Antique shop offers a trip through history
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AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, April 2012-- New Orleans' Royal Street is filled with antique shops, but M.S. Rau Antiques has been plying the trade for 100 years at 630 Royal Street, through hurricanes and economic downturns. I dropped in recently and was amazed at what I found. the place qualifies as a museum, with many of the antiques and art objects from the 18th century. From the street, the shop looks small, but it's an entire block deep. Highly polished sterling silver and antique chandeliers sparkle fiercely. There's a huge collection of antique canes, along with vintage typewriters and cash registers, highly polished and in mint condition. The gallery boasts a collection of paintings by Winston Churchill, along with works of masters such as Vincent van Gogh. A back room is filled with 18th and 19th century furniture — and a knight on horseback. Seriously.
Maximilian Field Armor for horse and knight, circa 1850
This is not the sort of antique shop where price tags dangle. These are pieces of history, and each one has a story. Best of all, when I popped in just to look around — and from the way I was dressed, I have no doubt the staff knew I was just looking around — I got smiles and helpful answers instead of being treated as though I was literally there to steal the silver. Take a look next time you're in New Orleans. Find out more at rauantiques.com. There's an especially good blog on the site about the history of some of the antiques.
