Having visited this shop many times over the past few years, I still have a hard time defining its unique atmosphere to others. Mike is happy to clear this up for me. “We specialize in medical and scientific items, natural history, Victorian clothing, wax museum heads and prosthetic limbs, but it’s much more than that. You really have to see it for yourself to understand it.” Adds Evan, “It’s an alternative beauty that most people don’t think about. It’s about time and love, death and decay.”

Walking into Obscura is like a treasure hunt … for the odd. There is so much to see in the narrow, cluttered atmosphere that it usually requires a few passes to take everything in. Even then you are surely to have missed something. One curio case alone contains black and white death portraits, antique jewelry, Cupie dolls and glass bottles that once contained strychnine. In another large case, there is a wax head from a London museum, a mummified cat and a glass box filled with the most beautiful butterflies one could hope to see … removed from nature. In the back of the shop lies a real treasure. A life-sized anatomical figure made by the late French model maker, Louis Thomas Jerome Auzoux, which is still housed in its original glass and wooden frame. This piece is so powerful that an admission should be charged to view it. It should also be no shock that finding rare pieces like this one is no small feat.

Obscura collects is items from a variety of places including estate sales and auctions. “It’s a lot of waking up early and driving many hours to the middle of nowhere,” says Mike. “And dealing with difficult people. Difficult, irrational people” adds Evan. It’s a true dedication that comes across in any discussion about the items found in their beloved shop. Both Zohn and Michelson are more than happy to answer any questions about their treasures in pinhead detail. For them it’s not a hobby, but a passion. Though, admittedly, not all of their visitors share this passion.

“The reaction to our shop varies. Sometimes people burst into tears because they are so moved by it. They just love it,” Evan says with a smirk. The one thing their shoppers do share is an extreme reaction. People love it or they wait patiently outside while their spouses venture in. On the day I visited them for this article, curious shoppers wandered in and either immediately left or they slowly walked into the shop, gawking, with plenty of questions.

When asked if they plan on expanding their business to locations outside of the city such as Chicago or Los Angeles the unanimous vote is to keep it local. “We do get a lot of word-of-mouth from those places so when they do come to New York, they stop by. But it’s not a shop for everyone,” says Mike. “We get a lot of tourists who think it’s kind of neat but they ask questions like, “Do people really buy this stuff?” Yes, they do.

Obscura, Antiques & Oddities | 263 East 10th Street | NYC | 212 505-9251