A classified ad in The Prince George Citizen to sell a hand-carved replica of a throne for $5,000 has been in the paper every day since Feb. 8, 2013.
The Citizen's policy is to run the ad until the item sells for a one-time charge and most often things are sold in a timely manner. Larry Johnson is determined to sell his specialty item and so is The Citizen.
About 15 years ago Johnson attended an antique show at a local hotel.
"It was a Monday and Tuesday sale and they had all this incredible antique furniture - looked like you walked into a 1930 Sears showroom and all this furniture was reconditioned and it looked like it was brand new," Johnson recalled.
As the sale was coming to a close and items were being packed up, Johnson said he couldn't resist the hand-carved throne sitting in the hallway of the hotel in all its royal glory.
He made an offer they couldn't refuse and brought home his treasure.
"It must have something to do with the English monarchy somewhere down the line but I don't have a computer so I can't do any research on it or anything like that," said Johnson.
His cousin did do some research on their family tree and discovered that Johnson and his family were directly related to Scottish and Irish kings but no English patriarchs were found down the line.
"Even though the throne is not part of my heritage, I'm still related to some kings back hundreds of years ago, which is kind of neat," said Johnson. "It's a beautiful hand-carved piece of work. The carvings on the throne are very intricate and very detailed."
Kat Von D, from L.A. Ink, a popular reality show from a few years back, had one exactly like it on her show and Johnson said it was also on another tattoo show where the judges were seated on thrones like the one he owns.
Johnson's health has deteriorated over recent years and he'd like to sell the throne to get his life organized a bit more, he said.
"I'm just trying to downsize and I'm trying to sell everything I possibly can to try to simplify my life and that's why I need to sell it," said Johnson, who has been disabled since 1997.
"To see it in the paper, it's hard to see all the detail but it's just beautiful and when I first saw it I just had to have it - I didn't care what it cost," said Johnson. "I just had to have it just until the novelty wears off. I still like it, but now it's got to go."
