Let me inoculate myself with this first sentence that this column has nothing to do with either political party but everything to do with the election. For the 10 and a half months leading up to the general election, the market has been pretty quiet. In fact, staggeringly quiet. One can see this in both turnover of dealers in antique malls and a willingness to deal (both verbally and in signage) by everyone. It has been truly the most quiet I personally have ever seen the marketplace. And it seemed to be across almost every line of antiques, with only gold/silver being a strength. Then, after the election, the sales popped again as if there was pent-up energy. One dealer I know had a huge five figure sale to a single buyer in December. That exceeded sales for much of the prior year. Now again, its not about the party but rather about the pent-up energy that was released after the election. This is an axiom, when you talk to older dealers, that runs true through time. In an election year, sales are slow until the general election, and then there is a release in money and people are back. I recall years ago talking to several dealers who did Jim Burks York Antiques Show. They talked about how, in their opinion, when Congress and the White House changed parties it was a good year for selling. Their view was that all those staffers and elected officials moving to Washington, D.C., needed to furnish their homes and get some instant gentility. A tall case clock, a portrait soon to be announced as a hidden ancestor, and some Staffordshire figures were the fastest way to that end. The antiques market has always been a fickle one since what we are dealing in is not a life or death commodity (although some collectors might argue the point). Rather, it is what folks spend their disposable income on in any given year. Thus, if you have to buy a car this year or perhaps are going to Europe for vacation, the collection might suffer. Conversely, a tax refund or year-end-bonus could burn a hole in your pocket rather quickly for the right treasure. There used to be, although I wonder if it is still held to be true, a belief that antiques were a hedge against inflation. Certainly those folks who bought brown furniture in the 1990s have found out the hard way. But jewelry and the top end of the market definitely seem to have shown some appreciation. The saga of fine art is an interesting one as certain categories, subjects and artists are now on the outs. My friend Chris at the Yellow Garage and I talked about how certain artists who were big in the past, like the Ashcan painters, are now on the outs with many and their work languishes. The world of antiques is built upon collecting for passion, but it is also built upon the notion of profit. We all want to build a great collection, and we all want to be there at that final auction when it is sold and we (or most likely our estate) have made a supreme profit on it all. The variability of the market is the piece that no one counts on, although in four more years I think we hopefully will remember the November/December surprise. Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth of antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.