Visiting a thrift store is like embarking on a treasure hunt: you really never know what you might find. Though gently used shops tend to get a bad rap over the pre-owned nature of their goods, a quick walk up and down the aisles can reveal unique finds that are certainly worth putting up with a few scuffs and scratches for. But for some lucky shoppers, actual treasure may be hiding just within their reach.
When one North Carolina thrift store worker began sifting through her stock of paintings, she discovered an unusual piece that seemed out of place even in this collection of curios. She called in an expert, who immediately confirmed the startling truth: this painting definitely didn’t belong in a thrift store.
But the folks down at Hotline Pink Thrift Shop in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, had been none the wiser. As a means of income to support the Outer Banks Crisis Intervention and Prevention Center, the shop’s primary focus is to raise funds for victims of domestic and sexual abuse.
Nonetheless, the workers at Hotline Pink know a thing or two about the goods they’re selling. Volunteers from across the Outer Banks turn out each day to work the shop, lending their expertise on everything from vintage clothing to even used cars.
Among these regulars is Wendy Hawkins, a local art enthusiast who works the shop two days a week. Not many would expect a thrift store to have an art collection worth fawning over — Hotline Pink, however, isn’t your ordinary thrift store.
An ever-changing rotation of paintings and canvas artwork is one of the store’s main draws, providing Wendy with plenty to sort during her work days. But in January 2020, Wendy came across a piece she knew had no business being at Hotline Pink.
It was a wood engraving, though far nicer than the usual woodworks the shop received. Wendy knew the piece was special as soon as she laid eyes on it, though was there any way to really know for sure?
After all, the shop had seen plenty of reprints over the years, and amateur forgeries were equally as common. Luckily, Wendy knew someone right down the road in nearby Nags Head that could help her get to the bottom of this mystery.
With Hotline Pink’s permission, Wendy brought the engraving to Seaside Art Gallery to get another pair of eyes on the work. There, she met with Melanie Smith, the gallery’s owner and an accredited art appraiser.
Melanie, too, immediately recognized the engraving as unusual and quickly set to work identifying it. By day’s end, the piece’s true identity had been revealed.
The engraving was part of a 100-piece collection commissioned in 1950 by the Italian government depicting cantos from Dante Alleghieri’s The Divine Comedy. Though these pieces weren’t just some amateur’s rendition — they were true masterworks.
Each of the 100 scenes was painted in watercolors before being carved into hard wood blocks to make prints. With each color of the scene requiring different pieces of wood, it took more than 3,500 blocks to complete all 100 illustrations.
But perhaps more impressive was the artist behind this rare collection of works. No, he wasn’t some ordinary layman with a paint brush, or a Florentine noble with a mastery of fine art — he wasn’t even Italian!
The man behind this masterpiece was none other than Salvador Dalí, the legendary Spanish surrealist. But why would the Italian government have hired a Spaniard to reinterpret one of Italy’s greatest literary works? As it turns out, this decision caused quite the stir.
In fact, the people of Italy were so upset over the choice of Dalí that the project was scrapped altogether. The Spaniard, however, had already painted the collection and instead took his work to a French publisher for sale.
From there, somehow, someway, a piece of the “Purgatorio” portion of the collection made its way into the hands of Wendy and Hotline Pink. But who donated such a rare work in the first place? Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be so easy to find out.
“We get things donated in the middle of the night and sometimes people just drop off things and leave, so we have no idea who donated it,” explained Michael Lewis, executive director of the Outer Banks Hotline. Regardless, it was clear the painting wasn’t about to go back into the $10 bin.
Instead, the piece went up for auction, where it netted an impressive $1,200 for the Outer Banks Hotline. Though other illustrations from Dalí’s “The Divine Comedy” series had only sold for a few hundred dollars in the past, there was something about this particular piece that brought its value way up…
The Hotline Pink find had been signed by Dalí himself! While several copies of the 100-piece collection had been produced by the artist, only 150 of the illustrations bear the signature of the legendary artist.
As for Wendy, she’s become somewhat of a legend among Hotline Pink’s many customers, especially those in search of the next great treasure. “We’ve just had people coming in saying, ‘What painting do we have today on special?’,” Wendy joked.
In Melanie Smith’s eyes, however, art lovers are the biggest winners of the Dalí discovery: “It’s rare to find anything like this. It’s like a treasure hunt, and thanks to Wendy, it’s been rescued, and brought to light so people in the art world can really enjoy it.”
But if a simple thrift store could hide such an incredible find, imagine what treasures could be lying in wait beneath the tables and tents of an entire flea market! Well, for one Philadelphia man, an ordinary day at the flea became one for the history books.
When the man — who wished to remain anonymous — perused the chaotic aisles of an Adamstown, Pennsylvania flea market, he had no wild expectations of what he would find. Even still, he never supposed his shopping trip would end up as it did.
The Buyer was known to be a flea market buff of sorts, routinely scavenging for items to boost his collection of antique stocks, bonds, and various paper items. In 1989, he found a peculiar little treasure that nearly rocked his world.
A particular painting entranced The Buyer, or at least its wooden frame did. Pulling out his wallet, the career financial analyst spent a skimpy four bucks on the old artwork, thinking little of the purchase.
The painting, which depicted a subdued country scene, was old and ripped. None of those details mattered to the mysterious Buyer, however, as he was simply interested in its frame. That’s why the painting itself was destined for the trash can.
So, when the Buyer returned home, he removed the painting from its handsome frame only to find a small piece of linen paper measuring 15.5 by 19.75 inches. Something about this odd, little piece of paper looked familiar to him…
Now, The Buyer had found various interesting flea market items throughout his many years of collecting, but this curious find was unlike anything he’d ever purchased. Because when he realized what the folded document was, he immediately locked it away for safe keeping.
The document was a copy of the Declaration of Independence, which dated back to 1776! Before Nicholas Cage had the chance to nab the national treasure, the Buyer locked it up in his house until he could figure out what to do with it.
It took him awhile to decide, because the priceless document sat in the Buyer’s house for months, until he finally gave in to his friend’s urging that he contact Sotheby’s for an appraisal.
Sotheby’s is considered one of the world’s most prominent brokers of artwork, jewelry, real estate, and collectibles; so it’s no wonder he trusted them with the antique historical document. But Sotheby’s was skeptical.
At the time, Selby Kiffer, the VP of books and manuscripts for Sotheby’s, stated, “We literally get two or three calls a week from people claiming to have a copy of the Declaration of Independence.” This time, it wasn’t a flimflam or prank call.
The Manhattan auctioneers’ skepticism was understandable in view of what Kiffer has seen. “What most people run into is a reproduction of the handwritten copy with 56 signatures that was produced several months later,” Kiffer explained.
But after several experts took a gander at the yellowed piece, they all agreed it was the real thing. While the paper and the typography were both reminiscent of the era, an etching on its backing is what really sealed the deal.
The handwritten seal of approval on the back that read “Declaration of American Independence. July 4, 1776,” really finalized its authenticity. The Buyer could hardly believe it: why wasn’t this locked away in a museum?
Back in the day, once the milestone that was independence became official, Philadelphia printer John Dunlap printed copies to spread the good news to the people. One of those very copies was shockingly pinched between that cheap painting and its frame.
While it was a copy, it wasn’t just a copy. The Sotheby’s Vice President, David Redden, surmised that just 200 of these original copies were dispersed to government leaders, the Army, and the 13 colonies.
The Buyer’s copy was one of just 24 that remained at the time. Considering the $4 flea market painting was in rough condition, Redden was amazed at the document’s pristine form. “Here was the most important single printed page in the world, in the most spectacularly beautiful condition,” he said.
Considering another original copy sold for $1.59 million in January of 1990, it was believed that this priceless copy was valued at between $800,000 to $1.2 million. Unbelievably, the Buyer’s copy auctioned for $8.1 million.
No one is quite sure how the valuable 18th-century document ended up at the Adamstown flea market, but we’re sure the Buyer didn’t care about how! “It has to be characterized as a lucky find,” said Kiffer.
Selby Kiffer mentioned that this bizarre, moreover lucrative, run-in with luck will inspire lots of people to check out flea market booths, and he’s not wrong. That’s something fans of Antique Roadshow have been saying for years — and with good reason!