Beautiful things never go out of style. Classics endure. …Some pieces will be welcomed as they are, but others will need tender loving care or urgent cosmetic surgery. Choose a piece if it has promise. –Chalmers and Hanan, Flea Market Style There are many…
The place … was one of those receptacles for old and curious things which seem to crouch in odd corners of this town, and to hide their musty treasures from the public eye in jealousy and distrust. There were suits of mail, standing like ghosts in armor, here and there; fantastic carvings brought from monkish…
If those who have studied the art of writing are in accord on any one point, it is this: the surest way to arouse and hold the reader’s attention is by being specific, definite, and concrete. The greatest writers–Homer, Dante, Shakespeare–are effective largely because they deal in particulars and report the details that matter. Their…
Oliver Douglas: Mr. Haney, that pile of junk isn’t worth $8. Haney: To the unappraiseable eye, yes. I had each and every one of these objects de art evaluated by an in-unpeachable source: the county tax assessor, or as we sometimes call him, Cousin Joe. Before Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz of American Pickers, there…
I’ve been looking for a dresser for what’s known affectionately as my Totally ’80s Guest Room–for months. Dear Lady Bricabrac is known to quip that there’s no real rush to buy, that most of the pieces I’m interested in aren’t going anywhere—because, after all, who else wants them? This is often true. My friends these…
Now look at that old church. And them old houses. Did George Washington ever sleep here? Of course he did. This whole neighborhood just stinks with atmosphere. –Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Brooklyn–of all places–“stinks with atmosphere” in Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace. The main commercial streets off the central square once held a full…
The Old Curiosity Blog 