Collector's nightmare
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 7:43 pm
I tell this story partly as a warning and possibly in hope of some sympathy or advice, having suffered several sleepless nights after a dream find turned sour.
Recently on my travels through an unfamiliar town (which will remain nameless, for reasons that will become clear) I passed a couple of antique/junk shops. Parking outside a post office, I dispatched a parcel and poked my head into the shops. Imagine my excitement when in a dark corner of the second shop I spied not one but a whole clutch of dusty wall machines tightly stacked on top of each other. It's so uncommon to find anything like this nowadays I almost had to pinch myself. The sheer quantity was impressive, although I couldn't see half the machines because of the way they were stacked. Nothing exceptionally rare or unusual was visible but I spotted a couple of really nice little allwins I'd never seen before and a Bryans Payramid. Happily everything in the shop was priced up with little white labels which made it apparent that no great bargaining skills were called for. The Payramid had a higher price but, in view of its reasonable condition, was very buyable.
I tried not to attract attention while sussing out what was in the pile but the proprietor soon came over and my non-collector friend who accompanied me started praising the stock. Silently I willed him to shut the **** up! Encouraged by these comments the proprietor enthused over a particularly distressed electric wall machine on top of the pile, while I tried, unsuccessfully, to convince her that a machine that could not easily be made to work had little value. All the while I was calculating the total asking price for the machines, deciding how much less I would offer, and looking forward to her surprise when instead of haggling over a single machine I bid for the lot. Unfortunately though, without my cheque book and nothing like the cash in hand, I would have to agree a price and return. Any collector who has been in this situation will identify with the agony. If I do get a chance to go back, I fear the machines will be gone, because before shaking hands on the deal I woke up.
Most collectors remember the day some fabulous find escaped their grasp and few can resist recounting the tale - even to the fortunate recipient of the fabulous find. But I contend that only serious collectors are tormented by near misses day and night. Does anyone else suffer dreams filled with such mundane and convincing detail?
Recently on my travels through an unfamiliar town (which will remain nameless, for reasons that will become clear) I passed a couple of antique/junk shops. Parking outside a post office, I dispatched a parcel and poked my head into the shops. Imagine my excitement when in a dark corner of the second shop I spied not one but a whole clutch of dusty wall machines tightly stacked on top of each other. It's so uncommon to find anything like this nowadays I almost had to pinch myself. The sheer quantity was impressive, although I couldn't see half the machines because of the way they were stacked. Nothing exceptionally rare or unusual was visible but I spotted a couple of really nice little allwins I'd never seen before and a Bryans Payramid. Happily everything in the shop was priced up with little white labels which made it apparent that no great bargaining skills were called for. The Payramid had a higher price but, in view of its reasonable condition, was very buyable.
I tried not to attract attention while sussing out what was in the pile but the proprietor soon came over and my non-collector friend who accompanied me started praising the stock. Silently I willed him to shut the **** up! Encouraged by these comments the proprietor enthused over a particularly distressed electric wall machine on top of the pile, while I tried, unsuccessfully, to convince her that a machine that could not easily be made to work had little value. All the while I was calculating the total asking price for the machines, deciding how much less I would offer, and looking forward to her surprise when instead of haggling over a single machine I bid for the lot. Unfortunately though, without my cheque book and nothing like the cash in hand, I would have to agree a price and return. Any collector who has been in this situation will identify with the agony. If I do get a chance to go back, I fear the machines will be gone, because before shaking hands on the deal I woke up.
Most collectors remember the day some fabulous find escaped their grasp and few can resist recounting the tale - even to the fortunate recipient of the fabulous find. But I contend that only serious collectors are tormented by near misses day and night. Does anyone else suffer dreams filled with such mundane and convincing detail?
