Shop tour May: A look around

I took some photos of the shop the other day. It has taken time but we are getting the 'balance' we wanted. It hard being an actual antique store.

Well if you have hall tree you need a hat to put on it.

An exceptional early Victorian Circa 1896 Chandelier

Balance and colors

Tablescaping supplies

Lovely Butternut (white walnut) Revival chair we re-upholstered

We carry a lot of period tassels and fabrics

One of our antique framed gravures

Antique of the week: 1875 Aesthetic bed

We very rarely get beds into the shop. Couple of reasons for this that most have been painted or turned into benches, the other is they take up a lot of real estate in the shop. But I couldn't pass on this one.

American Aesthetic Movement, but a nice clean interpretation of it, gone are the heavy carvings of the Rococo or Renaissance .

The headboard is almost 5 feet (actually 58 inches) but is substantial and would work well with most homes today.

The foot board is 33 inches tall

Executed in walnut it has some nice incised carvings and ornamentation. It comes with side rails and slats.

Radio Days: A long way home

Of course we all love a good antique story but sometimes they simply do not have one. At least one that's apparent to us when we acquire it.

Take the case of this 1932 Majestic Model 15 Radio. It had been in our shop for  a while and is really not something we normally carry. It came to us from a local collector/restorer who was downsizing his collection.

This particular Radio had some local provenance in that it was repaired in 1940  (11/24/40) "Ureal Radio Service" that was here in Logansport but really nothing else was known about it. We decided that it really needed to be advertised nationally as we were not getting a lot of local interest  so Greg placed it on one of online store outlets and after a very short time we had a buyer from California .

Shipping radios takes a lot of planning and special shipping and it reached them today and we found out what may be, as they say, "the rest of the story".

The buyer sent us a photo of his Great, Great, Grandparents had their 50 year wedding anniversary in 1932. This was a gift to his Great, Great, Grandfather. Before his Great, Great, Grandfather died he sold it to his neighbor Fred.  Fred ends up moving to Clymers Indiana.  That’s where their 20 year search ends.

Given Clymers is only 7 miles from Logansport its entirely likely they would have taken it the "Big City" of  Logansport to have it repaired. Did our seller buy it from "Fred" or one of his descendants? We may never know?

Is it the SAME radio? We don't know,  but the coincidences line up well, and there were not many of these made either. It certainly makes for great folklore. Most importantly the gentleman who bought it is ecstatic and to us that is all that matters!

Year Two: The shop feels "right".

A recent acquisition: displayed, as always, in a room vignette to help you visualize how it might look in your home

We just recently started Year two of our shop, Our first day was August 29, 2015. We started with just the front room, It was a "little sparse" as we were still bringing things in.

When we opened we had a lot of blank floor space. Today its a different story

The shop has been an evolution and the naysayer's who said your crazy to open in a small town have been proved , well wrong, To date people have made pilgrimages from 22 states.

Now with two showrooms, and a full inventory, we can offer you a great shopping experience

 

Our goal is , now and always will be Victorian Furniture and Design and we will always provide a variety of price points for our clients. We understand that many of you are sinking your life savings in your historic home and Antiques are a bit of  a "nicety" that always take a back seat to saws and paint stripper and the inevitable "unforeseen" event that goes with old home ownership.

So as we enter year two and head into our second holiday season we are cautiously optimistic that we "have it right" and we thank you for your support and patronage.

Burgman Building: Some more history revealed

People just keep stopping in and telling us their stories about this Burgman Building. We met some former neighbors who were present when the 'big auction' was held years ago after Mr. Burgman died. The furnishings were quite elegant and dealers came from all over to bid. He talked about the copper  tub that was in the back building they drug out from under a bunch of stored stuff. The star of the auction was a 1959 Chevrolet that was in the garage and had been sitting for years. I wish I could go back in time for that one as I'd be outbidding  everyone for that one (it sold for 1200.00!)

Another elderly lady was telling me she attended one of Mr. Burgman's parties years ago when  she was quite young. The front Persian Parlor was emptied out and used for dancing. I imagine it was quite the elegant affair. This home and building has so many happy memories for so many people.

The big find was gentleman who stopped by to show me his Burgman memorabilia . He had an original Burgman  Billhead from 1908 and a Burgman Beer bottle.

Speaking of bottles, we cleaned out the cellar under the saloon and have bunch of old bottles. We are keeping a couple but will clean up the rest and sell in eth shop. These are great old green and amber glass bottles.

Business has been great and the number of people coming through our doors exceeded my expectation's. The next push will be to glaze windows for winter and get the back shop space ready for us to expand and offer more inventory.

Burgman Building: Opening Day! Victorian Antiquities & Design

We are open! and the opening day coincided with an article in the local paper See here , meaning we made a lot of new friends as people came by to check us out.

We spiffed up the front of the building, converting the grassy area to mulch. Eventually this will be fully landscaped

Some of our lighting selection

For the last few days we have been teasing people with our inventory on facebook.

Clocks, clocks...we have clocks

Silver galore

One of our cornices



Burgman Building: Inquiries and moving stuff

Seems not a day goes by without someone peering in the shop windows to see if we are open yet. So even though we have tons of stuff to do, we at least staged the front of the shop so when people peer in they will see some of what we have to offer. Yeah, I'll have to move it several times as we paint walls, stencil, rework various mechanicals, but it helps build interest and it's sort of free advertising until we do open.

As it is, I have been switching out stuff in the front showroom windows.

One thing we "inherited' with the property is a bookcase, while not our style it does make a good display piece for small stuff. Boy was it heavy and even after we removed all the shelves it was all we could manage to get move it from the back room to the front.

Of course we have all sorts of interesting 'big things' coming everything from square grand pianos and pump organs to huge pier mirrors and architectural salvage so stay tuned.

Antique of the Week: A Great Stained Glass Window

We just have a hard time getting in stained glass. In part because its hard to find and two because we only buy it from trusted sources.  So today we have a special treat.

Top Sash

This is a huge stained glass window, that came from Central Illinois. Actually two sashes/one window overall although they could be used separately depending on your application. The bottom sash is 39x40 and has two condition issues. One pane has BB hole in it, and one pane needs to be refitted in its cane.  The top sash is 39 x 39 and is in good condition. In a functional frame with weights this would work out to a 39x78 size (Because of the way the windows come together for the locking mechanism) . AND it still has the window lock on it.

Bottom sash

Building a window frame unit is not that difficult and a number of window sash rebuilders can actually build you a functional frame. This would be ideal in a tower or maybe a landing and of course these could be hung in front of an existing regular window.

Specially priced to Blog readers at 425.00 (Cash Paypal, Major credit cards) This will be going on Ebay soon (where it will bring a much higher price) So if you need a window for your home, hurry! Contact me at victiques@gmail.com. As always you can pick this up or we can work with blanket shippers of your choice.

Just In: A remarkable Aesthetic Movement 3 piece Parlor Set

The stars and moon must be in a rare alignment, because we are finding some remarkable new finds. Such is the vase with this just in American Aesthetic Movement three Piece Parlor set.

The Aesthetic Movement was a move away from the more formal Rococo styles and even to some degree the  Renaissance style. The Aesthetic Movement was a sort of transition from the more exuberant Victorian era to the Craftsman era.

Of course, within this movement it took many forms, in some cases towards the Anglo-Japanesque, or in this case, a more restrained example that dealt more with the artful carved images of leaves. In either case the Aesthetic movement blended style with nature and was in some ways a precursor to the more honest and simpler craftsman ethic.

This set with its design themes is probably a Cincinnati or Grand Rapids manufactured set designed to go in an upper middle class parlor. The Settee in particular is most attractive with its central back flanked with two carved panels on either side. The Arms are separated from the main back to create more airy open design.

The chairs reflect the arm design in their side design. All in all, a nicely designed set that would be different than the more formal Renaissance and Rococo and perhaps even a bit daring and exotic for the day.

This set has older upholstery with some minor issues, but is serviceable for the typical parlor. My initial temptation was to reupholster it in a two tone scheme, but why argue with success and a nice presentation as it.  We will replace some of the arm gimp before sale and replace few missing nail head trim nails, that held the gimp but it will be a very presentable, and reasonably priced, parlor set in our inventory.

If this Aesthetic Movement Set speaks to you, speak to me at victiques@gmail.com about pricing info and how you can make this yours.

Antique-of-the-Week: The little red chair!

Everyone is always looking for small side chairs and frankly they are getting hard to find or they need upholstery. Here is a wonderful Eastlake Victorian style chair and its in  a deep red upholstery. Walnut incised trim and its original castors too!

Priced for a quick sale at 125.00 and we can work with your shipper and if you are in the Indianapolis  or Cincinnati areas you can pick it up in person.

Antique of the week is an ongoing series aimed at the old house restorer who is looking to decorate their home affordably. We can invoice you via paypal, email me at victiques@gmail.com for more info.

The Antique Shopper: Midland Antique Market

Variety of styles and periods in most booths, this was a nice selection.

As part of our Antique shopper series , today we visit the Midland Arts & Antique Market in Indianapolis on Michigan street. The mall is housed in a huge warehouse building and has 2 floors of antiques.

Bargains are around like this Art Deco sofa and chair priced at only 195.00! needs reupholstered but great design

Most of the dealers have very eclectic offerings that vary in period. The mall has everything from Federal era pieces all the way through "mid century modern" so there is something for everyone.

Nice sized renaissance mirror was under 300.00!

We found some nice pieces throughout though you do have to hunt for Victorian era pieces as they sell quickly.Very busy on weekends and if you don't like crowds, I advise to  shop during the week.

Housed in two floors in this huge building

More info, including hours, on their website:  http://www.midlandathome.com/