The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1902-03-26
IT LACKED NOVELTY
A COLLECTION OF HElRLOOMS THAT
WEARlED AN OBSERVER.

Clory and Supplying Ancestral
Trupoings ut 50 Much Per Hour
Has Its Drawbacks.
Two guests were being shown through
@ Philadelphia mansion in which Il
nouvcau richie broker wHs entertaining
a party Of fashionable friends. The
splendid array of family heirlooms, all
besDealirg a lineage Of earliest colo
NAL origin. deeply impressed one of the
party. He was Il stranger but lately
arrived from Baltimore Oddly enough,
his companion. q Philadelphian, seem
ed f1ippantly Indifferent to these treas
ured relics of q family's h0nored bis
tory
Remarkable collection Of heirlooms
our host has" remarked the stranger
as he stopped before a battle SCARED
sword of Revolutionary days.
Yes" drawled the Philadelphian
cynically, very interesting. But un-
fortunately it lacks the charm Of nov
city for me. Already this season I've
seen the same batch Of relics in three
other Philadelphia houses
How could that be?'
ooh, simple enough. 1t only means
that all four families, our host and the
three others l refer to, hired their an
cestral trappings from the same man."
Hired them?'
Eyes. hired them. We have in this
city an enterprising collector Of colo
NAL junk who makes business Of
renting out family glory to all who
were unfortunate enough to be born
without it."
"Whew!" was the only comment the
astonished Baltimorean could utter.
And doubtless many Philadelphians
would be moved to say "WheW! If
they could learn how many members
Of the Quaker City social elect are con-
strained to seek the assistance of the
heirloom dealer when they wish to
give a brilliant function.
1t is q deception that is forced upon
them, for unless you have distinguish
ed appearing forbears you stand little
chance of penetrating the sacred pre-
cincts of the local fashionable set.
Ancestry, not cash, is the open SEES
anne, and even if man can claim some
sort of q family tree his pretensions are
questioned unless he can show some Of
the furniture or portraits that his
American forefathcr brought with him
on the Mayfower or the Welcome.
Of course if the two vessels named
had been as large as the Great Eastern
and had been loaded with nothing but
heirlooms they couldn't have carried
half the stock needed to launch the de-
scendants Of Pilgrim fathers into So
ciety. Hence the need Of an heirloom
dealer.
He has his warerooms in Pine street,
in a part of the city which was once
the center of fashion, but is now de-
serted by that element in consequence
of the westward movement Of the city g
elect.
Ostensibly he is curio dealer, but
mis- revenue is mainly derived from
furnishing and hanging the walls OF
fashionable dwellings with century old
portraits.
This clever manipulation of men S
vanities has ancient. straight backed
furniture and copper kettles and snuff
ers for candles and bullseye watches
and similar relics of ancient grandeur,
all at your disposal for night. when
YOU. poor fellow, with money, but no
ancestors, want your friends TO know
what ar old family yours is! He also
has rare furnishings for libraries and
drawing rooms which you may rent II
you have the price.
It matters not from what part OF the
country the applicant halls OF what
particular descent he wishes to claim,
his needs are promptly filed.
For those who wish to pose as llneal
descendants of the stanch old colonlal
patriots who fought the stamp tax ana
defed the power Of King George at
Bunker Hill and drew up the Declara-
ton there is especially attractive stock.
For the naughty cavalier who came
over" with Lord Delaware there are
costumes and furniture and portraits
of more elaborate style. as behts the
past of emigrants who in England
basked in the favor Of the king anG
were participants in brilliant court GER
emonials.
The Quaker City allegiance to the
honored memory Of William Penn is a
sentiment that the curio dealer has
been careful to cherish.
On his walls he has portraits Of stu
dious looking Quakers. On his shelves
are modest Quaker clocks that did
service in the days when the founder
was exchanging thirty blankets for
Philadelphia.
There are Quaker walking sticks. tin
der boxes, documents on all subjects,
household utensils 4 legion.
It is true that this system of supply
ing ancestors has its disadvantages.
CCntretemps such as the one revealed
at the beginning Of this article are
bound to occur. The hawklike eye Of L
connoisseur. trained to recognize in
4 Ia;