Curiosities Shop Near Me on Amsterdam Avenue: More and More Antiques

More and More Antiques packs more oddities into a single corner shop than most regional museums hold in storage. Founded by Steve Mohr and Earl D. Crittenden Jr. over three decades ago, this beloved neighborhood fixture stands at 378 Amsterdam Avenue on the corner of West 78th Street on the Upper West Side. Shoppers hunting for a curiosities shop near me that embraces pure Victorian abundance will discover a labyrinthine parlor filled with crystal chandeliers, antique mechanical music boxes, German blown-glass figures, and vintage brass instruments.

Stepping across the threshold of More and More Antiques feels like entering a wealthy eccentric's private salon from 1895. Every square inch of wall space, floor, and ceiling is densely occupied. Gleaming nineteenth-century French chandeliers hang in shimmering clusters overhead, while tall mahogany corner vitrines overflow with antique porcelain figurines, brass magnifying glasses, and vintage pocket watches. The air carries the distinct nostalgic aroma of aged paper, beeswax furniture polish, and antique leather bindings, instantly separating you from the modern pace of Amsterdam Avenue outside. Gilded Victorian mirrors reflect sparkling crystal drops across every shelf, while miniature mechanical carousels and antique porcelain music boxes sit ready to demonstrate centuries of European domestic craft. The shopkeepers take pride in preserving the eccentric charm of old Amsterdam Avenue retail.

While the store carries substantial museum-grade Continental furniture, it remains famous among locals for its accessible array of European glass curiosities and antique novelties. Authentic hand-blown and painted European holiday glass ornaments range from $28 to $60, depicting vintage figures like crescent moons, mushrooms, woodland owls, and Victorian Father Christmas icons. Antique brass trinket boxes with enameled lids are priced around $45, making them charming gifts for jewelry storage. Vintage glass apothecary bottles and pocket-sized brass novelty tape dispensers cost between $35 and $55.

Deeper inside the shop, mechanical oddities provide delightful tactile moments. The owners curate antique Swiss music boxes that play intricate brass cylinder melodies, alongside ornate French mantle clocks, vintage birdcages with carved wooden songbirds, and historical taxidermy displays. Cut-glass tableware from the American Brilliant Period sparkles beneath the chandeliers, while vintage silver tea strainers and brass desk bells line the counter display. The eclectic inventory constantly turns over as the proprietors scour estate sales throughout New England and Western Europe.

For Upper West Side families, More and More Antiques has served as an annual autumn and winter pilgrimage site for over thirty years. Longtime residents make a tradition of visiting every November to select a single new glass heirloom ornament to mark the year. Because the owners maintain direct relationships with family-run glassblowing cottages in Bavaria, Austria, and Poland, the ornaments feature traditional mouth-blown contours and hand-applied mica glitter rarely seen in commercial stores. Miniature glass clip-on birds with real spun-glass tails perch along wooden branches, evoking the golden era of parlor holiday decor. Families frequently bring their grown children back year after year to admire childhood ornaments still shining on the shop boughs, creating a living neighborhood heritage that connects modern Upper West Siders to nineteenth-century decorative traditions.

Scattered across velvet-lined display drawers are small Victorian curiosities designed for domestic leisure and scholarly pursuits. Brass and mother-of-pearl opera glasses manufactured in nineteenth-century Paris sit ready for inspection, their optical lenses still focusing sharply across the room. Alongside them rest sterling silver calling card cases, ornate pocket watch fobs, miniature folding rulers made of boxwood and brass, and antique glass paperweights enclosing colorful millefiori canes. These pocket treasures offer tactile connections to daily life during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Because the shop is packed so densely from floor to ceiling, visiting requires gentle footwork. The pathways between display tables are narrow, with fragile crystal drops hanging overhead and porcelain urns resting on low stands. Bulky winter coats and large backpacks should be handled carefully to avoid snagging delicate wires or knocking into glass cases. The owners are warm, knowledgeable, and always eager to share the backstory of a piece, but they ask that guests refrain from turning clockwork keys or lifting crystal chandelier prisms without asking first.

Weekdays between 11:30 am and 3:00 pm provide the quietest browsing conditions, when natural daylight illuminates the crystal tableware and you can explore without maneuvering around other shoppers. On crisp autumn weekends, neighborhood strollers and dog walkers fill the corner of 78th Street, creating a livelier retail hum. Here is an honest recommendation: skip the massive oversized Victorian oil paintings unless you have tall 12-foot brownstone parlor walls, and focus your attention on the glass vitrines containing vintage blown-glass ornaments and antique brass pocket curios, which pack remarkable charm into modest spaces.

If you stop by on a Sunday afternoon and find the shop bustling with holiday collectors, the Upper West Side offers pleasant nearby alternatives. Walk one block east to Columbus Avenue to explore neighborhood cafe culture, or stroll two blocks east to Central Park at the 79th Street transverse. If you love history, the American Museum of Natural History sits just three blocks south along Central Park West, offering grand marble halls filled with world-class natural specimens and cultural artifacts.

The stretch of Amsterdam Avenue between 72nd and 86th Streets represents classic Upper West Side urban fabric. Leaving the shop, take time to wander down West 78th Street toward Riverside Drive, admiring the ornate Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival brownstone architecture that characterizes this landmark historic district. For a midday snack, stop by Levain Bakery on West 74th Street for their famous thick chocolate chip walnut cookies, or grab an outdoor table at an Amsterdam Avenue bistro for coffee and a flaky croissant.

More and More Antiques is open daily from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, offering steady seven-day-a-week access for collectors. The shop is located at 378 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024, right at the corner of West 78th Street. Transit access is very convenient: take the 1 train to the 79th Street subway station on Broadway and walk two short blocks east to Amsterdam Avenue.