Had the worst map hunting day of my life last Thursday at an estate sale in Portland

I drove 45 minutes to a sale that claimed they had a box of 1800s maps. Turns out they were all 1970s Nat Geo reproductions, and the seller still wanted $80 each. I even asked if they had any originals and she pulled out a 1954 road atlas with coffee stains. Has anyone else run into people wildly overpricing modern reprints as antiques?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.alex1mo ago

Hang on, is it really that bad though? I mean yeah it sucks to drive 45 minutes for nothing but that's kind of the gamble with estate sales. You didn't lose any money, you just wasted some gas and a bit of your afternoon. The seller being clueless about the maps is pretty standard too, most people running these things don't know the difference between a reprint and a real antique. It's frustrating but calling it the 'worst map hunting day of your life' feels like a bit much lol. There are way worse things that could happen like getting a flat tire on the way back or finding out the maps were just soggy cardboard.

mia4421mo ago

Wait @walker.alex is kinda right, lmao.