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IT'S THE RARE BUSINESS in which merchants can find a silver lining in having fewer customers. But then, antique dealers specialize in the rare.
A slowdown in the antiques market - which led, in part, to a bankruptcy filing last month by owners of a 57th Street skyscraper that houses an underground antiques mall - has meant lean times for dealers. But it has made their job a little more satisfying by driving out less-dedicated customers. Antiques is a business that you have to love for more than money, dealers say.
Especially today. "All of us are grasping at any good news," looking for the least flicker of an uptick in business, said Chris Jussel of Vernay & Jussel, an 85-year-old firm on Madison Avenue.
The sizzle that made the world of antiques a steamy place during the 1980s cooled to a slow simmer as the 1990s dawned - although recently, dealers say, there has been a slight upturn. The mad rush to own the old had pushed up prices for everything from Biedermeier to Barbies. This may have helped sales, but it hurt traditional collectors who couldn't shell out big bucks for antiques and collectibles at inflated prices.
The stock market crash, the recession and war jitters drove away the instant millionaires who wanted to acquire a patina of sophistication by owning antiques, dealers say.
"We've returned to our classic customer: a person of wealth who wants to furnish his own home with nice, old things," Jussel said. "You don't see today the mister and the missus, the mister with his two assistants, the missus with her one decorator and his...