very hand. (A scene from a Shirley Temple movie came to mind when I realized what it was.)

Looking back, it amazes me how many of my memories had to do with the feel of things. For example, I can close my eyes and envision the railing of the old, narrow, short-treaded stairway; and instantly I recall the smoothness of the worn banister, which was really the trunk of some young tree devoid of bark and affixed there for the purpose. Whether the smoothness came about from years of use or many coats of varnish, I could never tell. I also remember the way my fingers would lift the catch of the secret drawer in one of the old chests of drawers and push it out, to the amazement of any small children in the groups of visitors I would show it to.

               

One time, I was at a different historical site, and a very nice lady showed me how to spin on her antique Great Wheel. She pointed out to me that the wood was worn from all those years of fingers touching the spokes to turn the wheel and spin the wool into yarn. It was that day that I realized that history wasn’t just in knowing about events or even seeing historical things. History can be experienced with all our senses, whether it’s the taste of buttermilk fresh from the churn with little lumps of butter still in it, the smell of burning lamp oil, the warmth that radiates off those same dim oil lamps on a rainy spring day, or the feel of wood smoothed by generation after generation of use.

               

 The unexpected benefit of being surrounded by antiques as a child is that now I seem to have a knack for spotting antiques or things of value. Of course, one of my family’s favorite activities when I was growing up was to go to antique stores (actually, it’s still a favorite thing for my parents and I to do together on a Saturday). So there is at least some explanation for my being able to recognize antiques, but I have noticed that the primary way I can tell if something is actually old is by the feel of it.

                 

For example, I recently brought home an oil lamp chimney from the thrift store, which I knew was the right shape for my older lamp; but I knew it was probably a modern reproduction, except I couldn’t tell why I thought that until I got home. I walked over to one of our antique lamps which had exactly the same shape and felt the top rim. I instantly knew why my recent purchase seemed newer. It was because the glass was thicker and sturdier with a very little bit of a lip around the edge to round it over. The old ones are made of thinner glass and come to an abrupt edge without any kind of rounding over. (Or at least, the antique shade we have at my house is that way. I have yet to discover a definitive source for learning about lamp shades.)

                 

This newfound ability to recognize antiques has become useful, as I have begun selling antiques or other beautiful things on eBay. There have been many times when I have seen something in the store and thought, “I don’t know why, but I think that’s old”. When I find myself thinking along those lines, I pull out my phone and look whatever it is up online to see if it really is; and nine times out of ten, it is old and more valuable than I would have guessed. In every case so far, when I have thought something was a particular type of antique, which I had had no prior experience with, it has always turned out to be so.

Of course, credit for this ability in no way belongs to me. There are so many stories I could tell about things I have found that I never would have known even to be interested in. It is quite clear that the ability is from the Lord, not from anything of my own doing. He has, however, used this new eBay endeavor to make me realize the value of the “hands-on” education in antiques I was given as a child.

So, the moral of the story is: teach your children to be careful, but let them touch things sometimes. (And with permission of the owners, of course!) Read up on antiques, find a few inexpensive things to have in your home that are actually old, and have your children hold them, dust or clean them,or just play with them carefully. All those things are building an aptitude to recognize and appreciate the quality and age of the antique objects they come across in their later lives.

In the log house on the farm I mentioned above, there were some cast iron banks. One or two were actual antiques. The others were reproductions, but they were all fun to play with. We used to spend hours setting the banks, putting a penny in, and with great anticipation pressing the button to make them work. Each time we were just as delighted at the result as if we had never seen it before! These made a sturdy introduction to antiques but were old enough (at least, some of them,) to need the small amount of carefulness a small child is capable of.

Things like cast iron banks, a genuinely old and use-worn piece of woodwork, or even a set of old marbles can help develop a feel for the quality of older things without putting your most treasured antique heirlooms at risk. 

Remember, you never know what knowledge and abilities God might be developing in you or your children. He even uses trips to the antique store for His glory and our good!