Hartford in August, yes! Who could resist Hartford in August?
Lots of people, apparently.
It was kinda melancholy, telling customers at this year’s Summer Papermania about those crazy Good Old Days, when the entire exhibition space in the XL Center was filled, when the show had a waiting list of dozens of dealers. This year’s show was a ghost of its former self.
But you know, that was okay. There were still things to buy, though not as many, given that there weren’t nearly as many dealers as there used to be. And there were friends to chat with once again. A higher proportion of them, in fact, as the blow-ins blew away and only old-timers remained. Dinner at Feng’s Asian chophouse with three old dealer friends was superb.
There was a higher concentration of good material because there was a greater proportion of experienced dealers, who knew what they were doing. Ergo, less junk, more efficient buying.
And Hartford’s still a pretty sweet old town. The view from my window Saturday morning looked like a Constable painting.
All archaeologists perhaps take a melancholy interest in the decline and fall of empires. We perk up at the crash of towers in the night. I studied your pictures of empty streets and empty spaces with the morbid fascination of the professional watching the dissolution of yet another institution. I notice that you did not mention “customers” in your notes. How long can the organizers keep going in the face of falling revenues?