MINING THE MOTHER LODE FOR ANTIQUE TREASURES By Antoinette May

When you think hot ticket antiques, you could check out Sotheby’s in New York, Butterfield & Butterfield Auctioneers in San Francisco or you might drop by Columbia Lady in Sutter Creek.

Amador County has some 40 antique shops tucked into a five-mile radius Every store has something rare and wonderful to offer, but Columbia Lady is comparable to a tour of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or the (if you could get in!) the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House.

Russ and Dolly Evitt are justifiably proud of their furniture created by John Henry Belter, the premier cabinetmaker of the mid-19th century rococo revival. Carving and lamination of woods—primarily rosewood from India and Brazil—was the primary characteristic of Belter’s work. Rosewood, though beautifully grained, is brittle.

The artist overcame this by laminating thin sheets of rosewood together, gluing and bending sheets in layers of opposing of opposing grains. He patented the procedure, saying that the lamination process was by no means his invention but his approach to it was.

Visiting Columbia Lady, where items reach into six figures, is like going to a museum where some lucky people actually buy things. The Evitts began their career by accident when Dolly Evitt turned up a piece of crockery on a friend’s ranch. Library research identified the piece as a Chinese rice wine container.

Collecting old whiskey bottles became a hobby, then a passion. “We’re like archaeologists,” Russ Evitt says. “Just a piece of a bottle will tell us everything. Historical flasks—old whiskey bottles—were the original take-out. People leaving a bar would buy a bottle for the road. There’s always something distinctive about them—like George Washington’s face.

“We began collecting because we loved them, but no stock could give that

kind of return. Some old whiskey bottles are worth $75,000.”

The Evitts’ shop, housed in the old Eureka Hotel and Bar where rooms once rented for 25 cents and up, is also priceless.

Art Novotny, an antique dealer for the past 40 years, is another collector with a passion. Eventually, he says, you either get a bigger house—a much bigger house—or start selling things. Today he’s active at Creekside Shops, a co-op of some 14 dealers, also in Sutter Creek.

It’s easy to see that Novotny, a gentle, elegant man with a shock of silver hair, loves what he does. “I see a beautiful carved bedstead or a Tiffany lamp at an auction or estate sale. Soon that lovely old piece is part of my life--until I find the perfect home for it.”

The Co-op is wonderful for one stop shopping. Each dealer has his or her own specialty, but it goes beyond that. If prospectors don’t find their dream commode in the Co-op, there are lots more shops sprinkled along Highway 49. Antique stores aren’t like supermarkets or gas stations. Owners enjoy a camaraderie that allows them to recommend other stores.”

One of Highway 49’s highlights is the Victorian Closet in tiny Amador City. Sally Knudson specializes in vintage clothing ranging between 1860 to 1930. Knudson sells Edwardian gowns, flapper dresses, Gay Nineties dusters, Victorian capes—you name it.

Everything old is new again. Drew Barrymore and Andy McDowell wore Victorian Closet outfits in the movie, “Bad Girls.” The film fashion designer Joanna Johnston, came to the Victorian Closet looking for textiles and buttons and created a gown for Mary Steenburgen to wear in “Back to the Future—II”

“She bought 30 fabulous buttons and created a marvelous dress that Steenburgen wore in all of two minutes screen time,” Knudson recalls. She has pleasant memories of the designer who gave her a complete course on fabric in one hour and then bought an antique quilt for her mother.

Knudson is another dealer with a passion. “I’m always looking for that rare jewel, that wonderful thing that’s out there—the search just makes my life,” she says. “Last year I came home from Europe with two whalebone corsets and antique lace from Brussels. Finding treasures like that just made my trip. Of course they sold immediately. That’s the trouble—but the joy is in the finding.”

A treasure hunt through the Gold Country should begin with the Amador County Museum in Jackson. Once the home of Judge Armstead Brown, the historic museum provides both an insightful documentary of a vanished era and a thoughtful orientation of what to look for on the antique trail.

Georgia Fox, the museum curator, has added many lively touches. No one should miss the bordello room—a colorful facet of Jackson history. The town’s first bordello opened in 1850. The enterprise flourished freely until 1956 when Edmund G. Brown, then lieutenant governor, attempted to stop it. Some traditions die hard and it wasn’t until 1968 that the government had its way with spirited Jackson. Today museum visitors can view a madam’s housecoat and well trod red carpet.

The museum has relics from Judge Brown’s past—the “fainting couch” from his law office and a walking cane that concealed a 32 caliber gun. Other gems include an extensive collection of Indian artifacts, a grand piano that came round the Horn for use by a Volcano music teacher, a telling collection Victorian memorabilia and a restroom that’s a working exhibit.

WHEN YOU GO

Amador Country Museum, 225 Church St., Jackson. Hours, 10 to 4 Wednesday through Sunday. Phone: 223-6386.

Creekside, 22 Main St., Sutter Creek. Hours, 10 to 5 daily. Phone: 267-5520.

Columbia Lady. 61 Main St., Sutter Creek. Hours, 12 to 4 Saturdays or by appointment. Phone: 267-0059.

Victorian Closet, 14176 hwy. 49, Amador City. Hours, 10 to 5 daily. Phone: 267-5250.

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