Bartevian

Check this place out. It puts any TV road picker show to shame. And the lady that owns it? Pat — what a treasure she is. WOW, what a great story she has.

This little antique store is a hidden gem. Don’t walk by! Walk to the door and get buzzed in by the staff.
We stumbled upon this store, because the owner is Treasurer for the Edgar Allen Poe Foundation of Boston, and she sells some merchandise that benefits the Poe Foundation and their building of a statue in Boston honoring Edgar Allen Poe. (Poe was born in Boston, but most Bostonians do not know that fact.)
The owner was so sweet, talking to us about the Poe Foundation and it’s plans, as we browsed Poe coffee merchandise. (We bought 2 coffee mugs.)
We plan to come back when the walking tours of «Poe’s Boston» that leave from this store begin back up in warmer weather.
In addition to Poe stuff, this store sells other antiques — including jewelry, clothing, board games, trinkets, etc.

Wow, this is a good place to lose yourself for an afternoon. I met my husband over here for a mini afternoon adventure and we walked out with an old (badass) American flag and a leather bound antique order book with the tiniest most precise handwriting you’ve ever seen in your life. The lady that runs the place is interesting to talk to. If you’re in the area and have some time, definitely don’t pass this place by.

Such a weird, wonderful place! I accidentally happened upon this store while waiting for my father, and it was such a unique space. The owner apparently owns the whole building, which used to be a private home, and the space retains most of the original architectural details, which are beautiful. Glass chandeliers, brass railings, moldings, all still lovely. She told me she rents the top floors of the building to non-​profit organizations that benefit society; one was a literacy group, and I can’t remember what the other one was. Anyway, the store is crazy in a wonderful way; so much stuff to go through, and I didn’t have enough time to make a dent. I ended up buying a posable Poe figure, and an Edward Gorey mini lunchbox. She had tons of unique jewelry pieces; dishware, napkin rings, «artifacts» (who knows if they’re real, but they have character!), toys, books, paintings, sculpture, decorative hangings, Russian newspapers, anything you can think of. It was kind of like going through my nutty grandmother’s attic. The owner is definitely a fixture in the neighborhood; at one point a man walked in off the street, read her a poem (which was apparently an ongoing work in progress), and left.
I loved the vibe there, and will return to explore it soon. Oh, she does not take American Express.

Kind of weird and amazing… can’t believe I have missed this all the time I have been down there. Edgar Allen Poe soaps, Edward Gorey lunch boxes (the woman who runs he place could recite quite a bit of the Gastly Crumb Tinies by heart), fun wind up tin toys, tons of VHS tapes, really amazing old jewelry-​gorgeous for a good price, old vinyl LP’s, weird comic book/​movie collectibles in their boxes, cool old glassware and silverware, tiny porcelain figurines, Russian nesting dolls and icons, and more more more. The light to the back was off, so I didn’t get to go up there, should have asked, but it seemed off-​limits. The woman who runs the place was great. WAY too cool of a place for Boston… GO THERE!

um… is miss havisham here?.. toss in a putrid wedding cake and a few clocks that read 20 minutes to 9 and you have the entire picture.
this store is really crazy– at the front it’s all trinkets, odd toys, pins, rings– but ask to go to the back. there is a staircase that goes to the rear of the store– there is a small collection of books to rifle through, which is always exciting. i found a great copy of a william shakespeare compilation! just beautiful!
there’s wild furniture, old light fixtures, so much to see. AND, in case you need a large cluster of fug artificial flowers, there are PILES of them on the second floor! to cover all your fug flower needs!
stop into bartevian– an old family name. the woman that runs it is so sweet.
i’ll be back to rummage more some time soon. cheese and rice, i was so into writing this review that i didn’t realize bonnie hunt was babbling on my t.v. (OH MAI GASH I’M BANNIE HUNT)
i hate that lady. her suits are nasty.