Page 39 - joa-nov-21

$100,000 House Buy Reveals Antique Stash Worth

Hundreds-Of-Thousands

ASHEFORD INSTITUTE OF ANTIQUES, as that currently
NY - Buying a new home, especially an older hanging in the
one, can come with a variety of pitfalls. Library of Congress.
However, for one lucky New Yorker, it also Other finds from the
came with a surprise win—behind ceiling- attic included furni-
panel number three—which led straight to ture, photography
the attic. equipment, decora-
For David Whitcomb, who bought the old tive arts items, and
century-home in Geneva, New York, last year several early 20th
with plans to convert the dilapidated building century portraits.
into a law firm and upper floor rental unit, the Whitcomb, an
find came as nothing short of a huge surprise. avid antique hunter
Whitcomb related that while he was giving himself, said,
a friend a tour of his new purchase, he noticed “Everyone hopes to
a drop-down ceiling had deteriorated and was find treasure some-
showing floorboards and rafters above it. He day, and we actually did ... it’s incredible to the collection expected to reach well into the
said he had no idea that there was a room think about.” low six-figures.
above it, “It wasn’t in the paperwork,” he said, After realizing what he’d come across, For the rest of us, it is another reminder of
“and we didn’t do an inspection because we Whitcomb brought in photography and why every nook-and-cranny probably deserves
knew the building needed to be renovated.” history experts to examine and confirm a second look!
After some initial scrambling onto chairs, many of the items. An adjacent building
he and his friend managed to locate the had caught fire during the 1980s. According
entrance to the attic overhead (which they to Whitcomb, the attic was not only full of
later determined had been sealed off for more dust, but ash as well from the neighboring
than a hundred years) and discovered a virtual blaze, which made cleaning the pieces and
treasure trove of antiques, photographs, and bringing them back to their former glory
paintings that appeared to be the private painstaking work.
collection of noted photographer James Finally, after conferring with experts and
Ellery Hale. Whitcomb believes the attic was authenticating the historical items, Whitcomb
used by Hale as a studio and says that so far, decided it was time to sell, and reached out to
he’s uncovered more than a thousand antiques One Source Auctions to conduct the online
dating back over a hundred years, including sale. A representative from the auction house
an original print of the early feminist icon has indicated that the sale is anticipated to
Susan B. Anthony, which is the same portrait take place later this fall, with final tallies for

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