Antique, Vintage and Collectible dealers and collectors - Have you ever read Cadillac Jack by Larry McMurtry? If you haven't, you should. My neighbor and friend Denice turned me on to it and now I want to share. A good book on a subject you've actually lived to a certain degree, is always a good read.
As a thank you to Denice, here's a link to her shop on etsy http://www.blogger.com/www.etsy.com/shop/VioletCrownEmporium
It's a very different book for Mr. McMurtry, but as he states in the forward, he wanted it to be.
One thing for sure, if you're a dealer or a collector, you'll recognize parts of yourself and all the other folk you mingle with in the trade. It's also a great read for the thrill of the treasures he finds. And, if you're a avid follower of politics or had a special interest in the Regan era, you should be able to place some of the characters with real people.
The hero is a high end dealer/picker who cruises America in his Cadillac with tire rims once owned by Valentino. Buying and selling from yard sales to major flea markets and auctions, he knows, and is known by, folk from Maine to LA. In the book, Jack ends up spending some time in Washington DC, hobnobbing with the very IN politico crowd of the 80s. The atmosphere he finds himself in sets off a career crisis that is so severe, he can't even get excited about the behind the scenes selling off of the Smithsonian treasures he stumbles into. Now - that is severe for a dedicated dealer!!
No opinions on the literary value of the book, okay? It's just a fantastic fun read for those of us who have arrived at flea markets so early it's still dark out and have been known to crawl under tables in barns to check out boxes.
As a thank you to Denice, here's a link to her shop on etsy http://www.blogger.com/www.etsy.com/shop/VioletCrownEmporium
It's a very different book for Mr. McMurtry, but as he states in the forward, he wanted it to be.
One thing for sure, if you're a dealer or a collector, you'll recognize parts of yourself and all the other folk you mingle with in the trade. It's also a great read for the thrill of the treasures he finds. And, if you're a avid follower of politics or had a special interest in the Regan era, you should be able to place some of the characters with real people.
The hero is a high end dealer/picker who cruises America in his Cadillac with tire rims once owned by Valentino. Buying and selling from yard sales to major flea markets and auctions, he knows, and is known by, folk from Maine to LA. In the book, Jack ends up spending some time in Washington DC, hobnobbing with the very IN politico crowd of the 80s. The atmosphere he finds himself in sets off a career crisis that is so severe, he can't even get excited about the behind the scenes selling off of the Smithsonian treasures he stumbles into. Now - that is severe for a dedicated dealer!!
No opinions on the literary value of the book, okay? It's just a fantastic fun read for those of us who have arrived at flea markets so early it's still dark out and have been known to crawl under tables in barns to check out boxes.
1 comment:
And don't forget the backdoor abortions, which killed or damaged many young girls.
Lot’s of whispers back then.
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