Michael’s Blog

One of my favorite antiques venues in London is Mount Street, a short street in Mayfair with red brick and terracotta late Victorian buildings on either side. The Connaught Hotel is at one end of the street, Berkeley Square at the other, and the venerable Scott’s Restaurant is in the middle. Although I don’t always go into Scott’s for dover sole, I always walk down Mount Street and look in the windows of the antiques dealers. Unfortunately, there are fewer all the time, with Stair and Company closing two years ago, and Kenneth Neame offering fewer antiques and more decorative items. Now, Pelham Galleries is closing, consolidating their operations at their Rue de Varenne gallery in Paris. Although I enjoy walking Mount Street, apparently fewer and fewer other people do, as Alan Rubin, whose family opened Pelham in 1928, says he is closing due to a lack of walk in traffic.

As the debacle of the Mount Street dealers is repeated around London, with fewer dealers in the Fulham Road and Kensington Church Street- and several arcades in Islington’s famed Camden Passage now being developed into condominiums- the remaining dealers doubtless wonder if their departing colleagues didn’t do the right thing. Certainly, in Jackson Square in San Francisco, the 22 dealers that comprise our local trade association are keenly aware that to stay an active venue for collectors and interior designers, it’s imperative to maintain a critical mass of fine quality dealers.

Alan Rubin is quoted in The Antiques Trade Gazette as saying that their galleries constitute less of a venue for sales than antiques fairs. Considering how erratic attendance is at even the best antiques fairs, Pelham’s gallery traffic must truly have been abysmal.

Although fair attendance, the auction houses, and the internet all function to siphon off traffic into the antiques and art galleries, it is surprising that it should be so. Of course, fairs and the occasional auction both provide a prospective purchaser with the opportunity to browse and look at a wide variety of objects. But isn’t that what the established antiques venue does? And, while the auction happens on the day, and the span of the fair may be a few days, the dealers in the antiques venue are there every day. What could be better? An on demand antiques show! And admission is free.

We are returned from Houston following the Theta Charity Show, the truck is unloaded, and the galleries are nicely arranged. Cash? Well, more than we had when we left, and hopeful that a couple of deals pending will gel: it looks like they will.

What I do know for certain, though, is that if Houstonians were any more hospitable than they were, it would be positively unhealthy. In attitude-ridden San Francisco, we were amazed to find that friendliness still exists in big cities. It certainly does in Houston, where our clients absolutely knocked themselves out to make us feel welcome. As well, the women of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, whose charity fund benefits from the show, were always there to assist, even setting up a private tour of Bayou Bend so we could see the famed collection of American furniture accumulated by the late Miss Ima Hogg. Magnificent!

Of course, with the price of energy, Houston, and in fact all of Texas, is prospering. We felt that this would augur well for sales of our material. Having said that, I am ashamed to say we sort of bought in to the myth of the oil rich Texans, whose plunge mentality and easy come, easy go attitude would make them unusually likely to write some very large checks on the spot for expensive purchases. Perhaps I was too prone to believe that Texans are defined by the outrageous gifts in the Christmas Neiman Marcus catalogs. Maybe if we were selling his and her Hawker jets or indoor ski slopes…

But the fact is, we found our clients in Texas akin to our clients anywhere- cautious. if I were to characterize the general attitude of our clients this year, I would say that caution is certainly the byword. We have had a number of instances this year where clients have expressed strong interest in antique pieces, but would back away from the actual purchase, even at a point where the pieces were on approval in their homes. Did they wish to renegotiate price or had they found other pieces they liked better? no on both counts. This is unique in our experience and more than a bit troubling, as our business is like any other and relies on sales. The why of what seems inordinate caution is, of course, conjectural. the world situation is highly unsettled- and when is it not?

What I think is more basic is the tremendous increase in art and antiques prices over the last few years, certainly outstripping house price appreciation. These facts put matters into perspective, I think, certainly for the art and antiques buyer that is either new or only makes the occasional purchase. The phrase ‘sticker shock’ does not apply just to the price of a new car. For the antiques dealer, though, we have no choice but to mark our prices in accordance with the way the market for these items is moving, and it is moving. Our objective is not only to price our inventory allowing us to make a reasonable profit, but also to allow us to purchase replacement inventory of at least equivalent quality to the item we have just sold. No wonder most antiques dealers are extremely happy to offer for resale items that were purchased by their clients even as recently as 3 or 4 years ago.

Although certainly over the long term, fine quality art and antiques are wonderful investments, the initial investment may come dear, and, when purchased from the best dealers, you tend to get what you pay for. Quality, condition, rarity, and provenance will come very dear. All that said, my dealer colleagues need to make certain that they aren’t more than contributing to and are actually responsible for the extreme caution in most buyers, and are asking reasonable prices for their stock in trade. Yes, you as a dealer may have spent a lot of money to acquire certain pieces in your inventory, but if you overpaid, that’s no excuse for expecting your clients to overpay, as well.