I am writing in regard to some of the advertising I have been noticing in many Antique magazines of late. The ads that I am referring to are placed in the name of International Shows and list all the shows and all the dates from the present to and through April 1975, and cover quite a sizeable area, from Springfield, Illinois, to Denver, Colorado. At the bottom of this long ad is their policy statement. This policy statement is very discriminatory, and without an understanding is quite puzzling to most. Here it is: "Statement of Policy -- Any exhibiting dealer in the Antique Trade that shows in any Antique show in any area of International Shows within sixty days prior to an International Show, or any Exhibitor that makes a habit of exhibiting Flea Markets, Shopping Mall Shows, and Depression Glass Shows, is not welcome in any International Show." And it goes on to say that his contract will be canceled upon information to this effect, with no exceptions.

Now there are many Antique Dealers that sell European goods that were produced during the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, and some of these, probably most, sell these as being what they are. But we have a number (I would judge to be about thirty percent) that are the biggest deceivers and liars in the country, and their huge success depends on a large lack of honesty. Here is how they operate the big lie. If it can be proven historically that a French diplomat made a gift of a French clock made by a company in France to a dignitary in the United States, and that he used the gift in his home, this becomes the beginning of the big lie. This group of Antique Dealers decides to sell every available clock made by this company in the forty years, to the unsuspecting buyers in America, as early American clocks. The same goes for furniture, glassware, lamps, and many other foreign items. If all the furniture that has been sold under this lie had been in the hands of the Americans of that day, they could not have stored it in the homes that were in existence at that time, even if they had used the entire house for storage while living in a tent! The same goes for clocks. I'm sure that every wall in every room would have had three clocks, with two on each of the four walls of the back house. Now I doubt very much that in those days the Americans were that anxious to know exactly what time it was; in fact, I don't doubt but that a large number had no time piece at all, and depended on the sun, moon and stars, plus the crow of the rooster, for their time. The same goes for the lamps. If all the European lamps that have been sold as early Americans had been used during the time they were supposed to have been used, they would have had to have two canals running across the land, one carrying whale oil, and the other kerosene, and the families would have been so busy carrying oil for their lamps, they would not have had time to milk the cow!

These dealers have many ways of promoting the big lie. I will explain only one that is very effective. A big dealer has large warehouses in Massachusetts, where he lives. He also has many pickers searching throughout Europe seeking wares that were made during the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. They crate tons of these items in what are called "containers" and ship them to Boston. An example: He receives three van truck loads of these items at the Boston Harbor. He instructs his drivers to pick up the shipment and drive to a certain address in Old Boston, where he either rents or owns an old historical house. The vans are unloaded at the back of the house, and the goods are carried through and reloaded at the front door, then carried to the dealer's warehouse. Now we are ready for the big lie. This dealer sends from his office flyers to certain other dealers throughout the states. He knows that some dealers are interested in different items, some in lamps, some in clocks, and some in other European ware. In this shipment he has acquired some early Victorian furniture, so he writes to furniture dealers and explains that he has just taken from an early Historical Home in Boston some six pieces of beautiful Victorian furniture. A dealer buys it immediately, and places it on display in the Antique Shop. Now sucker enters, inquires about furniture and asks why such a high price. Dealer explains about it being from an old, old home in Boston and that he will give a signed affidavit to that affect. Sucker buys, gets affidavit, not worth the paper it is drawn on, and rushes home to put it in lock box, ready to show any one in sucker's social realm, with no question of sucker's furniture being early American. Two dealers are happy, and the sucker is fleeced and happy. The big lie is a success. The same is applied with lamps, clocks, and many other items. If these dealers had to sell what they claim to sell, there would not be more than one out of a thousand open. The rest would be closed because of lack of merchandise.

I have always felt that this type of dealer was snubbing his nose at those that do collect or deal in items truly Early American; but perhaps I am wrong, and he is just holding his breath because of the smell of his business ethics. I do believe that this thirty percent or so of the Antique Dealers are the biggest group of deceiving con artists that have ever been allowed to operate within the boundaries of our nation. Anyone who doubts this exposure of these people and thinks I am just being a clown, I would advise to place more attention on the main events, or he will no doubt be like the sucker and step in something indicating that the elephant has just passed. In other words, I am only relating these false sales in order that those who read may avoid being conned.

With all this going on in our country, it really makes me happy to be associated with a group of people who really collect Early American Antiques. It doesn't matter what it is--we collect the real McCoy, whether it's early American coins, barbed wire, bottles, insulators, or many other things we are interested in. Our collections are being made by Americans for Americans, and I feel this is a special group of collectors and traders that need no affidavits, for everything we collect shouts of itself to the world that it is truly American. As an example, here on a shelf on my right are a number of Hutchinson top bottles, every one of which tells in heavy embossing the history of the bottle, such as this one, which is embossed in the glass "Houppert & Smyly, Birmingham, Ala. This Bottle Must Be Returned." It is very easy, through the records of Birmingham, Alabama, to find when Houppert & Smyly were in business, and thereby prove-approximate age of the bottle, and that it was produced by Americans, filled by Americans, and sold to Americans for the use of the contents. It is the same with all we collect--each item has been, or can be, historically traced as being an American Antique. There are a few reproductions, but not many, and in all the hundreds of thousands of miles we have traveled, and the many shows we have attended, I have yet to see a dealer misrepresent these as something other than what they are. So why shouldn't I be extremely proud to be a part of this group of collectors!