Killer Stuff and Tons of Money by Maureen Stanton

In the words of a Kirkus reviewer, Killer Stuff is a “tour d’horizon” of a subculture spawned by our abundant material culture and the almost primal urge to acquire and preserve.Īlthough Stanton recalls her mother doing a bit of frugal trash-picking in her youth, she didn’t become interested in the more sophisticated world of antiques dealing until 2000, when Avery, an old friend from college, flew to Ohio where she was in graduate school, to attend an antiques auction Stanton went with him. It’s also the story of her friend and guide, Curt Avery (the name is an alias). It’s a work of literary journalism-the story of her immersion in the world of flea markets and auctions, of finding treasure and uncovering its worth. Stanton’s book isn’t at all a how-to for getting rich buying and selling antiques. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read about all that stuff.īut by the end of the first chapter, I was hooked.

Skeptical because the subject hit too close to home for someone married to a historian who frequents virtual and real auctions and brings home more hidden “gems” than we have room for. (the Penguin Press, 2011), I was intrigued yet slightly skeptical: intrigued because the first part of the title so perfectly evokes the secret hopes of millions of flea-market junkies, eBay addicts, and fans of Antiques Roadshow.

When I first saw the title of Maureen Stanton’s book, Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: An Insider’s Look at the World of Flea Markets, Antiques, and Collecting

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money by Maureen Stanton