Foothill Treasures

Following the Antique Trail to the Mother Lode

By Antoinette May Herndon

It can be just a “little” thing. A fondness for small china dogs, perhaps triggered by a childhood gift. A pipe stand say, anchored by a bull dog. Then, slowly the passion grows to include 1930s celluloid Dobermans, Limoge poodles from France, plastic pups from cracker jack boxes, crystal beagles from Bavaria. Pretty soon there are more than 300 of them. What’s a collector to do but recognize that she or he has the passion? From there, it’s either get a bigger house—a much bigger house—or start selling things. That’s what happened to Mokelumne Hill’s collector par excellence Art Novotny. First the bigger house, then a stunning career as an independent antique dealer that’s lasted some forty-five years. 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 and bring it home. Soon that lovely old piece is part of my life--until I find the perfect home for it.” Novotny sees the Sierra foothills as a foremost antique Mecca for good reasons. “Initially people come for the Mother Lode ambience. After a good lunch, maybe a night at an historic inn, they wonder into some little shop and get lucky. Maybe they find old mining tools—pans, lanterns, ore cars. Perhaps Victorian tables, china or glassware. Original Gold Rush treasures are rare but do exist. Whatever the era, look for quality and condition.” Novotny believes the area’s greatest advantage is its diversity. “If prospectors don’t find their dream commode in one shop, there are lots more sprinkled along Highway 49,” he promises. “Antique stores aren’t like supermarkets or gas stations. Owners enjoy a camaraderie that allows them to recommend other stores.”

As one who has followed the antique trail from the north end of Amador to the south end of Tuolumne, this writer surely agrees with him. There are enough true gems to fill the entire Sierra Lodestar—and not just this week’s issue. It’s almost impossible to choose between so many beguiling shops, but here’s a starter tour of just a few personal favorites. Novotny’s own domain is Creekside Shops a co-op in Sutter Creek where he shares space with some 15 other antique dealers.

Just up the street from Creekside is the Columbian Lady where a walkthrough is comparable to a tour of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum in New York or (if you can 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 is especially challenging. Though beautifully grained, it’s brittle. The artist overcame this difficulty 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.

Columbian Lady, where items reach into six figures, is indeed 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.”

The Evitts began collecting bottles because they loved them, but no stock can give that kind of return. Some old whiskey bottles are worth $75,000. Their shop, housed in the old Eureka Hotel and Bar where rooms once rented for 25 cents and up, is now also priceless.

A few miles up Highway 49’s is the Victorian Closet in tiny Amador City, a foothill highlight. Sally Knudson specializes in vintage clothing ranging in age between 1840 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”

“Joanna 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 before buying 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.” Across the river and into the trees to San Andreas we find The Barn. Expect to see gorgeous antiques of all kinds but the ancient lighting fixtures are the true show stoppers. Each lamp is an art form. It takes a lot of will power to leave this store without buying something. Owner, Herb Filben, a 50 year veteran of the antique world, has a true gift for discrimination. “It’s all right here,” he says. “I’ve traveled the four western states on countless buying trips, but found the best buys right on highway 49. Locals don’t always know what they have, but Bay Area dealers do. They come here, pay our prices, then raise the ante back home.” In addition to the antique shop, The Barn has an adjoining on-going yard sale with five active dealers.

Up the road to Angels Camp, Orphan Annie’s has everything. I mean everything! This is an emporium with more than forty dealers. If you can’t find what you want here, it doesn’t exist. Depression glass is a specialty, Blue

Willow plates and platters, antique jewelry but also dressers, beds, tables and chairs. You need to see Orphan Annie’s to believe it.

Up the road to Murphys, Bathroom Machineries has something guaranteed to yank your chain. Not only does the emporium hold antique plumbing, lighting, keys and hardware, but a resident ghost. The hundred-year-old I.O.O.F. Hall is high spirited, to say the least—just ask the folks who work there. Also check out the pre-civil war tubs and toilets—some came ‘round the Horn from England soon after the Gold Rush. You’ll also see old plumbing catalogs dating to 1893. At Pine Tree Peddlers in Sonora you’ll find—stashed between the sweet old dolls and teddy bears—an evocative collection of semi erotica. At least what once was considered erotica. Janice Quinn’s collection includes such titles as “Soiled Doves” and “The Upstairs Girls.” At Antiques Etcetera down the street, vintage clothing is a specialty. Check the ratty old furs complete with paws and tails. Personally, I don’t care for real fur, but could easily rationalize that these foxes and martins would have moved on the to the happy hunting ground a very long time ago. They seem ready to morph now into costumes on the stage or at some theme party. Etcetera also has an excellent selection of china which includes a ten-piece set of hand-painted Princess Di serving plates—surely destined to become collectors’ items.

And for last, possibly the jewel in the crown. Antique aficionados view The Emporium in Jamestown as their Mecca. The marvelous old building, steamboat Gothic, with its three stories, proud arches and balcony promenade, is a sight to behold just for itself. Inside are gorgeous green glass pieces, a merry-go-round pony, miniature jukebox, splendid oak furniture and early California pottery. Seek and ye shall find, I promise. But don’t stop there! The few stores featured here are only a tiny taste of the treasures out there waiting to be found. So many shops so little space! You’re on your own.

Vitals Creekside Shops, 22 Main St., Sutter Creek. Phone: 267-5520. Open 10 to 5 daily. Columbian Lady, 61 Main St., Sutter Creek. Phone: 267-0059. Open 12 to 4 Saturdays or by appointment.

Victorian Closet, 14170 State Highway 49, Amador City. Phone: 267-5250. Open 10 to 5 daily.

The Barn, 632 West St. Charles, San Andreas. Phone: 754-5746. Open 11 to 5 daily. Orphan Annie’s Emporium, 124 S. Main St., Angels Camp. Phone: 736-9086. Open Sunday 11 to 4. Closed Wednesdays. Open all other days from 10 to 5.

Bathroom Machineries, 495 Main St., Murphys. Phone: 728-2031. Weekdays, 8 to 5, Saturdays 10 to 4, closed Sundays.

Pine Tree Peddlers,107 S. Washington St., Sonora. Phone: 533-2356. Open seven days a week from 10 to 5.

Antiques Etcetera, 18 S. Washington St., Sonora. Phone: 532-9544. Open daily, ten to five.

The Emporium, 18180 Main St., Jamestown. Phone: 984-0262. Open every day but Tuesday, 10 to 5. aherndon@sierralodestar.com

You have pictures that I took—vintage wedding dresses at the Victorian Closet, also one of Sally Knudson. I understand that you’re also taking some at the Emporium and Bathroom Machineries.