What is Vintage? and What is Antique ?

What is the difference between something ‘vintage’ and a true antique? The question can really be answered in two ways.

For many centuries things were passed on for use if no new technology had made something outdated or the family budget did not allow for new household or farming objects to be purchased. Families passed down the ‘tools of the trade’ to those taking over the family business. Things were generally used until they broke. Wealthier families had objects created simply for their beauty or value as art. Many times those who were creative added decorative accents to everyday objects they created for everyday use.

The term ‘antique’ referred simply to a variety of products from pottery to art work produced in the ancient world. These were the crafts and household objects of the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. These things were considered mysterious and exotic to those in Europe. During the Renaissance things that did not have a religious connotation, but had human cultural value were sought by the educated classes and even the Church. Nobility and academics began to catalog and collect “antiquities”.

During the 1800’s in this country when we were about to celebrate our first hundred years people became interested in the objects and homesteads of our earliest settlers. Objects that had belonged to colonials became family heirlooms. Hand crafted household objects and decorative objects became very collectable to middle class Victorians who many times displayed these object in ‘curios’. These objects were not brought in antique shops, they were purchased in ‘curiosity shops’ that are the equivalent to upscale thrift stores today where people look for “vintage ‘ goods.

Eventually historical societies and museums established what is now called the ‘elitist’ rule. It was a rule that ‘antiques’ were items produced for household, farming , or commercial use manufactured before 1820 the recognized start of the industrial revolution. This rule applied to art rather it was what we would consider ‘good’ or not. It was applied to poorly made objects as well of things of good craftsmanship. Things that reminded folks of simpler times now were considered valuable.

The government at the turn of the century helped us finally officially decide what was antique and what was vintage. There are not custom taxes paid on objects over a hundred years old. The hundred year rule is a good way to decide if something is truly antique, even if it tells you nothing of its value. Things used in our grandparent’s youth can be considered ‘vintage’ and the things we pass on from our grandparents to our children are ‘antique’. Something that is simply a reproduction of an older item is many times also called ‘vintage’ so a name alone cannot tell you if something has value based on age. If you are buying something simply for a look then consider reproductions. If you are seriously planning to collect certain kinds of antique crafts join a group of fellow collectors and read up on your type of collecting. Investing in antiques for financial gain is risky business and is something you should do only if you gain a certain expertise and have the money to spare.

Remember before you pitch that glass bird your Aunt Hilda gave you last Christmas that you said you liked when you were eight and now think is hideous, it is something that your grandchild might treasure and display fifty years from now. The ancient Roman housewife had no idea that that pot she never liked and put in the fire pit; is now a prized piece in a museum exhibit.