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Discover Mid-America — July 2006
How does your merchandise smell?
People who can't carry a tune or who are oblivious to noxious noises are described as having a "tin ear." As discussed in previous columns, some people in the trade (buyers as well as sellers) seem to have a "glass eye" that renders them, apparently, incapable of telling quality merchandise from junk. Well some sellers in the trade also have, what could be called, a "wooden nose." This leads me to consider the worst of smells encountered in antique shops with some tips for getting rid of them.
Cigarette smoke
Cigarette smoke leaches into wood, wall plaster, textiles and fabrics, ephemera, pottery, painting canvas and anything else that isn't strictly non-porous. Smokers build up a tolerance to these cumulative effects — in no small part because nicotine dulls the senses of smell and taste. In other words, many smokers can't smell how bad it smells.
I've heard that putting out dishes of vinegar prevents cigarette odor from setting in, but then I guess your place might smell like a pickle shop!
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| Painting canvas is one of the porous items that easily absorb the odor of cigarettes. Lucky for me, this painting of Vermont's Mount Ascutney by listed artist Hazel Kitts Wires, recently purchased at auction, didn't have that problem. (photo by the author.) |
Even from shops where the owner doesn't smoke, retail customers and dealers buying for resale may find themselves the ambivalent owners of smoke-tainted items from former owners. As a remedy, some people swear by Fabreeze air freshener spray. Baking soda liberally sprinkled and left to set a day before vacuuming is also said to take the cigarette odor out of curtains, rugs and upholstered furniture.
Of course, nothing works in odor control like getting rid of the source. If dealers who smoke inside their shops only knew how much potential business they lose from the unmistakable and persistent smell of cigarettes, that knowledge alone might make a great smoking reduction incentive.
Mold and mildew
This is a particular problem for old books and ephemera. Much of this material has been in storage in leaky attics and damp cellars. One of my favorite group shops has a booth that sells old magazines. The odor of mold permeates the entire aisle. Now, I haven't much interest in ephemera for ephemera's sake, but I am interested in some of the china and glass in booths that adjoin this one. Nevertheless, I find myself quickening my step through that section just to get away from the smell.
Large lots of mold-tainted stuff are probably best consigned to the incinerator. Important individual items can be rehabbed by taking a large, brown paper grocery stack and filling it very loosely with crumpled newspaper. Then insert the item to be fumigated in among the newspapers. Roll the sack closed and wait a couple of days. Something in the chemical composition of newsprint leeches the musty odor out of old documents. You may have to repeat the application a few times, depending on how bad the smell is, changing the newspapers each time. (You'll know it's "working" because the newspaper you remove will smell of the odor it's absorbing.) Particularly stubborn cases may also need sprinkling baking soda or dry/unused coffee among the crumpled newspapers.
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| I acquired my expertise in 20th century Spanish porcelain by buying up old catalogues and other retail documents important for reconstructing Lladru's early history since the company didn't keep detailed production records until well into the 1980s. Pictured here is the cover of a 1971 retail catalog from a Lladru dealer in Ireland that I purchased a few years ago on eBay. Luckily, I wanted it for the information rather than the ephemera value, so the minor water damage — undeclared, of course, in the auction description — wasn't a problem. What was a problem was the pungent musty smell the item gave off even at a distance. I managed to cure the problem after repeated immersions in crumpled newspaper, stuffed into a brown paper bag into which I had also liberally sprinkled some dried coffee and baking soda. (photo by the author.) |
Special precautions have to be taken with visible, fuzzy mold growth on old books. First, the stuff spreads, so you should quarantine affected items. Then, you can't just get rid of the smell; you have to get rid of the mold itself.
The temptation here is to take a dry cloth and just try to wipe off the mold. Don't do it. All that does is grind the spores deeper into the paper. The mold should be dry before removal, which should be done outdoors with a light brush or, if indoors, with a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter that will trap the spores.
For more extensive tips on conservation of mold-infected ephemera, check out the great technical leaflet, "Emergency Salvage of Moldy Books and Paper," at the web site of the Northeast Document Conservation Center (www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf39.htm).
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| This little set of vellum-bound books on The Art of Writing & Speaking the English Language by Sherwin Cody has a publication date of 1922. The covers are just the sort of thing to attract mold spores. Indeed, I noted what might have been old spores on the spine of one of them when I took them down to photograph them. I did what the experts said I could do with dried spores, brushing them away with a soft brush. My favorite of this little series has the subtitle Dictionary of Errors. How times have changed! Cody tells us that the word "gentleman" is not to be used as a synonym for "man": "That man (not 'gentleman') over there will put your coal into the cellar." Furthermore, "[t]he abbreviation ‘gent’ is extremely vulgar." We are also told that "'woman'" is to be preferred to “lady” in ordinary circumstances. “Saleslady” is ridiculous." [photo by the author.] |
Mothballs
This was another pet peeve of the reader who contacted me. I'm not especially put off myself by this smell, but it is admittedly very strong as smells go, and it actually makes some people sick. All things considered, eau de moth repellant isn't likely to be a selling point for vintage clothing or fabrics.
Let's face it, though, folks have been using mothballs for generations without smelling like they have. A good airing on an outside line is the oldest and simplest remedy for removing this distinctive "winter storage" smell. Bad cases can be soaked with a half cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar along with the regular detergent, then, after a couple of hours, run through the regular wash cycle.
Even woolens can be safely run through the dryer on the air-dry setting for ten or fifteen minutes along with a fabric softener sheet that contains Fabreeze — a modern "miracle cure" for a variety of offensive odors.
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| Hand-embroidered tea towels are a lost art, and that enhances their appeal — though not if they stink of mildew, mothballs or cigarette smoke. (photo by the author.) |
Musty carpets
Antique Oriental carpets made with natural fibers and dyes can smell almost gamy after being exposed to water or dampness — much as one might expect live sheep or goats to smell after a rain!
If you find yourself faced with the challenge of deodorizing a carpet like this before you sell it, you can try the other remedies mentioned here — the bowl of vinegar (near not on the rug!), the baking soda, the Fabreeze (if you dare a non-organic solution on such a rug).
Frankly, the rugs for sale that I've seen (smelled!) with this problem had all been professionally cleaned at least once, so I'm not sure that anything but repeated professional cleaning will eliminate this problem. The best way to deal with this problem is not to have to deal with it: When considering a rug for resale, mind the smell!
Whether it's rugs or paper, textiles or pottery, the one great advantage that live antiques sales venues will always have over the online auction is the "total shopping experience.” That means an experience that engages all five senses without offending any of them.
Peggy Whiteneck is a writer and collector living in East Randolph, VT. If you would like to suggest a topic she can address in her column, email her at allwrite@sover.net.
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