The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-04-11
II LACKED NOVELTY
A COLLECTION or HelRLooMs THAT
WekRlEO AN OBSERVER.
The system Of Renting Out Family
Glory sud supplying Ancestral
Trapping. at so Much Per Hour
Has Its Drawbacks.

| WO guests were D'lHS huONu lhIOu6h IL
Philadelphia mansion In which a
nouyeau richie broker was entertaining
a party Of fashionable friends. The
splendid array Of family helrlOOms. all
bespeaking n lineage Of earliest colo
MIA origin. deeply Impressed one Of the
! party. He was stranger but lately
arrived from Baltimore. oddly enough,
his companion. Philadelphian. seem
ed nppnntly Indifferent 10 these treas
ured relics OF family's hOnOred his
tory.
'Remarkable collection Of hcirlOOms
our host has" remarked the stranger
as he stopped before a battle SCARED
sword Of Revolutionary days.
"Yes." drawlcd the philadclphian
cyncally. very interesting. But un-
fortunately II 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 bcT'
"Oh, simple enough. II only means
that all four families. our host and the
three others refer to, hired their an
ccstral trappings from the same man"
"Hlrcd thcmY
eyes, hired them. We have in this
city an cntcrprlsng collector Of colo
nlal junk who makes n business Of
renting out family glory TO nll who
were unfortunate enough 10 DO born
without IT,"
"Whcw" was the only comment the
astOnshed BaltimOrcan could utter
And doubtless many Philadclphians
would be moved 10 say "Whcw" if
they could learn how many members
OF the Quaker city social elect are con
strained 10 seek the assistance Of the
heirloom dealer when they wish 10
give Il brilliant function.
II is deception that is forced upon
them, for unless you have distinguish
ed appearing forbcars you stand little
chance of penetrating the sacred pre-
clncts OF the local fashionable set.
Ancestry, not cash is the open SEES
anne, and even If a man can claim some
sort Of family tree his prctcnsiOns are
questioned unless he can show some Of
American forcfathcr brought with him
OH the Maynowcr 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
hclrlooms 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 warcrooms in Pine street,
in n part Of the city which was once
the center Of fashion, but is now de-
serted by that element I'm consequence
Of the westward movement OF the city's
elect.
Ostcnsibly he is curio dealer, but
nis revenue Is mainly derived from
furnishing and hanging the walls of
fashionable dwellings with century old
portraits.
This clever manipulatOr Of mems
vanitlcs has ancient. straight backed
furniture and copper kettles and snuff
ers for candles and bullscyc watches
and similar relics OF ancient grandeur,
all at your disposal for n night, when
you, poor fellow. with money, but no
ancestors, want your friends TO know
what an old family yours is. He also
has rare furnishings for libraries and
drawing rooms which YOU may rent II
YOU have the price.
II matters not from what part OF tho
country the applicant halls or what
particular descent he wishes To claim.
his needs are promptly filled.
For those who wish TO pose as lincal
descendants of the stanch old colonial
patriots who fought the stamp tax and
dehcd tlg power of King George Gt
Bunker lIll aud drew mp the Dcclara-
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, rs BELTS the
past OF cmgrnnts who in England
baskcd i'm the favor of the king and
were participants in brilliant court Ger.
cmouials.
The Quaker City allegiance to the
honorcd memory OF William Penn is n
sentiment that the curio dealer has
been careful TO cherish.
On his walls he has portraits of stu
dious looking QuakCrs. 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 n legion.
II is true that this system or supply
ing ancestors has it's disadvantages.
Contrctcmps such as the one revealed
at the beginning OF this article are
bound TO occur. The hawklike eye of n
counoisscur trained TO recognize In
stantly the value, authenticity and his
tory OF antiques, often picrccs the de-