Tried and true

Great gifts that have been around

by Robert David Sullivan

You could call them Shirley MacLaine gifts. They've had past lives, some of them more exciting than you can imagine, but they've come through it all without a scratch -- well, without too many scratches, anyway.

I'm referring to items from secondhand stores. They're not necessarily expensive enough to be called antiques, but they're preserved well enough not to be called junk. And they can make fine Christmas presents.

Let me start by pointing out the advantages to you, the shopper, of going the secondhand route. Consider a recent front-page story in the Boston Globe about major shopping malls in the area. "With unemployment at its lowest level in decades," the reporter warned, "retailers can't remember a holiday season when it was more difficult to find clerks to prepare for the rush of shoppers. Inexperienced, albeit energetic, workers have no trouble finding a job." At secondhand shops, you may not encounter the most "energetic" staff, but the person on duty (usually the owner) knows where everything is, and can also tell you which plates are dishwasher-safe, where to find light bulbs for that lamp shaped like Albert Einstein, and how the previous owner of that fondue set met a horrible death (okay, that one may have been fabricated for your benefit).

Other advantages include the fact that most of the affordable secondhand shops have strict "no return" policies, which means you can't weaken at the last minute and tell recipients, "Don't worry, I can exchange it" even before they open the gift. You can also stop worrying that your gifts will be duplicated. (How often have you bought someone a new CD by his favorite band only to discover that five other people had the same idea?) And you don't have to agonize over colors or styles when there's only one tea set -- take it or leave it.

Aside from such conveniences, the better secondhand stores actually have nice gifts. These items can be functional and whimsical at the same time, and they're especially good for friends with new or underfurnished apartments. For example, you could get a set of all-purpose drinking glasses at any department store for 20 bucks, but such a blatantly utilitarian gift is hardly worth wrapping. (You might as well tie a red ribbon around a new dish drainer.) But for the same money, you could instead get a set of used glasses with personality -- a geometric design from the '50s, or vibrant colors from the '70s.

Secondhand items can also give life to a sterile workspace (at home or at a job) dominated by gray computer equipment. Look for an old-style telephone, or an extinct appliance such as a typewriter or an adding machine, to help distinguish a cubicle from a prison cell. Used books can also lend character to an apartment or workspace. I'm not gauche enough to suggest buying books according to the colors of their spines, but a handsome set of Shakespeare plays can work as a nice marriage of function and form. Old-fashioned atlases and encyclopedias will fascinate history buffs or anyone who's into graphic design. And secondhand shops are a great resource for local-history books -- some of them devoted to specific towns or neighborhoods -- that are long out of print.

Certainly, some categories of secondhand items are better than others are for gift-giving. Glassware, china, candlesticks, and decorative boxes are safe choices, but furniture is generally too risky. Likewise, clothes are too much a matter of personal taste. Even the strangest-looking silverware probably will be used by your recipient at some point, but a cool retro-style shirt may go straight into a trash bag headed back to Goodwill. Possible exceptions to the clothing rule include jackets, hats, and ties, which can serve a purpose even if never worn. That is, maybe your sister will never wear that feathered yellow hat, but if you see it prominently displayed on a coat rack the next time you visit, at least you've helped to accessorize her hallway. Similarly, in this post-turntable age, an old record album may be a good gift not because it will ever be played, but because the cover is cool enough to hang on the wall.

Finally, secondhand gifts can work as part of an inexpensive gift package, or a sneaky way to give something utilitarian, such as toiletries that you bought on sale. You can stuff vintage cookie jars with homemade cookies, put exotic tea bags in a funky teakettle, or give an already-filled candy dish. (A tin box full of colorful condoms may be appropriate for one or two people on your list.) As always, the trick is to let your creativity outshine your thriftiness.

---

Boston has a countless number of secondhand stores, including many places with antique in their names that have plenty of affordable gifts. For one-stop shopping, check out one of the large multidealer markets that specialize in variety. One of the newest is the Minot Hall Antiques Center (1721 Washington Street, 617-236-7800), in the South End near Boston City Hospital. Minot Hall has four spacious floors of jewelry, home furnishings, and art, including a "fun and funky" department devoted to art deco and early-modern items. On a recent visit I found a 28-piece set of Fiesta Ironstone china for $55; there were also plenty of charmingly specific dining-room items, such as a 10-piece "eggnog set" for $40 and sherbet dishes for $9 apiece (each comes with a saucer). Because Minot Hall is relatively new, it's usually blissfully uncrowded, and you can get immediate attention from clerks. The Minot Hall Antiques Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Across the street from Minot Hall is Transitions (1738 Washington Street, 617-536-8999), a thrift shop whose proceeds benefit the Pine Street Inn. There are mostly clothes here, but you can find some housewares as well. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

While at Minot Hall, you can also pick up fliers for other antiques shops in the South End. One of the best places is Old Dutch Candy and Antiques (518 Tremont Street, 617-338-0233), which is at the other end of the neighborhood. In addition to being crammed with glassware, gilded birdcages, and other antiques, this place carries just about any kind of candy you can imagine -- from the store's own freshly made chocolates to mass-produced confections from strange lands (Laffy Taffy, Haribo cola bottles, chocolate soccer balls). There's also a flower shop, making this a perfect place to assemble "twofer" gifts. It's open daily from noon to 5:30 p.m.

The Cambridge Antique Market (201 Monsignor O'Brien Highway, Cambridge, 617-868-9655), across from the Lechmere T stop, is a bit more crowded and has about 150 dealers spread out on four floors. All the major secondhand categories are well represented here, with specialists in jewelry, china, glassware, books, toys, and clothes. You can find unnecessary items like a set of porcelain wine labels (four for $26; you hang them around the bottles). I also spotted an assortment of old Avon after-shave bottles in such shapes as a duck, a pipe, a steamboat, and the US Capitol ($4 to $6 each, with what smells like the original contents). Other nostalgia items included some "mod" Barbie heads (yes, just her head, for $12 each), a staggering assortment of commemorative whiskey bottles (a salute to Delaware was $20), and vintage tape recorders and radios (including a "Dick Tracy Wrist Radio Set" for $32). The market is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Charles Street, on Beacon Hill, is a mecca for antiques shoppers, especially for those willing to spend a little more. But there are almost as many antiques shops in the student neighborhood of Allston, concentrated at Harvard and Brighton Avenues, and the prices there more often dip into the thrift-shop range. A recent addition to the area is the Lost Engine Gallery (14 Harvard Avenue, 617-254-4678), which concentrates on "Nifty Fifties Stuff." Here you can find cool-looking (and working) rotary phones (about $40), ashtrays that could have been designed for the Rat Pack, and reminders that black panthers served as models for ceramic figurines before they graduated to symbols of radical politics. Lost Engine is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Head toward Comm Ave, and you'll start to hit the more downscale secondhand shops, including several sources for books and records. You might also want to check out the Hadassah Bargain Shop (1123 Comm Ave, 617-254-8300); it's run by a Jewish charitable organization, but there are Christmas tree ornaments on sale next to the menorahs. Hadassah has the usual assortment of glassware and plates for sale à la carte, but you can also get complete china sets in mint condition. (I saw a beautiful 74-piece set for $80.) The store is open Monday through Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday from 10:30 to 7:30 p.m., Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

From the outside, Boomerangs (60 Canal Street, 617-723-2666) looks like one of those modern furniture stores with $1200 end tables. Inside, it's a spacious and immaculate secondhand store with CDs and books in alphabetical order (just as if they were new) and kitchen items displayed with as much care as if they were virgin merchandise at Crate & Barrel. The store also has one of the best selections for secondhand clothing, with all sweaters priced at $10 and all blazers at $15. Boomerangs is between the North Station and Haymarket T stops, and it's run by the AIDS Action Committee. Hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

If you're brave enough to cross the Big Dig construction site, you can go from Boomerangs to the Nostalgia Factory (51 North Margin Street, 617-720-2211), which recently moved to the North End from its long-time Newbury Street digs. The Nostalgia Factory features old movie posters and magazines, political memorabilia, and vintage advertisements mounted for easy framing. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This sampling of secondhand stores only scratches the surface, of course. Chances are there are some great finds in your neighborhood as well. I live near Davis Square, in Somerville, and there are at least four decent antiques shops within walking distance of my apartment. For example, the Cambridge Trading Post (196 Holland Avenue, 617-623-0504) is known for the life-size statues of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy on the sidewalk out front, and Warped (236 Elm Street, 617-666-3129) is a "bizarre collectibles" shop where you can buy gifts for your entire family -- assuming your last name is Addams. Besides the antiques shops, Somerville has a superlative used-book store in McIntyre and Moore (255 Elm Street, 617-629-4840), and a Goodwill Bargain Basement (one of nine in the Boston area, at 230 Elm Street, 617-628-3618). A wealth of secondhand stores can also be found in such areas as Central Square, Inman Square, and Jamaica Plain.

Robert David Sullivan is not old enough to remember Fiesta Ware.