Antiques Can Teach Us How to Dine Again

So, what have you made for Thanksgiving dinner? If your answer is “reservations,” you are not alone. More and more folks are dining out on this holiday, which was once considered a day dedicated to home and hearth. Just a few decades ago, it was hard to find an open restaurant on Thanksgiving; the owners and staff were at home with their families or friends.
If you are an antique dealer, it sometimes seems like no one is dining at all anymore. Where dealers might have sold at least three to five complete sets of dinner dishes and tea sets a year, they feel lucky these days to sell one set.
Why is this? There are lots of theories. Most folks think it’s the economy. Both mommy and daddy have to work to make ends meet. So, who’s serving even that weekly Sunday dinner? And if you have one holiday off, why spend it slaving in the kitchen?
Of course it’s not really drudgery when it’s a labor of love. And you can see the love in all the fine dining-related antiques available in the shops. It is obvious that there was a time when people showed respect for the food they served and the friends and family they served it to.
Nowhere is that respect more evident than in the silver. After all, silver is a precious metal, and its use at the table raised the level of any event to something very special. Notice, too that each different food had its own special silver-serving piece.
There will come a time again in the future when another generation will look back at us and wonder: “What were they all run around about back then?” Then the elegant sit-down dinner party with family and friends will return again. And there will be plenty of antiques around to show them how it’s done.
Here are some holiday gift-giving tips: Make the box part of the gift. Antique shops are bursting with fabulous old boxes in porcelain, pottery, silver, glass, lacquer ware, carved wood and marble. These were originally meant for the dresser or vanity, for stationery, documents, pills, powder, and a variety of other purposes, but you can slip in a piece of jewelry, a scarf, some gloves, a shirt or anything, and double your gift.
A gift of food, whether store-bought or homemade, becomes very special when presented on or in an antique or vintage keepsake. Add to a gift of wine by adding an old wine salver, pourer, stopper, or pair of antique goblets.
When you are out shopping the wonderful, locally-owned antique and specialty shops, don’t forget to check out these neat gift shops: the Cape May County Museum on Route 9 in Swainton; the Wetland Institute on Stone Harbor Blvd.; and the Physick Estate on Washington Street in Cape May.
Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antique Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send your comments, questions and appraisal requests to: aschwerdt@cmcherald.com.