Old as Adam – Antiques & Americana

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VISIT THE STORE

Old as Adam has moved to 507 Main Street in Warren, RI.

Hours: Friday and Saturday afternoons, by chance and appointment
Texting or calling in advance recommended.
Tel. 401-648-8140

THE GOODS

Out of stock

House Cabinet

$3,800
Attic Finish Game Board

$450
Tin House Store Container

$650
Out of stock

On the Bowery Painting
Out of stock

Moving House
Out of stock

Boston Insane Asylum Plate
Farmhouse Portrait

$450
Statue of Liberty Helmet

$1,250

SEE MORE OF THE GOODS

FOUND OBJECT GALLERY

AMERICANISM | Fall 2023

EXHIBITIONS

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ART WITHOUT INTENT BOOK AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

INSTAGRAMS

oldasadam

Find me set up at the Marlborough, MA antique show

Find me set up at the Marlborough, MA antique show today (Sunday, December 1). Open till 3pm at the Royal Plaza Trade Center. Learn more at @gurleyantiqueshows

Folk art lobster hooked rug, ca. 1920s. 3.5 x 2.5 feet. (Now sold.)

"My great concern is not whether you have failed,

"My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure." - Abraham Lincoln

Portrait of Lincoln transformed by extreme craquelure | oil on board | 14 x 20 inches | ca. first quarter 20th century

Ex collection of John Foster @accidentalmystery

Available. Message for details.

Cutting business hours today. The shop will be clo

Cutting business hours today. The shop will be closed Saturday, 11/9.

After my last Odd Fellows post, a (three-linked) chain of events now leads me to attend a charity event at a *not extinct* but thriving IOOF lodge in Belmont, MA. @oddfellowsfriendshiplodge is hosting a benefit marathon game day today from 10 to 10 to raise money for free children's healthcare. Come check it out: 16 Maple St, Belmont, MA

Heart-in-hand axe / Odd Fellows fraternal ritual prop / painted wood / c. mid-19th century

As an Odd Fellows fraternal symbol and ritual prop, the axe represented the need to purge oneself of the evil that prevents one from helping others, with the “Heart in Hand” representing “cheerful giving” and benevolence to those in need. The chain painted on the axe symbolize the “Triple Link Fraternity” and core values of the Odd Fellows: Friendship, Love, and Truth.

The historic command of the Odd Fellows is to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.” Founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1819, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows grew to become the largest fraternal community organization in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of members by the late nineteenth century and fraternal lodges in every state, and in some regions, every town. While the group is still in existence today, the Odd Fellows are now extinct within most of the communities their charitable and community endeavors once thrived.

(But not Belmont, MA!)

The way forward may be to find our way back. "Fri

The way forward may be to find our way back.

"Friendship, Love and Truth" folk art hand-hammered copper panel that last served to block a kitchen stove pipe hole, 17 inches square, ca. late 19th century.

As symbolized by the triple links, the panel spells out the motto of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization that once thrived in almost every community in America.

The Odd Fellows brought Americans together across class and political divides for charitable endeavors, mutual aid, and quirky collective rituals where folks would wear weirdo costumes and wield painted wooden axes to demonstrate the importance of empathetic connection and their willingness to help others in need.

As suburbanization drove Americans farther and farther apart and as consumers became ever more consumed by their radios, televisions, and smartphones, the Odd Fellows dwindled to all but extinction.

Today, what often remains as the most impressive building at the heart of many American towns - the old Odd Fellows Hall - stands in hollowed-out disrepair or gutted for luxury condos. Though their pediments may be emblazoned with the now empty symbol of the three links, the loneliness epidemic is one of the only chains that unite our communities today.

Unlike the charming goofball rituals of the Odd Fellows, the story of American social and political decline is no mystery. The way forward is no mystery either.

Snapshot of skeleton raised in place of flag, ca.

Snapshot of skeleton raised in place of flag, ca. 1930s.

Make-do democracy. We can vote to fix what's broke

Make-do democracy. We can vote to fix what's broken, and even remake the broken as something beautiful. Or we can vote to elect a sledgehammer (or abstain from voting, much the same).

The November window features all of the repaired and reimagined objects in the shop, from bricolage to tinsmith repairs.

They seem especially relevant to me now: One candidate seeks repair. The other candidate seeks only destruction and disunity, with stated intentions to shatter communities, rip up constitutional rights, and smash government services.

Vote for repair.

(Quote a riff on lyrics by @jenslekman)

Opthalmophantome bids you Happy Halloween from Old

Opthalmophantome bids you Happy Halloween from Old as Adam.

The invisible cardboard hiding in picture frames:

The invisible cardboard hiding in picture frames: one of my favorite genres of art without intent.

In the Halloween window, this cut-down. 1930s movie poster crept out from behind a print.

Now sold. (17 x 13 inches)

WPA-style plaster sculpture of a scene from the Gr

WPA-style plaster sculpture of a scene from the Great Depression...or perhaps the next Trump administration?

Nonpartisan economists estimate Trump policies will devastate the economy, reigniting inflation to over 9% while his tax cuts for the wealthy balloon the deficit by $7.5 trillion.

Somehow people seem to forget that the Democrats saved us from another Depression in 2020. And another thing: Hoovers suck.

Radiator-painted plaster. 9 inches long. Available. Message for details.

A couple of haunting objects just added to the sho

A couple of haunting objects just added to the shop:

Devil hand-carved letter opened, ca. 1900. (Available)
Former mirror, c. 1840s. (Sold)

Each $185 including ship.

As the Old as Adam shop mascot and security gull,

As the Old as Adam shop mascot and security gull, Seymore the antique taxidermy seagull keeps watch over the streets of Warren, RI. He hopes to see you at 507 Main Street for the Warren Walkabout @discoverwarren this Sunday and the next on 10/20 and 10/27.

#antiquestore #antiqueshop #storefront #rhodeisland #littlerhody #warrenri #warrenwalkabout

Instagram post 18064878283645779

Instagram post 18064878283645779

October at Old as Adam. 507 Main Street in Warren,

October at Old as Adam. 507 Main Street in Warren, RI.

Open Friday and Saturday afternoons, by chance or appointment.

#warrenri #rhodeisland #warrenwalkabout #antiquestore #halloweendecor #antiquedealer

It's apple picking season, but take care to pick f

It's apple picking season, but take care to pick from the right tree...

Rare Currier print of the “Tree of Death," ca. 1845. Watered by the Devil, the death tree bears the fruits of sin: Fornication, Anger, Vainglory, Love of Pleasure, Lasciviousness, and so on. Its timeworn state befits its rotten subject.

Professionally framed and mounted on an acid-free mat in a period lemon gold frame.

18 x 13 inches. Available.

Speaking of patina: @lastnamebadger dropped in tod

Speaking of patina: @lastnamebadger dropped in today and left with this fantastic thumb-back chair in old blue paint with a make-do replaced deerskin seat.

Open till 5 today. (Thanks, Erik!)

It's a rainy one, and though the sidewalk sign is

It's a rainy one, and though the sidewalk sign is indoors, the shop is open with plenty of other signs to see.

(All available for sale, each $345 plus ship.)

Today I had the pleasure of lecturing at @risd1877

Today I had the pleasure of lecturing at @risd1877 on a subject near and dear: patina.

Nick Heywood of @nickhausshop invited me to speak to his students at a senior furniture seminar, and we discussed several million years of human evolution, ocean plastics, the ramifications of "Shabby Chic", and how an old dish that hasn't changed at all is now something entirely different. And one student, Evan, left class as the proud new owner of a beautiful weatherbeaten Boston Rocker, ca. 1860s, sidewalk-fresh and free.

My intended takeaways:

If you consider yourself an environmentalist or an anticapitalist, designing for patina is the most important thing you can do.

Also, appreciating patina may be one of the fundamental things that makes us human.

Credits:
@leigh_keno working his magic
Make-do repaired sign chair a recent purchase from @barbary_bradley
Tongue dish from @ben_rah
Alligator chair from @killingsistergeorge (and now a favorite in my collection)

The store is open today with dozens of new finds s

The store is open today with dozens of new finds set to take flight, including this antique late 19th century homemade box kite.

Come visit. 507 Main Street in Warren, RI.

A few shots from my @threadbareshow September '24

A few shots from my @threadbareshow September '24 booth (it was such a busy show I never had a chance to post). Thanks to all who attended and see you again at @brimfield.antique.flea.market this week (you'll find me at Hertan's on Wednesday).z

@threadbareshow is for the vintage geeks. THIS SU

@threadbareshow is for the vintage geeks.

THIS SUNDAY, 9/1, kick off Brimfield Antique Flea Market Week with the best vintage clothing and antique textile show in the Northeast. Find me with these antique painted canvas carnival knockdown geeks alongside forty other vintage dealer geeks at Threadbare.

Don't miss it - last show of 2024!

THREADBARE SHOW
Vintage Clothing + Antique Textiles
Sunday, September 1 | 10:00 - 4:00
Southbridge, MA | 1 hour from Boston, 2.5 hours from NYC
40+ Dealers | Brimfield Flea Market Week

Threadbare Show features 40+ top vintage clothing and antique textile dealers selling women’s and men’s vintage clothing, quilts, textiles, accessories and more, c. 1790-1990.

Opening two days before the famous Brimfield Antique Flea Market, Threadbare brings together designers, collectors, curators, and fans of fashion and design for this one-day only event.

Vintage workwear, antique quilts, vintage couture, unexpected finds — from tapestries to tee shirts, Threadbare Show has it all.⠀

LOCATION
La Salle Reception Center
444 Main Street
Southbridge, MA

TICKETS
General Admission – $10 /// 11:00 - 4:00
Early Buyers – $25 /// 10:00 *Opening Time Change*

LEARN MORE
threadbareshow.com

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