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By DONNA FISHER
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
There’s a certain magic about the words that intrigue and fascinate people, young and not so young! Antique has so many meanings and usages — it’s a French word, derived from the Latin word “antiquus” meaning ancient, obsolete, out-of-date, old-fashioned — an heirloom or relic.
It can be used as an adjective or a noun, i.e., an antique automobile, or a piece of furniture, silverware. The word is even used in printing — a style of boldface type. Auction is also based on Latin — “audio,” an increasing, public sale. So it is safe to say that auctions have been around for hundreds of years.
Antiquing has originated from a kind of mixture of both words. A few years ago, a friend and I decided to go antiquing. We started out early in the morning, first of all to attend a widely-advertised auction being conducted by a well know’n auctioneer. We both knew the reputation of this particular auctioneer, and felt that we’d find some choice items.
It takes time, and lots of it, to reach the conclusion that an auction is good or otherwise — and, in my opinion, it all boils down to the auctioneer. If he or she conducts the sale with only the commission in mind — beware! But. one asks, “How do you know?” This is w'here reputation comes ip.
I prefer attending the better auctions with proven, reputable auctioneers — I do not like to attend an auction where the auctioneer is suspected to have house representatives (“shills”) in the audience who deliberately run up the bidding price of an item for the ultimate benefit of the auctioneer, nor do I care for an auctioneer who pretends to have competitive bidders in the audience — this is known in the trade as “taking a bid off the wall.”
Also avoid auctions w’here there’s a possibility that reproductions may be displayed and represented to be authentic antique items. Nowadays, it is becoming harder and harder to spot a reproduction — the workmanship has been improved to a great degree. There are still, however, precise
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