It’s very easy to tell the popularity and collectability of an item by the number of reproduction of that item you see in the market place.
Take for instance “antique iron beds“. When I started collecting and selling iron beds, over 30 years ago, no one was reproducing them…..Why? Because there were more around than you could shake a stick at. They were so plentiful, the first dozen or so I got up in Pennsylvania, were given to me by farmers happy to have them hauled away. But as the years went on and prices continued to rise and supplies started to go down, more and more reproductions started showing up in the market place.
Any time there aren’t enough originals to satisfy the demand in any antique, you’ll start to see reproductions trying to capture the popularity of the originals market.
Many people just won’t take the time to search out the originals and are more than happy to settle for the “look” of the original.
My clients tend to be much more discerning and would no sooner want to walk into their neighbors home and see the same bed they have than the man in the moon. They also know that money spent on a reproduction is pretty much waste, never to be seen again. But the original old bed that they purchased is continuing to go up and up in value, some day being worth far more than they had paid for it.
If you ever saw an antique iron bed along side a reproduction, it would become readily apparent why it’s has been around for close to 200 years and looks as good today as when it was made and also far greater than a bed that was made today from thin wall tubing and aluminum castings. It’s virtually impossible to achieve the definition and clarity in the castings on a newly made bed with aluminum, than it was with antique beds that had all their castings poured with solid cast iron.
The old original beds also have a sense of “character” that can only come with an antique that has been around throughout history. A reproduction, made this month has had little time to pick up much of an aura.
Old originals……the only way to go. Take a guess which bed , of the two photo’s is an original old bed and which one is the reproduction……….
I hope you’ve found this blog informative . I invite you to revisit my website
to answer any and all questions you might have about antique iron beds.
I also invite you to take a look at our company Face Book page for multiple photo albums on Custom Finishes, Canopy Conversions and a comprehensive “Before & After” King Conversions album.
