Monday, March 21, 2016

Vintage or Antique.....What's the difference...?

     If you spend 14 seconds on eBay you're going to run into something labeled vintage or antique. Usually with one or more of the following  adjectives cleverly attached: retro, cool, old, rare, mod, hard to find, deco, mid century,   well you get the idea.  Adjectives they say are the construct of a lazy mind.  Food for thought as I sit here typing. 
     I want to take a look at the word "vintage" as it is encountered within the world of eBay, and other outlets.  Vintage is a hot word a great buzz word that seems to be used whenever the word antique does not quite fit or in cases where if the word antique were to be used it would conjure images of the tragic cat lady's estate sale..... You know the one where the closet is full of depend under garments and you instantly realize you can't buy anything upholstered.  
    Antique is a word that has not changed with the times, it's stuffy and expensive. It's not hip, it's uncool. But vintage now that's fresh it's a new way to describe an old thing.  A replogle globe from 1936 could be antique to one collector or vintage to another a real gray area.
     I struggled when I was setting up my blog as to weather or not include the word antique in the blog title. I knew that seeingĂ  that word would round off some people, I also knew that skipping that word and going with the generic " vintage" might bring in some more initial licks but I'd loose some other people.  In the end I went with antique because I believe in the word. 
     Vintage,  however still looms large I have reluctantly learned to use the word more and more when searching the net, it seems to describe anything from 1850 to 1995!  Perhaps I'm vintage in my thinking..... Maybe I'm not hip or cool maybe I never was....?  My kids are too young to think I'm old and dated but any day now that will change and I'll be vintage. 

2 comments:

  1. today I found a 20 inch replogle globe, illuminated by LEROY M.TOLMAN W/WOOD BASE, and it’s dated between 1984 -1991, I was wondering if it has some value $$$ …thank you

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  2. Arte, Im sure as a decorative item to the right person that item has value, it's not old enough to be collected, but it's just old enough to be out of date. It takes a lot of space to properly display a 20 inch globe so people who are wiling to devote the space usually want a new accurate globe, or a true antique with all of it's associated appeal, thank you...

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