Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-21
THE ANTIQUARY AT HOME.
A Funny Little Shop He Keeps and the
Odd Things that FIN it.


A Funny Little Shop He Keeps and the
Odd Things that FIN IL.
A more varied assortment Of antiquities il
would be difficult to imagine than that which
crowded the funny little shop around the
corner from Pennsylvania avenue. Such
curious things, too, most Of them were-old
tables and sideboards made at least a century
ago; desks and chairs, Just q precious few,
from the old furnishing Of the Senate and
House which had afforded accommodation to
goodness knows what eminent statesmen in
times past and gone; old clocks and hall racks,
ancient brasses and silver plate, antedatins
the electro process; dressing cases and massive
secretaries" those almost forgotten articles Of
colonial furniture; antique andirons. tenders,
pokers, tongs and kettles, silver candle-snuffere
and snuffing dishes, candle sticks, toast racks,
tea urns, DC, de-, ad infnitum. And amid
the wreck and ruin-for these things, for the
most part, did in truth represent in fashion
and estete-stood the genius of the place,
little old man with q kindly face, whom one
half expected to produce and Offer as did the
Antiquary to the hero of Balzacs Magic Skin"
rectangular piece Of ass hide that should be
guaranteed to insure its possessor the fulfill
DIPLOMATIC TABLE.
But the little old man, unlike his fellow anti
quarry of the weird French romance, had no
marvellous talisman to offer, though he did
take an undisguised satisfaction in exhibiting
to The STAR reporter who had ventured IN a
table that was simply marvel in its way. 1t
had once belonged to a foreign minister resi-
dent in Washington, and yet appeared to the
casual observer to be in no respect unlike any
other old-fashioned table such as is found in
the middle Of country parlors as an accom-
paniment to the ancient horsehair sofa
and chairs. 1t was not very pretty
to look at. but oh, the wonders con-
cealed within it! Undoubtedly that foreign
minister must have been a very bad man. in
deed, to have occasion for such piece of fur
niture. For it was all a secret from beginning
to end-a positively labyrinthine article OF
ameublement, evidently designed to conceal
and keep hidden dozens Of dark and dismal
tragedies. Possibly, however, they may have
been only state secrets; but, any way, when a
concealed spring was touched the four sides
OF the tables upper part fell down and
the top folded back SO as to disclose
beautiful desk, which, though it could not
have been made less than sixty years ago,
looked like new. The antiquary pressed
second spring and portion of the desk again
unfolded. revealing a wonderful arrangement
OF drawers and two enameled ink wells. At the
same time two slides few out, one on each side,
adding half as much again to the superficial
area Of the desk A third spring opened the
inside OF the desk to the view Then, when il
was supposed that everything possible had been
shown, a certain spot in a little strip of appar-
emily solid wood was smoothed slightly with
the forefnger and the strip dropped out re-
vealing two little bits Of secret drawers, the
existence of which nobody would ever have sus-
Pected unless informed concerning them II he
had possessed this piece of furniture for fife
time. Finally, at touch or two the whole
continuance folded up automatically and was a
table again.
vALUABLEs IN SECRET DRAWERS.
owe often find such secrets in the old desks
and secretaries that come here" said the an
tiquary, land once or twice We have discovered
valuables in the concealed drawers. On one
occasion a workman Of mine came across
number Of gold pieces 80 hidden, and person
in my own line Of business whom knew told
ortunes Of an orphaned family. You see these
things nearly all come from Virginia and Mary
land, where men make business of driving
about the country and collecting all sorts Of old
junk. Frequently they pick up from the houses
of families in reduced circumstances articles of
furniture and the like such as dealers Of my
sort are glad to buy. They pay the merest
trife in cash for them and get a fair price from
me. Old-fashioned house furnishings are
more in STYLE, now than ever and the rich peo-
pie OF washington are my CHIEF customers
The field of supply in Virginia and Maryland
is showing signs Of exhaustion and goods of
the sort sell to more advantage for that rea-
son. Look through the fashionable parlors
and drawing rooms of Washington and you
will find them filed with the movable posses
sions Of first families long disappeared or,
which amounts to the same thing, reduced to
RELICS AT AUCTION.
another source Of supply find in the auc-
tons, particularly Saturdays, when the best
thing. are put up for sale. Many old-fashioned
articles that are worth buying pick up by at
tending them. Then, again, people often come
to me and say they have such and such pieces
of furniture to dispose of and 90 to look at
them it think they may be desirable. A great
deal Of old furniture il made to order nova
days. New mahogany is given the look Of age
with dragon's-blood root, or little shoe black
ing rubbed in will have like effect upon oak.
The inside Of the desk or bureau is made to
look ancient by firing powder from q shotgun
repeatedly into it until the indentations pro-
duced by the process give it q sufficiently
worm-eaten appearance. Or the same result
may be obtained by washing the drawers within
with sponge dipped in a powerful acid that
eats the wood here and there. New~brass
handles, modelled from antique ones, are made
to look old by rubbing them with pumice stone
and singing them with gunpowder. Andirons
and candlestcks are reproduced and treated in
the same Way"