| MARTHA'S
VINEYARD: REFUGE FROM CHAOTIC AMERICA |
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 The Charlotte Inn is owned by the Conover family. They're antique dealers and it shows. Paula Conover, a former St. Louis post-op surgical nurse smiles and says, "Running an inn is like being back in nursing: you work weekends and holidays, 24 hours a day." |
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Her advice for antique shoppers coming to the Vineyard is classic. When you find something ask yourself the questions: Do you love it? Where will you put it? Is it your lifestyle (does it reflect your interests)? And are you buying it for the right reason -- investment value should not be your main priority. "Why buy a piece of gorgeous jewelry that never leaves your safe?" she says. Asked where antique hunters might go, she replies, "Well, there's our family Edgartown Art Gallery next door to our inn; then the eclectic mix at Past & Presents owned by a group of women who go to Europe every year; and there's the Edgartown Scrimshaw Gallery also on Main Street." |
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At the Scrimshaw Gallery the owner Tom DeMont bends over a piece of 1850's scrimshaw and shows how it can be distinguished from a plastic replica. "Unlike plastic real scrimshaw does not create static electricity," he says. "So it won't pick up lint if you rub it against a sweater; it won't glow purple in ultra violet black light; it doesn't have a plastic smell if you scrape it and it won't melt or ignite if you touch it with a match." If a dealer won't let you try those tests, walk away, he says. Dealer integrity is all-important. Says Demont, "Make sure the gallery owner puts the description in writing with the date the piece was crafted and docu ments you can return it unconditionally for the same price if you later find the piece to be a fake."There aren't many fakes on Martha's Vineyard. A vacation on this island is an authentic glimpse of what America used to be like and a poignant reminder of what we may have lost as we continue our stumble into the 21st century. |
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