Antique auction

Sunday I attended an antique auction in Minot. I arrived 2 and 1/2 hours after the auction started. Part of the reason I was late as I couldn't start my brother's pickup. I don't have "the touch" and my brother had to come home. He was able to easily start his pickup. I am starting to think his pickup is "alive" and doesn't like me.

Even though I was late to the auction there were tables and tables of items left to sell. The auction was well organized with numbers on the tables indicating the order stuff would be sold. The items ranged from furniture, glassware, red wing crocks, old signs, clothes, metal toys, and so on. While the seller had enough items to stock an antique store, the ad said this was from his personal collection. I wonder where he stored it all? Most all items were in very good condition.

There were more people at the auction than I expected. The crowd was mostly older and seemed evenly divided between men and women. It also appeared a variety of buyers were purchasing items and not just a select few. It was hard to tell how many were antique dealers and how many were personal collectors. Some younger audience members had 'the look' some collectors have, that is they are focused on items and collecting and not so much on their appearance. Either due to their clothes or their hair styles, some people had the look of people who don't fit into a crowd.

I didn't recognize anyone at the auction. The only person I 'knew' was the auctioneer, Sundsbak. I 'knew' him from name only from back when I attended auctions around Minot 25 to 30 years ago. I didn't recognize him.

I hung around a half hour or so before leaving. There was nothing I wanted to buy. While I can fall under a collecting impulse, I just couldn't see the interest in collecting stuff like this. It is just more stuff to own, move, dust and store. I guess I am too young, and the items too old, for me to have memories of owning the items in my youth. It seems as if many collectors are people who are trying to purchase memories of their youth. As the years move on the 'window' of popular (or hot) collectible items also move. Items from the 1930s and 1940s seem to have given way to items from the 1950s and 1960s.

I believe the old cylinder phonograph sold for $500. After selling the phonograph the auctioneer then sold the box of cylinders for $30. Naturally the same person bought the cylinders.

Before selling the phonograph the auctioneer put his microphone up to the speaker while another person hand cranked the cylinder. The music sounded fine, just like what we hear when one of these phonographs are operated in movies. It is interesting to think that in the age of ipods and digital music, this phonograph was cutting edge technology around 100 years ago; and prior to the invention of the cylinder phonograph the only music heard was live music.