Married To . . .
Relicman
My husband Harry deals in Civil War military relics and runs a webpage called relicman.com. Being married to Relicman is always interesting, sometimes hilarious, and other times mystifying.
His webpage is huge with many, many listings of old buttons, guns, swords, buckles, money, artillery and other accouterments of the time.
The part that mystifies me is how many devoted fans he has. If he adds a bunch of new items, the phone starts ringing almost immediately. These guys (most of them are men) must just sit around watching his page for new listings or maybe they have some sort of program that alerts them to updated content? They want to be the first to get something or other.
The part that mystifies me is how many devoted fans he has. If he adds a bunch of new items, the phone starts ringing almost immediately. These guys (most of them are men) must just sit around watching his page for new listings or maybe they have some sort of program that alerts them to updated content? They want to be the first to get something or other.
He sells all over the world. Sometimes the cost of shipping a cannonball (always unarmed) to Australia exceeds the cost of the ball, but the buyer wants it anyway. He regularly sells antique bullets to a collector in Poland. These guys are fanatics!
One time we were in an elevator in a motel in Charleston, S.C. A guy gets on the elevator, takes a look at him, and says, “Aren’t you Relicman?” He also recognized me from my picture on the webpage and asked how the dogs, also shown on the page, were doing. We couldn’t decide if we were famous or notorious.
I go with him to relic shows in various locations around the South and the Mid-Atlantic area. Imagine table after table of Civil War relics with a few tables of books about the Civil War interspersed. Surprise, I enjoy looking at the books. Harry likes me to go to shows with him so I can watch his tables while he walks around looking at everyone else’s stuff. We are friends with many of the vendors and enjoy seeing them at the shows.
Most of the vendors know each other’s merchandise so they are mainly looking to see what is new on each other’s tables. For one show, we took along a collection we had newly purchased from the widow of a man who had dug relics and kept everything. It was like a feeding frenzy at our tables. Our fellow vendors (I don’t think the regular show customers got much of a chance.) mobbed the tables and wanted to examine everything because it was inventory they had not seen before. We sold a lot of stuff.
One time we were in an elevator in a motel in Charleston, S.C. A guy gets on the elevator, takes a look at him, and says, “Aren’t you Relicman?” He also recognized me from my picture on the webpage and asked how the dogs, also shown on the page, were doing. We couldn’t decide if we were famous or notorious.
I go with him to relic shows in various locations around the South and the Mid-Atlantic area. Imagine table after table of Civil War relics with a few tables of books about the Civil War interspersed. Surprise, I enjoy looking at the books. Harry likes me to go to shows with him so I can watch his tables while he walks around looking at everyone else’s stuff. We are friends with many of the vendors and enjoy seeing them at the shows.
Most of the vendors know each other’s merchandise so they are mainly looking to see what is new on each other’s tables. For one show, we took along a collection we had newly purchased from the widow of a man who had dug relics and kept everything. It was like a feeding frenzy at our tables. Our fellow vendors (I don’t think the regular show customers got much of a chance.) mobbed the tables and wanted to examine everything because it was inventory they had not seen before. We sold a lot of stuff.
Harry knows much arcane information about Civil War arms. People love to listen to him talk on and on and on about this artillery shell vs. that artillery shell, etc. He has explained many technical details to me but I forget it almost immediately. He can’t understand why. My explanations that I don’t really care about the difference between a lead and a brass sabot seems to hurt his feelings.
My main experience with trade shows was going to national library conventions and visiting the library exhibitors. Big difference! The biggest one is there are never any lines for the ladies room at Civil War relic shows!
You know when your husband carries cannonballs and artillery shells in and out of shows, he can never tell you that something is too heavy for him to carry. Fortunately, he has figured out the best way to carry heavy stuff.
I imagine it is worse being married to a doctor or a lawyer, but there a lot of people out there looking for free advice. We get calls at least several times a week with a statement such as they have this cannonball that looks just like the one on Relicman except for a few minor details like the weight and the fuse hole. People watch Antique Roadshow and other similar programs and think they have a hugely expensive Civil War relic. Most of the items are not worth that much, some are not Civil War, and you really have to examine others closely to tell. Just like any antique, condition and provenance make a big difference. But the callers all want to know right now on the phone how much their item is worth!
Because some Civil War relics can command very high prices, people are making fake buckles or taking a relatively cheap button and changing it to be a more expensive one.
Some folks take reproduction items and doctor them to look old. People hate to be told that they bought a fake, and Harry always advises them to get another opinion. Don’t shoot the messenger!
Some individuals think that they have found an old cannonball around their house. Some people have been lucky. Other people have brought to us for identification:
My main experience with trade shows was going to national library conventions and visiting the library exhibitors. Big difference! The biggest one is there are never any lines for the ladies room at Civil War relic shows!
You know when your husband carries cannonballs and artillery shells in and out of shows, he can never tell you that something is too heavy for him to carry. Fortunately, he has figured out the best way to carry heavy stuff.
I imagine it is worse being married to a doctor or a lawyer, but there a lot of people out there looking for free advice. We get calls at least several times a week with a statement such as they have this cannonball that looks just like the one on Relicman except for a few minor details like the weight and the fuse hole. People watch Antique Roadshow and other similar programs and think they have a hugely expensive Civil War relic. Most of the items are not worth that much, some are not Civil War, and you really have to examine others closely to tell. Just like any antique, condition and provenance make a big difference. But the callers all want to know right now on the phone how much their item is worth!
Because some Civil War relics can command very high prices, people are making fake buckles or taking a relatively cheap button and changing it to be a more expensive one.
Some folks take reproduction items and doctor them to look old. People hate to be told that they bought a fake, and Harry always advises them to get another opinion. Don’t shoot the messenger!
 |
| None of these are cannonballs! |
Some individuals think that they have found an old cannonball around their house. Some people have been lucky. Other people have brought to us for identification:
- Mill balls--they are not fully round.
- Round balls off the top of fence posts or bedposts--also are not fully round and are thin-walled with a big hole at the bottom.
- Round weights--usually not round.
See, I have picked up some arcane knowledge along the way!
But
Don’t call me Mrs. Relicman
Or Relicwoman!
No comments:
Post a Comment