What exactly is an antique, anyway?

So, you look at it and it seems old. Then you have a closer look. You open the drawer, you see the “dovetail” joints, the solid wood box…and wow, they even dovetailed the back of the drawer frame! Next thing you know, you have the drawer out and flipping it around to scan the bottom. Then, you’re straining your neck to see the shadowy interior while looking for some sure sign that this is as old as you think…or hope.

How and who defines what an antiques is, anyway? How do we know what the standard is and who it is that holds sway on this standard by which we all anticipate our next glorious find? The best answer I have ever heard is…”well, it depends!” It depends on who you ask? To waltz through most shops, you’d think your old sneakers were a candidate and the gum stuck to the underside of that brass ‘n glass coffee table was a sure sign of patina.

According to the politically correct, US Customs antiques are defined as “something older than any living person.” I’ll bet a few of you just settled with a slightly longer than normal exhale? I heard the Keno Brothers won’t call anything younger than 1803 an antique. Many a weary wanderer on their way to this May's Brimfield Show has suggested 1830 was the absolute cut off. Yet, mass production didn’t get fully under way until the very late 1800’s.

Irrespective of all of those capable purists, I find the 1940’s a far more convenient, profitable and therefore acceptable date range. In fact, were it not for all of that wonderfully constructed early 1900’s mahogany, we would, for most of our past 18 years been forced to sell only small pieces of encrusted wood. We may well have been inclined to call ourselves something like Wrentham Vintage Marketplace or Wrentham “sure we have a few “ Antiques Marketplace or better yet, Wrentham “Just buy it because it’s made well and you like it” Marketplace!