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Rediscovering some 5,000 books was a key part of antique dealer Debbie Lund of Wheeling’s recent furniture sale. Many went home with shoppers selling tags, some (like this list of Civil War soldiers) for local museums. One, a book of maps, says Lund is probably heading to Christie’s auction house in New York City.
WHEELING — As Debbie Lund bounded from floor to floor of the mammoth Victorian in Woodsdale, it was clear she knew every light switch and where to touch her head as she walked through the basement. That’s the kind of thing if an antiquarian spends months cataloging the contents of every household.
Or Book and Cranny. This sale — the result of John and Marian Hazlett’s relocation to be near children and grandchildren — involved some 5,000 volumes. Lund grabbed each of them before they started to go their separate ways.
Most were appraised, marked with a color dot indicating value, and sold at open house tag sales. Some, including lists of West Virginia soldiers from the Civil War, were considered museums. One — a selection of vintage maps — was so unusual she was considering an auction through Christie’s in New York.
“We still have a long way to go, but we’ll get there,” Lund said of the books and other bits and pieces that remain, from toy soldiers to small furniture.
And, Hazlett’s sale was only one nine-family deal during the summer. Lund — who also owns Sibbs Antiques and Fine Furniture with her brother, John Woodring — said that fielding multiple such sales at any one time has really been the focus of three generations of antiques work.
Deep roots, wide paths
When her grandparents opened Lytton’s Antiques in Colerain in the 1920s, it was hard to imagine where Lund would eventually take the business. Or, her teacher when her parents did auction sales as a side gig.
Some estate sales still include auctions—Brother Woodring was the caller, as was Lund’s son, Richard Lund. (The latter generation, like Gold 2 Green — cash for jewelry and coins — brings a fourth-generation spin to the family business in Bridgeport.)
Households with multiple items may lend themselves well to on-site tag sales, Lund said. A chance to tour a historic home, she explained, could be potential customers — the main reason she added a television ad for Hazlett’s sale to regular newspaper spots.
Still other families — including those with limited parking or whose owners don’t want people on their property — may want to sell online, she said. A recent client on GC&P Road fell into that category.
“I wanted everything from my house,” Lund said of how the call came in. Lund cataloged, priced, posted and cleaned the entire house in 10 days.
Lund, who first became a runner at the age of 5, said such a feat was difficult. “My knowledge is vast. Many people participate in tag sales… because it looks like easy money.
But no, Lund said. A big part of the learning curve is figuring out how to fight things, which requires skilled research if an item is unusual, she said. For example, in the 19th century in South Wheeling by Hobbs, Brockunier & Co. Knowing the difference between “vintage glassware” and “Hobbs glass” can affect the price in a good way for the seller.
“I’ve got to get whatever I can for these guys based on where we’re at,” Lund said. Or, she said elsewhere, if necessary. She maintains a working relationship with Christie’s in New York for items that the local market does not carry.
Full of goods
Money is part of the equation for ancient artifacts. “I’ve made a living this way since I was in college,” Lund explained. “I actually put myself through two years of college.” But she explained that emotion is another factor.
“‘We have antiques in this house, and I don’t know what to do with them.’ That’s usually how they come to us,” Lund said of customers.
When the question comes from a son or daughter of a recently deceased parent, Lund consumers sometimes wonder why the children don’t want to keep everything. But she noticed that everyone’s average age has been increasing over time.
“No one in their 70s wants to add to another family,” she said. They get the candy treat they used to shake as babies and they’re done.
Other times, though, the call comes from downsizing or evacuating one of two families — the guardian is often in Florida. That train of thought brought her to a caveat.
When a manager called her to look at a house full of items, Lund noticed that the woman had only tagged a handful of items that were worth re-homing. “I looked and said, ‘What about China?’ What about glassware?’ ‘I didn’t think anyone wanted it,’ she said. “
However, one generally does one place, Lund said. She explained that almost everything goes in cycles. For example, “brown furniture,” which fell out of favor during the stained-wood trend, is back.
“It seems to give people peace of mind that their stuff is going somewhere,” Lund says of making such market trends. “They don’t end up in the landfill.”
To that end, Lund admits that not everything is for sale. She works with clients on grants for nonprofit organizations such as museums and youth advocacy services. “We don’t need anything else in the landfill.”
John Hazlett, a financial sector retiree who moved elsewhere, hears this. “We had a lot more stuff in there,” he said of downsizing the family’s longtime Echo Point home from 4,500 square feet to a 1,300-square-foot residence.
While he hopes that each addition will be reviewed by someone else, he also noted that there is a sense of urgency associated with releasing everything. Hazlett said he especially misses being able to read anything in his book collection whenever he wants.
be quiet
Lund issued a final warning, saying she would prefer to see the houses in “dirty” condition. She explained that a well-intentioned relative might recognize that it brings in dirty money.
She once came across a small but rare tin that sold for $650 at an online auction. Similarly, the original bill of sale for a 1950 Oldsmobile – a single sheet of paper – sold for $60. “You just don’t know,” she said.
Households may hold more valuables than meets the eye, she added. Her catalog has resulted in signed finds such as Jack Kerouac and JRR Tolkien’s novels mixed with the general flow of books. Once she found the last will and testament the family had been desperately searching for.
Lund says she returns to such a catalog with an obvious nod to classic ideas. The contents of another large Wheeling home — this one in the Highland Park Historic District — will be up for sale in mid-September, she said.
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