Remember when you got that thing out of the trash and sold it for a few grand overseas? Used to be that trash picking was a decent way to add a little fun money to your income. Nowadays everything on the curb is, well, trash. The throwaway society, the transient times, the immediate gratification, the whatever you want to call it has folks buying straight up junk for their homes. As an antique dealer, I’d love to see more of you out there buying real furniture, real art, real stuff for your real home that you’re really going to stay in for a real long time. But we all know that’s not going to happen anytime soon for anyone but the 1%. So what are us antique dealers to do? Relive the good ol’ days and spin yarns till we figure out something else or the tides turn. So here’s a little gem... I was living in Philly and was out antique shopping. Yes. In stores, not the trash. I had just parked my car and was walking around to the passenger side to take something out that I had forgotten. I looked down the street and saw a dumpster. If you know me, then you know I love a good dumpster.

So I walked down the block to the dumpster and climbed up the side. It looked as if a flop house had been picked up off its foundation and shook over the top of the dumpster so that everything would fall out. Mattresses mostly. FYI, I was in a sketchy neighborhood so you figure out why so many mattresses. But I digress. There on top of the pile was this print. So delicate. On paper that was so fine, so unbelievably delicate that it is a wonder how it was not destroyed. Was it simply thrown on top? Had it been underneath a mattress and when they picked it up to toss it in, they flipped it over? I didn’t know and I didn’t want to spend anymore time perched on the side of the dumpster for fear that whatever was on those mattresses would regroup and find it’s way onto me. And so I grabbed the print and headed back to my car. With it safely on the passenger seat I went about shopping. Yes. In a store. Pickins were slim so I headed back to my car to research the signature. I’ll say this, I’m thankful for a good dumpster and I’ve never been shy to dive right in. ;-) hkv