Estate Sale Report: Unbridled Collecting
Author:Lindsey ShookQ: Just how big is the estate sale at 264 Monte Vista Avenue in Oakland this weekend?
A: It’s so large that organizers have spent 12 days sorting and pricing and they are still finding new things.
A: There are so many pieces, they estimate the for-sale items number into the hundreds of thousands.
A: It’s a sale whose variety and breadth will have attendees talking for years.
The house, which stands on the border between Piedmont and Oakland, belonged to a husband and wife who loved collecting up into their nineties. He died recently, and she decided to take what she liked and sell the rest.
“They did it for the love of collecting,” says Rick Hudson of Hudson Estate Service & Liquidation. “She told me that it was the process of finding and acquisition, not of owning, that motivated them.”
Apparently, this was a VERY motivated couple. They have plates, clocks, board games, pottery, art, toys, tools, chairs, musical instruments, sheet music, lead soldiers and more. Not just one or two items in these categories, but multiples.
“Imagine if you went to flea markets, estate sales and antique stores every weekend and brought something home for 70 years—then you’d have a collection like this,” says Hudson.
It stands to reason there are interesting items here. One is a 19th century pie safe with a punched image of an elaborate doorway. Hudson says most pie safes are reproductions, but this one is the real deal.
Another is a very rare bulldog Halloween lantern. Hudson’s team has priced it at $450.
“This couple liked things that were different,” says Hudson. “Whether it’s a clock, chair or barometer, it’s some unique variation.”
The sale starts on Friday (10 a.m–4 p.m.), and continues through Saturday (9 a.m.–4 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.–4 p.m.).
