Linens have always been the "lowest of the low" in the antiques world, they were "woman's work," household furnishings in the realm of housekeeping. Most have no particular value unless you have a buyer for them. (a provenance from royalty or museum quality importance may be an exception, but not always.) My main advice would be to keep and use anything that attracts or bedazzles you or that may be particularly useful such as old towels for dust cloths and have a tag sale with the rest.

Value comes from rarity, condition, beauty and whether or not things are in demand. Demand constantly changes but since 2008, mainstream trends are for things that look like Pottery Barn, hotel linens and items that are brand new. When Martha Stewart devoted an article to antique Turkey red damask tablecloths, prices for Turkey red work soared. That fad lasted a while, then faded. But just like other things that have gone out of style, the red damask that was acquired at those high prices is just generally worth far less now, although collectors still value its beauty.

*NOTE: IMPORTANT*
if your textiles have holes, you can throw them away or reuse them as dustcloths or rags. If you tug on a piece and it comes apart in your hand, it has dry rot. Please throw it away.

WHAT'S GOOD:
Bigger is often better (although "too big" can be another problem); perfect is better; rare is better; gorgeous is better; unused condition is better; high quality is better and, often, older is better.
The country of origin also counts... as French, Czech, Madeira, Italian and English usually have better work than Chinese. But old Chinese (pre-1930) is better than later Chinese. So there are exceptions to every rule.
Designs also matter. Figural items often command more than florals but only to a collector who likes figurals. Rarer flowers command slightly more than common flowers such as roses or chrysanthemums which were all the rage in the American market in the 1940s and 1950s and the Irish linen manufacturers flooded the market with mums.

VALUES:
I encourage you to buy books on linens and laces and textiles and spend a little time becoming familiar withthem. I hope that you learn so much that you'll get hooked!

Check the value of an item by searching ebay's "completed listings" to see what prices similar things have realized. (You can only use this feature if you are a registered ebay user.) Most likely, you will not be thrilled by the prices of things but it is a great barometer for current prices and/or to see what is in demand. Most buyers on ebay are the end user; a dealer would most likely not pay that amount. Searching ebay for things that are similar takes time, especially when you have box-loads of things. But if you get familiar with terms and descriptions it becomes easier!

How/Where to SELL:
• sell them at a tag/garage/yard sale. (be realistic; they are used goods)
• donate them to a charity for a tax write-off.
• look for someone in your area who will appraise (yellow pages: appraisers, auction houses) or buy them outright
• visit local antiques shops and antique shows and look for someone who sells textiles.
• call an auction house where you may be able to consign them. Auction houses have knowledgeable appraisers. Many auction houses may not accept them because they can not make a profit on them. But, they will usually take them on if you are consigning an entire estate. (They also want/need to stay in business.)
• call a local used furniture / antiques dealer who specializes in clearing out houses. They will have the ability to assess silver, china and furniture as well.
• search some of the huge vintage textile show websites and scan their dealer lists to see if there are any dealers from your area. or anyone else who is buying.
• sell them on ebay. And, yes, it is time consuming to wash, iron, measure, describe, photograph and list your items there, not to mention the packing, shipping and tracking them if they sell. You might really have fun with this.
• post on your social media Facebook page or to Instagram, remember to use hashtags that are pertinent.

CONDITION:
Even though stacks of linens often appear to be in perfect condition, you absolutely must completely unfold each piece and unwrap decades-old cleaning tissues, ribbons and plastics to really see what's what! Sad to say, you can discover damage, holes, repairs, water damage, dry rot, rust and mouse nibbles. The weight of the stack compressed the linen and the stack of napkins or sheets or guest towels looks flat and new. Many times I have been assured that items were never used but when I unfolded a towel or tablecloth they were full of stains and holes. The owner's jaw would drop! "They looked so good, I just never dreamed..." But they also never opened them.

When items were professionally cleaned and have been stored still bearing drycleaning tags and labels, we assume that nobody would have bothered sending damaged items to a laundry or dry cleaners... but, in times past, everyone was more apt to repair their family linens and to continue to use things until they fell apart. I have opened dry cleaning bags that had tablecloths full of patches and holes; the former owner just needed the cloth to be clean and never worried about the holes. Also, I have had the sad experience of opening a tablecloth that had been sent out to a commercial laundry but stains were still there.

Your heart might sink at the thought of opening a tablecloth that had been spectacularly packaged in cellophane and ribbons and stored for decades. But, you won't really know what you have unless you do. And, you can't sell it unless the buyer also knows what to expect.

SIZE:
Yes, size matters.
In bedding, when the modern world uses queen and king sized beds, there is no demand for twin sized sheets and bedding.
Napkins: the bigger the better. 25" and over is desirable. Three or four FEET is great!
Tablecloths: big is great until you get to too big. Some important old cloths were bigger than rooms in our modern houses. They are unwieldy, unmanagably heavy and impossible to launder, iron, care for or use.
Handkerchiefs: bigger is better. Older is better. Handmade lace, other than crochet, is better. Perfection is imperative.

(Relatively) VALUABLE ITEMS:
Items that were made before 1900 (earlier is preferable: 1780-1850s) in impeccable condition.
museum-quality textiles, museum-quality monograms, rare items, unused is preferable

napkins larger than 24" (napkins are most valuable in sets of 12, 18 or 24. (fewer than a dozen is not really a set.)
monograms: a single letter is preferable than a monogram with two or three initials
linen pillowcases in superb condition that will fit queen/king sized pillows
handkerchiefs from the mid-1800s with handmade lace edging (that is not crocheted lace)
paisley shawls: most desirable are hand woven kani weave or hand embroidered
old handmade lace from the 1600s and 1700s such as bobbin laces and needle laces
or things that just seem mesmerizing and beautiful

BAD NEWS:
crochet: in any form is not rare or desirable. Bedspreads are especially so common that they are devoid of value. Every household had "Grandma's hand crocheted bedspread. Every one of them was stored away and never used because they were so large and heavy and suffocating to sleep under. None of them were ever used. Gazillions of them exist so they are not rare.

TO SUM UP:
In the past decade, droves of antique stores have gone out of business because "used things" are not in style. Millennials like new things from IKEA and Target and Pottery Barn. Even better, they prefer to travel and have experiences and not get bogged down by owning things. Call a local auction house, sell things on ebay, get on with living and let them go without regret!

My very best wishes,
cynthia!

Copyright 1998-2020, Cynthia's Antique Linens