Rinker on Collectibles

RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1770

The Backstory: Its Pluses and Minuses

Rick Kirkman’s and Jerry Scott’s “Baby Blues” comic strip features the day to day adventures of Darryl and Wanda McPherson as they attempt to raise their three children Zoe, Hammie, and Wren.

The weekly daily strips for Monday, October 5, through Saturday, October 10, focused on Wanda working with Zoe to downsize the number of stuffed toys on her bed. The three-panel strip for Wednesday, October 7, began with a panel featuring Wanda holding a stuffed monkey and saying to Zoe who is sitting on her bed surrounded by other stuffed toys: “What About This One? Can It Go?” Zoe respond with an emphatic “Mom.” In the second panel, Zoe has grabbed the stuffed monkey from her mother and explains: “That’s Mr. Juggletoes! I Found Him Under A Tilt-A-Wheel At The Fair The Same Night I Lost My First Tooth.” In the final panel, Wanda sits exhausted on the family living room couch with Darryl. With her eyes rolled up into her head, she tells Darryl: “The Stuffed-Animal Purge is Gonna Be Tricky. They All Have Backstories.”

Dreams, stories, and wonder are part and parcel of everything associated with the antiques and collectibles trade, especially objects. Stories associated with objects are what transform them from inanimate to animate beings. When collectors refer to the stories associated with objects, they normally refer to the positive stories. When it becomes time for the collector or individual to dispose of objects, these positive stories often prevent a disassociation with the objects and cloud sale considerations.

There are many types of backstories. The three most common are (1) provenance, (2) acquisition, and (3) informational. Provenance is a history of ownership from the first person who owned the object to its current owner. It is not necessary that the individual(s) who owned the object along the way be someone famous, albeit it can help. Famous in this instance means a name that still is recognized by a majority of the American public. In 2020, an object belonging to Gifford Pinchot benefits little from the prominence of his name. It is unlikely that 1 person in 1,000 would be able to tell you who Gifford Pinchot is.

The difficulty with provenance is that few individuals question its accuracy. Provenance is often passed down verbally rather than being carefully documented in writing with ample written and provable supporting evidence. In the antiques and collectibles trade, the ability to fabricate a creative backstory is a skill set of many dealers. There is no written or enforceable antiques and collectibles Code of Ethics.

Provence stories need to be questioned, especially if they sound too good to be true. When this is the case, chances are they are not. When the stories involve family provenance, especially when the name of a specific person is generalized with terms such as “great grandmother,” “great aunt” is even worse, be especially skeptical. Every individual had four great grandmothers, two on the father’s and two on the mother’s side.

Collectors frequently embellish acquisition stories. I considered not using frequently in the previous sentence but did not want to preclude the possibility that occasionally a collector or dealer tells the truth.

When telling an acquisition story that my wife Linda witnessed, I am continually amazed at how her account differs significantly from mine. As much I want life to be objective, I am convinced the greater part of it is subjective. Rose-colored glasses are individually focused. As a storyteller, I do not like repeating a rote story over and over again. I change it constantly. There are times when I sense there is a discord between truth and reality.

Informational provenance documents the history of the object. It is more than authentication, albeit authentication is part of the information. Informational provenance deals with questions such as who made the object, when was it made, how was it made, how was it marketed, how was it used, why did it survive, and why would someone want to own it now? Again, informational provenance is often passed along verbally, a situation which lends itself to distorting the backstory.

There is a tendency among some, especially those claiming to be experts, to make up a plausible story when faced with an admission that they do not know the answer to a question. A person’s best guess, no matter how much of an expert he/she claims to be, is no more than a guess. Its credibility needs to be questioned. Although not from Missouri, I am a show me guy. Prove it. Show me the original source. Even then, I still question the information.

When correct, provenance, acquisition, and informational backstories are positive stories, especially when the tellers have no vested interest in the consequences of the stories. As the cartoon cited at the beginning of this column shows, backstories also can be a hindrance.

[Author’s Aside: In the second panel, Zoe exclaims: “That’s Mr Jingetoes….” She assigned a personal name to the object. Non-farmers often do not understand why farmers do not name animals they plan to sell. Farmers understand that naming an animal creates a personal attachment that makes it difficult to dispose of the animal.

Do not assume for one moment that this does not happen in the antiques and collectibles trade. All objects in the trade have names. This is an Amos ‘n Andy Taxi, a Hopalong Cassidy bedspread, a Roseville pine cone centerpiece set, or a Daum Nancy cameo vase. The situation becomes more complicated when the collector informs someone that “this is my Anita and Terry King face jug.” My is possessive. It creates a connection with the object that suggests the collector views the object with the same respect as he/she gives family members. My means mine. It also means that somehow this object is different than an identical object owned by another. The collector’s backstories enhance this difference.]

When I wrote “Sell, Keep, or Toss? How to Downsize a Home, Settle an Estate, and Appraise Personal Property” (Random House, 2007), I devoted an entire chapter to how to erase the personal backstories associated with personal property so that the disposal process can proceed.

The generation that preceded me, my generation, and the one that immediately followed were blessed (depending on one’s point of view) with inheriting things that belonged to grandparents, parents, and even great aunts and uncles. We grew up with and around them. We used them. Pieces often had so many memories associated with them that seeing them go “outside the family” was unthinkable.

As a result, family heirlooms (again, a blessing or curse depending on one’s point of view) were integrated into our households to the point where old and new blended together as one. My mother’s Uncle David Prosser’s stained-glass lamp shade (alas, not Tiffany) that use to hang in his home on North Street in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, now hangs over the dining room table at my home in Kentwood, Michigan after stops in Hellertown and Vera Cruz, Pennsylvania.

When a backstory prevents disposal of an object, it is a negative rather than a positive. When my wife Linda asks “are you ready to get rid of that ____ yet?” the answer usually is no. I am fully aware that I should consider selling the object but the backstory remains so compelling. I cannot. At some point in the not too distance future, I have to start following my own advice.

The saga of Wanda’s attempt to convince Zoe to downsize her stuffed toy collection concluded in the Saturday, October 10, 2020 “Baby Blues” daily strip. Wanda and her husband Darryl are sitting on the living room couch. In panel one, Darryl asks: “So How Did the Great Stuffed Animal Purge Go?” Wanda replies: “Not Well.” In the second panel, Wanda with her eyes rolled back explains: “Zoe Talked About Her Relationship With Each One And We Ended Up Keeping Them All.” In the final panel, Darryl queries Wanda: “Funny…The Same Thing Happens When You Try to Clean Out Your Shoes In The Closet.” Screaming, Wando notes “Shoes Are Relationships, Too!”

I can relate to that; and, I am not talking about my shoes.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Selected letters will be answered in this column. Harry cannot provide personal answers. Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned. Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512. You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

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