Published: November 14, 2008 04:13 pm            

Estate sales: An American phenomenon

NEWTON — Ads appearing in local newspapers announcing estate sales are always brief, terse and impersonal. A typical ad will read: “Estate Sale, Saturday, July 23, 601 Second Avenue, 7 til 5, many items.”

There is a certain amount of sadness in the announcement because estate sales are usually held when the last member of a family has been placed in a nursing home or has passed away. If there are offspring, they have scattered across the land and cannot keep the home or its contents.

There is a certain finality associated with an estate sale. Some of the most cherished possessions and very personal items of a family or individual are displayed on tables to be surveyed by those attending the sale.

Conducting an estate sale, if it is not handled by a relative, usually begins with the signing of a contract between the seller and the individual in charge of an estate. The fee for holding a sale varies, according to the size and value of items in a house. Once the contract is signed, the responsibility for displaying the items, conducting the sale, advertising, and keeping records is assumed by the person conducting the sale.

All items in the house will be separated into groups. One usually finds all the linens in one place, kitchenware in another. China, glassware, and silver can be found in the dining room while “knickknacks” and “sit arounds” are displayed on tables in a den or bedroom.

If the sale is to begin at 7:00 a.m., customers begin to form a line around 5:30. Antique dealers, neighbors, and friends might be the first in line, wanting to purchase an item they have previously admired or looking for items which have some resale value. When the door opens, there is a polite rush and jostle among those who have gathered to get into the house quickly.

The sale is on. Stand in any room and listen to the comments of the customers. Often-heard remarks include: “I thought this was their mother’s favorite vase I couldn’t have brought myself to sell it.” Or “Let me tell you I wanted that set of embroidered pillowcases, and she just snatched them up before I could get my hands on them.” Or “I wanted that aluminum boiler, but when I held it up to the light you could see a small hole in the bottom.” Or “I never buy anyone’s used towels and bath cloths. You just don’t know what kind of disease someone might have had.” Or “That set of glasses would be nice to have, but one of them is chipped.” Or “I’m so happy I found a cup just like the one I broke to my set of china.” Or “Would you look at this coat? It’s a perfect fit, and I got it for $5.”

The question is often asked, “Why are people attracted to estate sales?” Well, there are many reasons. Some people come through curiosity to see how the people who owned the house lived. Others come in hope of finding a “treasure” such as a silver spoon, a beautiful piece of depression glass or carnival glass or a real Currier and Ives print.

Other people come looking for a needed utilitarian object like a mixer, a toaster, an iron or a coffee pot. A person will come with a friend declaring they do not intend to buy one thing. When they leave, they check out with an armful of items they had no intention of buying.

At each estate sale, there will be a group of stock characters. The husband who hates estate sales is always there with his wife. He has come because she has threatened never to cook for him again or because he wants to keep tabs on how much the wife spends. Always present is the person who walks through the house several times and leaves without buying a single item.

Sisters are often in attendance, and one never makes a purchase without asking the other for approval. A man in work clothes will appear, and his first question is, “Do you have some hole diggers or a pair of fence stretchers?” knowing that the people who lived in the house have lived there for three generations and surely had that kind of items.

Then, there are the out buildings. Here one can find for sale a lawn mower that won’t crank, a workbench laden with cans of paint that is solidified in the can, and a shelf of blue fruit jars. I recently attended an estate sale where an ancient Victrola in excellent condition was found in an outbuilding. I have made it a practice never to attend an estate sale without searching through the contents of out buildngs.

The second day of a sale is usually more frenzied than the first. This is when everything left from the first day is reduced in price. Much lamenting takes place because some object has sold, and the buyer will say, “I knew I should have bought it yesterday.”

Estate sales have become a part of Americana. They are a place to reminisce about the former house owners, a place to see what other people are buying, and something of a social event in disguise. I have warned my children about selling my “things” when I am gone, but it would be interesting to see who ends up with all the items I have collected over a lifetime.



Ovid Vickers, a retired East Central Community College professor, writes a weekly column for The Newton Record.

        

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