Living with antiques: A house in the North Carolina Piedmont

Magazine Antiques, Dec, 1997 by Elisabeth D. Garrett

This house in the North Carolina Piedmont is small and unassuming from the outside, but it is deceptively expansion in plan. The owner, who is well versed in American arts by education and experience, has been collecting since he was twelve years old. Over the years he has concentrated on American furniture, shirred and hooked rugs, English and German ceramics, and toys (with a particular fondness for camels). Most recently he has focused on dollhouses, which link his interests in architecture, interiors, and furnishings.

The owner learned from his parents not only to appreciate antiques but also to share them with others. Indeed, no collector has been more generous with his house, his collection, his knowledge, and his hospitality. A British visitor to the American South in the 1950s remarked that southern houses and tables "are all made of india-rubber, and stretch to any extent." Those fortunate enough to know the owner of this collection would happily attest that his is such a house and such a table, alive and well in North Carolina some 140 years later.