Snake Q&A 015: Jessica Butler
Spooky for Friday the 13th: Gaultier, Cranes, prison portraits, crow, skulls, the edges of vintage
Snake is a weekly newsletter covering severe deals and knowledge, mostly in furniture. For a representative sample, click here for the most recent auction rundown, and here for the most recent designer rundown.
Now at Snake: Every other Friday or so a free interview with a person in good standing of the newsletter whose taste in vintage, furniture, collectibles and adjacent fields is worth celebrating and learning from. Sellers, buyers, set decorators, artists, adjacents, etc…
Here’s the 15th…
Jessica Butler / IG / Brooklyn, NY / A Jersey girl with a lot of feelings, excavated from Fever Lake in 1992. / DePop
I had to press Jess for a while to do this interview; she deals vintage on the side but does other business for work—but that doesn’t matter, her DePop is one of the better ones out there and goes very deep, dealing with spooky and gothic items similar to her favorites. There is a lot of depth here…
Q&A 015
Fav flea market?
Brimfield in MA!
Best flea market day ever—what did you get?
Brim with one of my best friends two falls ago was the most fun, but my favorite find has to be from the Chelsea Flea (despite the Flea not being nearly as good as it once was!). It’s this small ca. 1860s painting on the back of a cigar box panel of a dark landscape with a single bare tree and one bird in the sky that reminds me of something Gertrude Abercrombie could’ve made.
Best eBay purchase?
Probably a vintage Cranes T-shirt with the album art from Wings of Joy. The magic of eBay alerts!
Best Craigslist find?
I actually somehow don’t think I’ve ever bought anything on Craigslist…
Best LiveAuctioneers find?
I haven’t really gotten into it yet, but was browsing recently and immediately stumbled upon this incredible 1800s painting of the woman Charlotte Corday behind bars before her beheading sentence for the bloody bathtub murder of Jean-Paul Marat. Apparently, she was later known as l'ange de l'assassinat (The Angel of Assassination).
IG seller account you hang out on/look at their stuff the most?
@strangedesires_ consistently has the most insane stuff—I honestly don’t know how she finds it all. Just some of the most unusual old clothing items and objects, ranging from an antique magician’s assistant’s top with a big embroidered creature’s face on the chest to 1920s costumes for Joan of Arc and a bat with movable wings.
Thing you most regret passing on?
I will forever regret not getting this antique side table with a carved green man’s face on it from an antique store in Kingston. It was super affordable, but I was living with two other roommates at the time and had absolutely no place for it. Also perpetually kicking myself for not bidding on the most perfect Victorian snake ring—it had a sort of goofy expression and rounded open mouth with a deep red garnet stone atop its head.
Best thing you got for insanely cheap?
My most wild find: an original framed late ‘90s Ellen Berkenblit watercolor drawing from a since-defunct junk shop in Brooklyn. I had to pretend I didn’t know it was by anyone in particular and not act too excited, but ended up getting it for $45.
Best thing you overpaid for?
Probably this tiny antique charm of what I believe to be a gargoyle’s face with a red stone in its mouth. When the seller wrote up my receipt, though, she described it as a lion head and my heart sank. Since then, whenever I wear it I take a poll to see what other people see first and everyone is probably just placating me but the consensus is it’s ambiguous but I’m right? Ha… Either way, it’s hard to assign value on something so old and special—it always sort of feels worth it/priceless.
Favorite piece of furniture you own?
Definitely this smaller sized old bookshelf that has cutouts on the sides in the shape of traditional gothic arched windows and, if this counts, a 1920s folk art dragon retrofitted floor lamp.
What’s one thing you own that you won’t ever sell?
I have a ca. 18th century crow painting that will be coming with me to the grave.
Runner ups are (is this cheating?) a Victorian Etruscan revival ewer with grotesques and gryphons on it that could be in a museum, a pretty banged up antique devil marionette I found in Prague, a watercolor of two skull faced apothecaries taken from a Victorian sketchbook, an early bisque mermaid in a tattered fabric dress, a turn of the century bust of Margherita de Valois, a poetry book by Lydia Tomkiw from Algebra Suicide (The Dreadful Swimmers, Wide Skirt Press, 1989), and a 1902 cabinet card of a female snake charmer from Buffalo Bill’s show that was photographed in the town one over from where I grew up in NJ.
Piece you have now that you despise and want to replace?
I originally had an ill-fitting piece of furniture written for this, but it somehow finally just sold this week after almost two years of sitting on Craigslist? So as an alternative, I’m going to nominate an incredible original ca. 1750 ink drawing of infernal torture. It recently flew rather far off the wall in the middle of the night from a perfectly secure nail and while I certainly don’t despise it, and I would never replace it, I’m now stuck with an obviously cursed item in my home.
Who do you think sold more records: Nelly Furtado or Three 6 Mafia?
Seems hard to compete with “I’m Like a Bird,” no?
Secret spot that you love but won’t tell anyone about? (please describe as judiciously as possible while omitting any identifiable characteristics)
I’m not very gatekeep-y about locations, but I do have two Instagram sellers that I want to keep under wraps to avoid any more competition! Both of them, one in the UK and one in Massachusetts, carry incredible selections of folk art/original art and objects for really fair and accessible prices with weekly updates that often sell almost immediately. If I love you I’ll tell you, though.
Rarest/most canon vintage thing you have but never wear?
Definitely my Jean Paul Gaultier S/S 01 Satan mesh maxi skirt. I’m obsessed with it but somehow rarely let it see the light, like I’m protecting it or something…
Most jealousy-inducing thing you’ve seen? (e.g. I saw a guy in Foremost jeans once in 2012 and I’ve never gotten over it)
Mattie Barringer and Amanda McGowan of Women’s History Museum have an insane collection of archival Vivienne Westwood clothing, specifically some of the original corset tops that I will never not want. The duo actually recently opened up a permanent storefront at 244 Canal and also run an amazing online webshop that they update with similar items and many other rare weirdy vintage designer and antique gems (@womens_history_museum_vintage).
Favorite Russian novelist?
I’m more of a Shirley Jackson girl ;)
Is there a field of collecting are you looking to get into in the near future? (Furniture era/paper/autographs/stamps/model trains/computer shirts/90s Harley shirts/digital watches/lighters/slot cars/faberge eggs/Amish quilts etc)
Hmm…if I was rich it would be old mourning/memento mori jewelry and vanitas art!
What’s the item that’s been on your watchlist the longest without you having pulled the trigger?
One of the only ever listings I’ve seen for the 1996 Vampire Diaries PC game from Her Interactive (who are responsible for all of the Nancy Drew computer games). I want to play it so much but haven’t been able to work out a download, and this hard copy is going for a hilarious $2,000 (or best offer!). The trailer for it is perfect in every way.
Is the best vintage/furniture online or in the wild?
I might actually have to say online, simply because it offers access to other places I wouldn’t be able to shop at regularly otherwise. Vintage shopping in-person is definitely still more fun, though. I especially love taking the backroads to get to these places—there’s always something interesting to pull over for along the way. Plus, nothing beats having to dig for your finds, and you really never know what you’ll turn up.
Has all the cool shit been discovered? (Yes or no answer only)
Nah.
Any more unknown vintage accounts you want to rep or boost? Furniture? (feel free to include local spots)
The Summit Antiques Center and Charisma 7 in Jersey are longtime go-to favorites, Yesterday’s News in Carroll Gardens is great for furniture, Anastacia's Antiques in Philly has an incredible selection of unusual and old objects, Roses and Rue Antiques for Victoriana, and I’m going to cave and divulge one of my secret accounts: @criticaleyefinds. You’re welcome, I love you.
Follow Jessica on IG.
Read previous Snake Q&As.
Snake is a weekly newsletter covering severe furniture deals. Want a representative sample? Click here for the most recent auction rundown, and here for the most recent designer rundown.