A friend and a part-time collectibles dealer kept telling me to be on the lookout for modern furniture, lamps and smalls (things you can carry in one hand). I looked online at photos of misshapen furniture, odd looking lamps and other “collectibles” from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. I couldn’t believe the prices that these things were getting.

Doing my rounds one day, I found myself in a little second-hand store in Boston. In the far corner, they had piled high a couple of sets of furniture. On the top of the heap was some furniture that looked to me to be outdoor metal chaise lounge type things and matching chairs and foot rests. Turns out, it was aluminum, iron and brass. The set on the bottom was a green metal. Thin and curvy metal formed chairs and tables. I looked closer at the furniture on the bottom and realized it was patinated bronze. The whole set was made of bronze, glass tops and torn fiber seats. I asked the manager what he needed on the pile and he told me $1000. Sure, I’ll buy it. Don’t know what it is but I can probably scrap the metal to get my money back if need be.

I couldn’t fit it all in my Honda CR-V so I just took a few chairs. I got home, took some photos and emailed them to my friend. What did I just buy I asked him. He shot back a message that I had bought some of the most desirable modernist furniture- Dan Johnson’s Gazelle in Bronze. Made in Italy by an American designer in the 1950’s.

Renting a U-Haul and a second guy to help me cart it off, I got it home the next day.

Doing my research, now that I had a name, I found that Brad Pitt collected this furniture. I had a five foot table (only eight were known to exist, I now had the ninth). Four chairs that went with it and two round gargoyle tables. Plus the outdoor aluminum set.

My friend wanted to see it in person. Oh, and can he bring some friends. Sure. Come on by. The friends turned out to be collectors and made me an offer of $40,000 as soon as they saw it. A few problems though. I had already contacted an auction house in Chicago and they were sending a truck to pick it up. And, I thought the set would do upwards of $60,000. Auctions can do that. Bidding wars are fun for the seller.

After talking it over with my wife, I decided to put it in the auction. I reasoned that there’s a huge difference between someone offering $40K and later them putting $40K in your hand. We’ll, the two sets ended up doing in the mid $30,000 range. Oh well.

I would do the same thing to this day.