Wednesday, May 01, 2019
I've been looking at estate sales listed on a website. Most are the type where you go and fight the crowds hoping to get what you want. A smaller number are actual auctions- which is how I obtained my new/old secretary and the two bird paintings.
Anyways, from an archaeological/anthropological viewpoint the sales tell me a lot about late 20th and early 21st century Arizonans. It seems that most people, especially those in retirement communities, get rid of everything but a handful of family heirlooms when they move to Arizona. They then proceed to decorate in "Southwest." Pastel fabrics, often striped. The same three or four prints (roadrunner, Native American woman sitting down, etc.). They purchase modern Native American pottery and Mexican crafts. I guess it would be comforting to visit your next door neighbor and see the same junk that you have in your own home. I wonder how many of these immigrants to Arizona who decorate in "Mexican" (of course bought in Tucson or Tubac) voted for Trump?
You also see the stuff the kids don't want. Complete sets of china. Fancy glassware. All of those "Southwest" and "Mexican" art pieces. The "collectibles"- Franklin mint plates, Hummel figurines, Lladro figurines, dolls. Plus the usual books, Christmas ornaments, garden pots and decorations, and travel souvenirs. Sometimes you learn something about the people whose house contents are being sold. This one liked to sew quilts. This one collected stamps. This one did wood-working.
Towards the end of the photos you see the grim reality of why estate sales are held. The walkers, wheelchairs, potty chairs, and unopened packages of adult diapers.
Of course when I die off some day whoever gets to go through my house will probably have an estate sale because, honestly, who would want the stuff I have? One of my nephews might want some of the family heirlooms, but the rest of the stuff will be pawed over by people, some of whom will probably talk about what a bunch of junk I had.
Anyways, from an archaeological/anthropological viewpoint the sales tell me a lot about late 20th and early 21st century Arizonans. It seems that most people, especially those in retirement communities, get rid of everything but a handful of family heirlooms when they move to Arizona. They then proceed to decorate in "Southwest." Pastel fabrics, often striped. The same three or four prints (roadrunner, Native American woman sitting down, etc.). They purchase modern Native American pottery and Mexican crafts. I guess it would be comforting to visit your next door neighbor and see the same junk that you have in your own home. I wonder how many of these immigrants to Arizona who decorate in "Mexican" (of course bought in Tucson or Tubac) voted for Trump?
You also see the stuff the kids don't want. Complete sets of china. Fancy glassware. All of those "Southwest" and "Mexican" art pieces. The "collectibles"- Franklin mint plates, Hummel figurines, Lladro figurines, dolls. Plus the usual books, Christmas ornaments, garden pots and decorations, and travel souvenirs. Sometimes you learn something about the people whose house contents are being sold. This one liked to sew quilts. This one collected stamps. This one did wood-working.
Towards the end of the photos you see the grim reality of why estate sales are held. The walkers, wheelchairs, potty chairs, and unopened packages of adult diapers.
Of course when I die off some day whoever gets to go through my house will probably have an estate sale because, honestly, who would want the stuff I have? One of my nephews might want some of the family heirlooms, but the rest of the stuff will be pawed over by people, some of whom will probably talk about what a bunch of junk I had.
