May 12, 2008
Following your yard-sale urge may pay off
Fluorescent yard sale signs do not light me up. So why am I turning down this neighborhood street following these hot pink, green and orange beacons? Thirty-plus years of experience is screaming at me, "You're wasting
your time -- when is the last time you found period furniture at a yard sale? Almost
never!"
As I pull up to the sale I no longer fight the urge. Time to hunt.
Plastic this and broken that; what possessed
me? Wait -- there is more inside. An obstacle course of debris awaits in the garage. I am
ready to leave when an 18th-century etching of a grouse by George Edwards lures me to a
small side room. The owner encourages me to look in the room; "Plenty more fun stuff
in there," she pipes up.
My hands already on the Edwards, I notice the
tops of a pair of mahogany chairs peeking out from behind a stack of acrylic sunset
paintings and cheap posters. A piece of masking tape with "25" written in pencil
is affixed to one chair. Checkbook ready, I ask if that number means $25 each or for the
pair. The owner replies, "If you buy the bird and take both chairs, it'll be
$40."
The first close inspection of the chairs comes
after the check is written. Posters and paintings cleared away, I verify that the pair are
late 18th-century pieces -- probably British. I whisk these prizes away quickly, even
though the sale has been in progress for over an hour and a half. Once in the car, I rip
the baby blue velvet covers off and discover Southern yellow pine slip seat frames. My
heart is pounding!
The chairs turned out to be circa 1785
mahogany ladder back chairs from Maryland's Eastern Shore. An independent appraisal valued
the pair at $9,500. I learned an important lesson.
You might think you know where to treasure
hunt, but sometimes it pays to just follow an urge. Happy hunting.
Copyright © 2008, The Virginia Gazette
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