And her prized possessions
Photography by Frank Di Piazza
If you’ve spent time at an estate sale in St. Louis—any estate sale in St. Louis—you’ve probably brushed up against Barbara Ann Hughes. Our unofficial first lady of secondhand goods spends what seems like her every weekend moment sifting through other people’s cast-offs—and making away with enough forgotten treasures in the process to decorate her Town & Country ranch from top to bottom. Along the way, she’s turned her passion into an educational endeavor, passing on her tricks for uncovering fabulous finds—and her sought-after master list of local estate sales—to a new generation of antique hounds.
1. Indian blanket—possibly Navajo—that Hughes’ husband Rich found at an estate sale in Affton
2. 1931 University of Illinois football schedule she bought for Rich
3. 1960s dress form just like one she found for $375 at an antiques mall in Warson Woods; she paid $100
4. Vintage buffalo-skin Indian moccasins Hughes’ mother dug up at a flea market
5. A piece of San Idelfonso pottery bought for $3 and appraised at $2,500 to $3,000 at the Antiques Roadshow
6. Berlinwork needlepoint from the late 1800s
7. 1937 Veiled Prophet notepad cover from Hughes’ extensive V.P. memorabilia collection
8. A first edition of Little Dog Sniff and the Twins Hughes bought because Sniff resembled her dog, Gracie Blue
