Jan and John Maggs Antiques

Feature

For nearly 100 years The Magazine Antiques has been an important source of information about antiques and the antiques trade. Many dealers and collectors consult back issues for information relevant to their collections or research.

Several years ago we set out to put together our own full run of the magazine from its premier issue in January 1922 to the present. We bought partial collections and single copies whenever they filled gaps in our set. Finally, with the help of eBay, we managed to complete our run. In the process we had acquired several hundred duplicates. Realizing that there were many others who were, like ourselves, assembling collections or looking for specific issues, we attempted to make our overstock available to others.

At first we took small piles to shows and put single copies in our shop. But ultimately it was our website and a few fortuitous contacts that made our inventory accessible. By last year, with a searchable inventory of more than 5,000 copies, we considered ourselves the best source for back issues of the magazine. You might, then, imagine our surprise when, after making a purchase on eBay, we went to the seller's other items and discovered not only a full year of The Magazine Antiques but the claim that they were "the largest supplier of back issues of The Magazine Antiques."

Convinced that we, in fact, owned that distinction, we wrote an e-mail to the dealer describing our enterprise.  Shortly, we received a very pleasant reply, containing the following:

For many years, and until recently, we had about 15,000 -- 18,000 issues of The Magazine Antiques.  Over the years, we sold several full runs and hundreds of individual issues.  At this point, we have decided to retain the 1920s, 30s, and 40s and specialize in those early years.  We will sell individual issues and can undoubtedly supply just about any from that three-decade period.

In a subsequent e-mail the dealers told us that they were retiring, their home was for sale, and they were hoping to find someone who would buy their inventory of magazines and carry on their work. To expedite the matter they made us, as they say, an offer we couldn't refuse.

There was, however, one problem: the magazines were in Morristown, New Jersey. Actually, there was a second problem: five thousand back issues weighed at least 2 tons.

Against all reason, we decided to to buy their inventory and make a trip to Morristown to pick them up. Since we had just sold a highboy that needed to be delivered to a collector in Philadelphia, it seemed convenient to combine the two errands. We left Conway early in the morning and drove straight to Philadelphia, dropped off the highboy, and headed north to Morristown.

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Most of the inventory was stored in a nearby garage, but there were "a few" issues in the house. We went to the house first, and by the time we had loaded the magazines that were there, it was apparent that one trip would not be enough. We drove to the garage, loaded about one third of its contents, and decided that our van would safely hold mo more.

Approaching the limit

We set off for home. Since our rear tires were somewhat compressed, our tailpipe was nearly dragging on the ground, and our front wheels were practically airborne, we kept our speed at a conservative fifty-five miles per hour.

Groan!

 The three-to-four hour drive took us nearly six, but we arrived safely home with the first half of our treasure. The next morning we unpacked our load and separated it into four large, sprawling piles: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and everything else.

Pre-sort, phase 1

Two weeks later we were able to make the second trip, and once again we came home heavily loaded. But the garage in Morristown was empty, and we now owned multiple copies of the rarest, early issues of the magazine.

We spent every moment of the three weeks surrounding our Fall trip to England sorting them by month and year and storing them in cardboard filing boxes. When the project was finished, we found that our new acquisitions totaled more than 7600 issues, plus several dozen bound volumes. As we filed, we drew on our existing inventory and our new stock to assemble a full run. When the final tally was complete, we discovered that we had increased our holdings of single, unbound copies to over 12,500.

Final sort, January to June 1946

 We built several sets of shelving to contain them and have dedicated two large areas of our barn for storage.

A small part of our current stock

For a listing of our inventory and prices, CLICK HERE.

If you would like to own a full run of The Magazine Antiques, CLICK HERE.

For another story about The Magazine Antiques and how we developed this avocation, CLICK HERE.

Click on the picture of our shop to return to this month's newsletter.