A critic, who declined to divulge his name, was outraged when he saw a pair of bronze candlesticks with one stripped of its patina in the space of a dealer at the Torrance Antique Street Faire. As far as he is concerned, sellers should not clean items. It should be left up to the buyer or collector. ”He lost all of the build-up on them,” said the critic of the dealer. He adds that 19th century Americana, like these candlesticks, are reproduced in China. When old ones are cleaned, they end up looking like cheap reproductions. This is particularly true when it comes to metal items. ”All the age and history is gone here,” he added. “One thing collectors want to see is original surface wear.” An apolitical passerby felt that the whole situation could have been remedied if the dealer had just cleaned both. Leaving one with the dark patina from age left him open to criticism by staunch cleaning conservatives. The critic, a collector of rare books, 19th century photographs, and Native American antiques, claimed he would have paid a couple of hundred dollars for them if there patina had been left intact. But now, he feels they have lost all collectibility and he wouldn’t be willing to pay $1 for them.
