Antiques are a big business. Like many other businesses, there are high-end products and low-end products, with differing prices depending on where they fall in that spectrum.
But how is one to tell, in the world of antiques, what’s valuable treasure and what’s just old junk?
We found Gary Yeaton, owner of Gary F. Yeaton Antiques, who has been working in this field for 35 years and knows a lot about pricing antiques, as that’s a big part of his business.
He runs a gallery out of his garage on South Street, but it isn’t a store open to the general public. He deals in very high-end, investment-grade antiques, mostly 1820s and older, and you can check out his stock by giving him a call at 228-4840 to set up an appointment.
He’ll also come out and do an appraisal if you come into a trove of antiques and don’t know what anything is worth, if anything.
He has a few ways he sizes up an item’s value.
The first tool is just experience. After three-plus decades of working in antiques, he’s learned which names carry the best reputation and highest dollar figures, and which items are hardest to find.
Another technique is pulling out a drawer, if it’s a chest or some piece that has drawers, and looking for hand-forged nails and signs of hand work and quality. For instance, a quality handmade antique drawer will have textured surfaces, evidence of hand-planing the wood.
There’s also a lot of research.
“A lot of reading, studying, getting out there and getting experience,” Yeaton said.
He has a shelf clock made by Swansea clock maker Silas Parsons. Parsons made many high-quality tall clocks, but there are only two of the smaller shelf clocks known to exist, the other being in the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. The quality, the reputable name and the extreme rarity contribute to the piece’s $14,000 price tag.
Another piece, a high-boy chest made in New Hampshire around 1780, is made with curly maple, also known as tiger maple, which has streaks that liven up the look. That piece, rarely seen in tiger maple, is valued at $8,500, though Yeaton is always happy to work with people on prices.
To learn more, go to garyyeatonantiques.com.
