As a society, we all must be a little paranoid. We can barely contain ourselves, waiting for the next techno gadget to make our lives better. And even if our lives isn't better for owning it; we have to buy it anyway, just to keep up with the Jones'. As soon as we get this new toy, it's great, at least for a little while. We eventually get bored with our new toy. We start to misplace it, lose it, it doesn't even matter anymore because we've completely lost interest. Slowly but surely we start to buy more and more new gadgets, but it doesn't matter because they all seem to end up in the same place. Somewhere, in the back of our closet, gathering dust, with all the other super incredible gadgets that we once ran out to buy. We really don't want to throw the old toys away because we might want to use them again; but as time passes and objects start to pile-up, we reluctantly make the choice to dispose of our old toys, to make room for the new.
They say, "everything that is old, becomes new again". Styles come in cycles, so if you're around long enough, an old style will become new again. This concept really does apply to fashion. It's amazing to see clothing styles from 20 and 30 years ago, brought back as the latest fashion. But we can only wonder, if it's the clothes, or the fact that the people wearing them are so young that they have no clue that their style has been done before.
Maybe it's our human need to stay somehow connected to the past; that has driven us to create an industry for the past. And this industry would be that of antiques. Yes, antiques, that old junk that was left behind by our great-great ancestors. No one has really created a definition for antiques that everyone agrees on; but a more general description is, objects that have reached an age which makes them a witness of a previous era in human society.
Objects, which are antiques, usually show an attention to detail and design; like the older model automobiles. The more unique an antique is, the more valuable it's likely to be. Just about any object can become an antique if it lasts long enough. It seems very strange, that an industry like antiques, which at times appears to be like a private club, has no say so in who can enter the club. Antiques can be purchased in stores, or through dealers and even on the internet. There are many people who have become dedicated in shopping for antiques; and they don't just do it from home, but they travel around the country, hoping to find a special piece.
It's amazing how society can create an industry, where apparently one didn't exist. In antiques, people are basically salivating over objects that many of us would've considered old junk. Yet, we have lots of people willing to pay great deals of money for the privilege of owning an object that probably had very little value, back in its heyday.
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Antiques