Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: Seeking History and Hidden Gems in Flea Market America "A tour d'horizon of the world of antiques, from flea markets to antique shows to auction houses, with stopovers at eBay and Antiques Roadshow. . . a treasure-trove of a book."Kirkus Reviews.
News-Antique.com - Jun 07,2011 - "Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: Seeking History and Hidden Gems in Flea-Market America, will be released by Penguin Press on June 9, 2011. Award-winning nonfiction writer Maureen Stanton shadowed self-taught master antiques dealer, Curt Avery, over a period of five years intermittently working flea markets and high-end antiques shows with him, sitting at auctions as he offered a blow-by-blow of the action, rising at dawn to set up for shows, only to tear down the booth for a different show the next day. Between the lively and often comic scenes, Stanton weaves in background on the history of auctions, collecting, flea markets, fakes and frauds, with micro-biographies of fascinating antiques and objects like opium bottles, Windsor chairs, six-board chests, Ouija boards, forks, comic books, marbles, and objects of the macabre, like shrunken human heads. Several other dealers tell their stories, including a master "restoration" expert, and a dealer who trolls eBay for "mistakes," tripling what he earned selling antiques the "old-fashioned way." "Killer Stuff and Tons of Money" tells the story of antiques from ther insider perspective of an itinerant dealer, a working class hero who overcame personal troubles and through years of research, study, apprenticeship and an often grueling schedule of shows, transformed his love for objects and history into a life of passion and adventure.
Ellen Ruppel shell, author of "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Living," wrote of "Killer Stuff": “Treasure seekers will find plenty in this penetrating and lyrical account of flea market culture. From the provenance of the Ouija board, to where to find the greatest ‘steals’ in antiques, 'Killer Stuff and Tons of Money' is chock full of wit, wisdom and surprises. As Stanton's colorful protagonist puts it, ‘gold is where you find it,’ and this book hits the mother lode.”
