Ed Willer will speak on “Antiques: Fake, Fraud, or the Real Thing? “ on Thursday, October 18, 2012, at 7 pm at the Visitors Center at 160 South Saint Mary’s Street, Raleigh, NC 27603. Admission will be $15 for the general public and $10 for members of the Joel Lane Historical Society. Refreshments will be served. Seating is limited, and advanced payment is required. Please call 919-833-3431 with your MasterCard or Visa, or mail a check to P O Box 10884, Raleigh NC 27605. Be sure to include the names of all in your party; nametags will serve as tickets. Tickets are non-refundable unless we must cancel the event.

Join us for the Joel Lane House’s own version of a popular antiques TV show on PBS as Ed Willer takes you through what to look for in quality antiques as well as what may be a fake or later reproduction. Ed will present a slide show of the Joel Lane House furniture and discuss the pros and cons of interesting pieces. He will also discuss the risk of fakes and outright fraud for which the antiques business is known. “There’s no product that people pay more for and know less about than antique furniture,” said Kemble Widmer, antiques researcher, expert, and author.

Ed Willer’s interest in making furniture has been life long. He made his first piece of furniture in 8th grade shop. His late father-in-law was his long time woodworking mentor and piqued his interest in making antique reproductions. He also has good genes: His Willer grandfather was a German cabinet maker. Woodworking gives him an inside look at how pieces should be made. Ed is a charter member of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers, an organization which is dedicated to the preservation and reproduction of American period furniture.

Ed’s wife, Cornelia is a former president of the Joel Lane House. Ed is a long time real estate agent with Prudential.