Lester Sherman, age 15, of Haggerstown, Md., for his question:
WHEN IS IT AN ANTIQUE AND WHEN IS IT JUNK?
An item of junk is an old or discarded object that is considered to be worthless. An antique is an old and valuable art object, furniture piece or a useful article that is no longer in production.
Antique dealers can't agree on how old something must be before they consider it an antique. As a general rule, however, most of them say that it takes about 100 years to make an outdated item an antique. Other dealers accept as antique an item that may be only 50 years old.
But age isn't really the only important factor in deciding whether an item is a piece of useless junk or a treasured antique. Most often, an item may be valued because it is a fine example of the craftsman's skill, because it is rare or because it serves as a reminder of vanished customs and civilizations.
Collectors today look for many different types of antiques. Some collect old books or old coins. Others have collections of engravings.
Some collectors own rare specimens of large objects such as bicycles, automobiles, guns or even locomotives.
But most people think of antiques as household articles, such as china, furniture and glassware. Many antiques of the items in this classification have become part of a family heritage and are passed on from generation to generation.
Antique dealers today buy and sell antiques that range from expensive, rare items to reasonably priced pieces of interest. Museums and art galleries often display antiques. Many of these items come from archeological findings.
Among favorite American antiques are almost everything used by Americans of earlier days. Especially popular are old kerosene lamps, hand painted china, pattern glass, old guns and oil or watercolor paintings.
Popular antiques collected by many include Chinese porcelains, Bohemian glass, Persian rugs and Russian brasses. Also popular are examples of imported or Colonial furniture, china and textiles from Europe and the Orient.
The work of skilled craftsmen from the Colonial days are often very expensive because they are also rare. It doesn't take too much of an expert to tell the difference between a Chippendale style chair with richly carved legs that was made in Philadelphia about 1780 and a $5 mail order department store kitchen chair that was made 200 years later.
One item, of course, is an antique while the other is most likely junk.
Students in the field of antiques, called antiquarians, usually specialize in a particular item, such as glassware or furniture. They often divide their specialty into periods to make it easier to classify objects.
Antiquarians have formed societies in several countries to coordinate their efforts and resources. Scotland has the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland; England has the Society of Antiquaries; and Canada has the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal.