When we purchased our 1930’s era cottage style home, most of the door knobs were of the newer style on the passage doors and older square rod style on the entryway doors, all non-descriptive. As part of the restoration we felt the need to find older style knobs and handles. Thus the Quest began. Spotting older sets is easy- look for the square hole and you’re almost sure its antique.

We purchased from our normal sources, garage sales, flea markets, antique stores and auctions. Lots of styles and materials came our way. and soon we had far too many, THEN decided to choose one kind we liked and could use throughout the place. That type is an eight sided clear glass knob on brass base. These knobs are somewhat common with a long production life starting in the 1800s and adding colors to the original clear glass.

Left over was an array of nice pieces, many quite rare, so onto our Ebay site, and into our antique mall booth the extras went. To our pleasant surprise, collecting hardware is quite the sport. Used as we have for their intended purpose, but also used in decorator displays, we have seen them mounted and framed, stuck onto boards and used as coat racks and proudly lined up in glass cases.

Some displays mounted on all types of materials including barn boards, feature other hardware pieces, hinges, door bells, knockers, and pulls.

When listing these little gems on Ebay, a basic knowledge of age, style, materials, and when possible, the manufacturer, are important to the buyer. With the limited 55 character title Ebay allows, it’s useful to have key words in the title. Our guide book is “Antique Hardware, Price Guide”, by H. Weber Wilson from Krause Publishing.

It took about two years to collect the glass style we wanted and we still don’t have all the replacements installed.

This door leads to our main first floor bath. I have purchased an adapter kit from my local large hardware store. The kit allows me to replace the latch set and newer door knobs and use the antique knobs.

A tiny button holds the interior handle in place and once removed, I can twist a screwdriver into the back plate and it pops off. That reveals two screws that are removed and on the door edge two more screws release the end plate and mechanism.

Replacing the parts may require some trimming, I had to file a top and bottom flat at the mortised end, but lucked out when the new end plate fit snuggly into the mortised slot.

The newer back plates are larger than the old style, but adapter flange enlargers, or key set door back plates can hide the larger holes. In my case

I used the old back plate on the interior and a flange extender on the outside.

Old knobs often lack the holding screws so look for spares at the time you buy your replacement mechanism and flanges.

As a very average handy man, I consider this a fun challenge, and my ½ hour job only took about 1-1/2 hour.

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Every day on our wonderful adventure we’d stop and admire the fantastic antique hardware found throughout the Cotswolds area in England. It was everywhere! Almost every home had a fancy door knocker and ornate door knobs and hinges.

Many had wrought iron railings and oftentimes you’d find a boot scraper too. Not too many of them in use in the US!

You’d also find a lot of fancy treatment around the windows, lots of leading and stained glass. And we absolutely loved those “bulls-eye” windows with a 3-dimensional center and the ‘wobbly’ glass that we always look for in all windows panes and on old framed prints too! We’ve always loved antique hardware, so it was heaven for us over in the U.K.

This manor, called “The Court” had it all – lots of wrought iron, leaded glass, a unicorn, bell pull! It makes for a marvelous presentation as you reach their home.

Hubby always tries to find items from Neenah Foundry in Wisconsin. He has a ‘step’ from an old manhole, a tie clasp with their logo which has a small man-hole cover, but these old grates almost brought tears to his eyes. I think the best present I could give him would be a “Chieftan 600” for the back yard. They sure had some interesting examples. A lot of them were very old but still very legible, in spite of their purpose.

There were quite a few wall plaques, made of plaster or concrete. This was one of our favorites.

We also loved the weathered gates and fantastic fences made of famous Cotswold Stones! They have withstood the test of time and remain beautiful and functional after virtual centuries of use.

We also loved the way many would name their homes. Many years ago we owned a house with a huge weeping willow tree. My dear hubby hung a sign that he ‘carved’ that read “Willow Haven.” Our daughters, who were 10 and 12 at the time, were appalled that we’d “name our house” and discouraged their friends from seeing it. Yet when we showed them some of the wonderful signs we found on the cottages, stores and mansions, they were duly impressed. Go figure. It shows a certain sense of belonging and sometimes a sense of humor too, to name your residence. (This year we could name our home Weed Haven.”) There is a lot of character in telling folks “We live in the “Blue Heron Cottage”, or “Serendipity Manor”, don’t you think?

There is evidently a real sense of pride when you name your residence. And often, a delightful sense of whimsy!

More on our England vacation to follow!

Here’s a phone call I recieve at least once a summer:

“Hi, Derek: I’m at this rummage sale, and they’ve got this computer thing, I think it’s a video game…The guy has ‘make an offer’ on it, and says they’re collectible. What do you think it is worth?”

Collectors of all sorts tend to hate these calls. Expertise in any field will lead to tough-to-answer questions: “It says ‘California’ on the bottom,” isn’t necessarily enough to identify a $500 pottery piece from a $5 one, and neither is the maker enough to identify the value of a computer. Adding to the confusion are people who think, just because it’s old or because someone mentioned one on TV, that it deserves a $50 pricetag. Still, I’ve gotten pretty good at getting close. No collector wants to buy something for $50, then find them for $5 on eBay, and collectible dealers don’t want to lose money on buying an expensive machine that has no resale value. Here’s my methodology for evaluating computers, both for collecting or for reselling:

1. Does it have extras with it? Whether a video game or a computer, you want to make sure it’s well accessorized. The TV videogames invariably have controllers, a plug-in, and a cord to connect it to a TV. A computer should have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, possibly a printer, scanner, modem, or other useful parts. The more parts, the more likely the machine will have everything available to make it usable.
2. Are there games/software? Modern computers don’t necessarily need to have disks along in order to test it, but it’s essential that a video console have at least one game. If the computer seems to have panels missing, exposing empty internal spaces, it may not have any software left.
3. Complete game consoles almost always have a buyer. Video gamers aren’t always looking for rarity: they simply want to play games. Nintendos and Segas, which were manufactured by the millions for a number of years, can often be bought at a rummage sale for a few dollars, and on the a collector may pay $10-$20 for it. A well-tested machine, with good controllers and everything to start playing immediately, will go higher. Due to the large number available, however, don’t expect to make hundreds off it. This even goes for older consoles like the Atari 2600 — so many exist that there’s not a rarity demand, so prices tend to stay low.
4. If it’s pre-1990s, and you don’t remember seeing a commercial for it, it’s probably valuable. Even bigger manufacturers, like Atari and Commodore, made computers and gaming systems that fell flat, didn’t sell well, and were quickly discontinued. If you’re surprised by an odd PC with the Atari logos all over, or a strange little computer with the Commodore logo on it, someone’s probably looking for it to complete their collection.
5. PCs have little to no value. This one is a little tough to gauge, because pre-1990s Amigas, Commodores, and Ataris can be quite valuable, while the Macs and PCs only have minimal value to tinkerers and repair shops for parts. The IBM-compatibles are the worst, because most are assembled from off-the-shelf parts and have no inherent rarity. 1985-1990 is a nebulous time for computers, when standardization of hardware was occuring, so fewer of the unique machines were being made. Collectors prefer machines made by individual manufacturers from original parts, not ‘clone’ machines from various makers.
6. Apples and “Classic Macs” have moderate value. Any pre-Mac Apple computer has collectible value, and the early all-in-one “Classic Macs” have a following. All fit into the nostalgia-collecting realm, where many adults today had one of these computers either at home or in school. The later the model, the less rare it is, but $20 for a “Classic Mac” isn’t an unreasonable appraisal, and older Apples (in working condition, with accessories) can be worth $100 or more.
7. $20 is the most to spend on an untested complete machine; $5 for an incomplete machine. Untested complete systems still have valuable components: power supplies, controllers, disk drives, software. Fragmented systems, such as one missing a controller or power supply, still have moderate value to people willing to take a risk on an untested piece just to get their system back up and running. If it’s a common machine, like a Nintendo or Classic Mac, you can’t expect it to be worth more than $20 in complete working condition, so no matter how clean or in nice shape it is an untested machine is still untested.
8. Anyone asking more than $10 at a rummage sale better have a good explanation why. If not, they really don’t know what it is, and cannot reliably tell you if the thing even works. The best question to ask is, “does this thing work?” with a confused look on your face. Really, it’s the best way to get an honest answer: someone in-the-know will have a long description of what the machine is and does, and a shrug or an “I don’t know” isn’t good enough.

#7 is probably the most important of the guidelines. If you’re interested enough in an old computer or video game console to consider its value, it must mean you want to play with it for a little while (don’t deny it!), and $10 is definitely cheap enough for an afternoon of entertainment. Following the rest of the rules will ensure it’s useable and entertainingly unique, and you’ll be less likely to be disappointed. Once you’ve gotten your Commodore or Atari, you can start watching rummage sales for new games, other accessories, or just know a little more about the systems next time you run across them. Vintage computers can be a lot of fun for tech-minded collectors; just make sure you don’t waste your money, and try not to call me every time you see something with cords attached to it.