Auction Games

DAVE BROWN AND THE AUCTION COMPETITION - DAVE 1 HISTORICAL SOCIETY 0.

SOMETIMES AUCTIONS BRING OUT THE BEAST WITHIN

I WOULD HAVE PAID DAVE BROWN TO MENTOR ME IN THE FIELD OF ANTIQUES AND COLLECTING IN GENERAL. I WOULD HAVE OFFERED HIM FOLDING MONEY, LOTS OF IT, TO LET US KNOW HOW TO BE THE BEST BOOK COLLECTORS, THE MOST PROFICIENT ANTIQUE HUNTERS, THE MOST THOROUGH HISTORIANS, AND HOW WE COULD IMPROVE OUR ACQUISITION TECHNIQUES. I ADMIRED HIM THAT MUCH! IT WAS UNDERSTOOD, HOWEVER, THAT PAYMENT WAS ALWAYS THE SAME. A PLACE TO SLEEP ON TRAVELLING WEEKENDS, FOOD AND CONVERSATION. DESPITE WHAT DAVE MIGHT HAVE LED US TO BELIEVE TO THE CONTRARY, HE WAS OFTEN QUITE LONELY, AND JUST LOVED SOCIAL OCCASIONS TO TALK ABOUT LIFE AND TIMES. MOSTLY HIS. I DIDN'T MIND. THAT'S WHAT DINNER AND LODGING PAID FOR. ON MANY OCCASIONS I EXTENDED THE LENGTH OF DAY JUST TO GET ONE MORE HOUR OF CONVERSATION OUT OF DAVE, BECAUSE HIS STORIES WERE FABULOUS. AS HE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE SAID…..I DIDN'T HEAR IT THOUGH, "NEVER LET FACT GET IN THE WAY OF A GOOD STORY." DAVE NEEDED US, AND WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATED HIS COMPANY. I'M PRETTY SURE HE KNEW I WAS STUDYING HIS STORIES, LIKE A UNIVERSITY STUDENT HANGING ONTO THE WORDS OF AN ECCENTRIC PROFESSOR…….NOT SURE WHAT IT ALL MEANS, BUT NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES; EVEN THE CRAZY STUFF, WILL PROBABLY FIT SOMEWHERE, SOMEHOW IN THE FINAL BIG PUZZLE OF THE "BIOGRAPHY."

DAVE BROWN DIDN'T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT MY FEELINGS. IF HE THOUGHT, AS A COLLECTOR, OR AN HISTORIAN, I WAS MISSING THE MARK, OR MISINFORMED, HE LET IT BE KNOWN. I GREW UP THROUGH THE MINOR SPORTS PROGRAMS IN THIS PROVINCE, AND I WAS PRETTY USED TO HOCKEY AND BASEBALL COACHES BERATING ME FOR SWINGING AT A BALL, AND LETTING IN A FLUKE……I WAS A GOALIE IN HOCKEY, AND THE COACH USED TO CALL ME "FUNNEL". I HAD SUGGESTED THIS, BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT MY PARENTS HEARING HIM CALL ME "SIEVE," WHEN SCREAMING FROM THE BENCH. I WASN'T A BAD GOALIE OR A POOR BALL PLAYER, BUT WE ALL GOT YELLED AT BACK THEN, AS THERE WAS NO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS OR SENSITIVITY AWARENESS POLICIES. AS WITH MR. BROWN, HE CALLED IT THE WAY HE SAW IT. WITH ME, I HOPE HE THOUGHT I WAS A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH, BECAUSE HE REALLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO SHAPE ME UP FOR THE BIG LEAGUES OF COLLECTING. AS HE HAD APPOINTED ME HIS BIOGRAPHER, JUST BEFORE HE DIED, HE HAD A SERIOUS AND VESTED INTEREST, IN MY EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF OLD BOOKS ETC. SO, WITHOUT FEELING THAT BEING PUT-DOWN BY THE EXPERT WAS A BAD THING, I LISTENED AND MADE COPIOUS NOTES ABOUT OUR DISCUSSIONS.

NOW, THIS DOES NOT MEAN I AGREED WITH HIS STRATEGIES, OR HIS METHODS, BECAUSE I DIDN'T. I STILL NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT THEM, AND HOW I COULD CIRCUMVENT, TO HANDLE IT DIFFERENTLY, WITH MORE SENSITIVITY, AND ACHIEVE SOMEWHAT THE SAME RESULTS. IF YOU THINK THIS IS A LONG-WINDED INTRODUCTION TO THE STORY, BELIEVE ME IT IS REQUIRED. DAVE COULD TIP-TOE THE ETHICS BETWEEN HONESTY AND DISHONESTY LIKE A RAZOR-THIN TIGHT ROPE……AND NEVER LOSE HIS FOOTING…..BUT ALWAYS LEAVING THAT FAINT IMPRESSION SOMETHING WASN'T QUITE RIGHT. WHAT HE BELIEVED WAS ETHICAL, TO ME, WASN'T ALWAYS SO. FOR EXAMPLE, HE HATED HISTORICAL SOCIETIES…..NOT BECAUSE OF THE WORK THEY DID CONSERVING HERITAGE IN OUR COMMUNITIES, BUT BECAUSE THEY ATTRACTED, IN HIS MIND, A COLLECTION OF "KNOBS," AND "THE FRIENDS OF KNOBS." NOW WE HAD AN IMMEDIATE CONFLICT, SORT OF, BECAUSE I WAS THE FOUNDER OF ONE OF THESE ONTARIO REGIONAL HISTORICAL SOCIETIES. IN THE WINTER OF 1978 I SET ABOUT TO ESTABLISH THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AS THE FIRST STEP IN SAVING AN OCTAGONAL SHAPED HOME, IN TOWN, FOR A NEW COMMUNITY MUSEUM……WHICH ACTUALLY OCCURRED A FEW YEARS LATER. I WAS ONLY A SMALL COMPONENT OF THIS, AND A FUTURE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY, BUT STILL IT PUT ME ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH DAVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARGUED ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE OF PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF ARTIFACTS AND PAPER ARCHIVES, AND PUBLIC STEWARDSHIP. DAVE WAS FOR "PRIVATE IS BEST"……ON LOAN, WORKS FOR EVERYONE. HE WAS PRETTY SURE OF HIMSELF, IN THIS REGARD, SO THE STORY I'M ABOUT TO RELATE WILL MAKE SOME SENSE.

IT WAS A REGULAR OCCURRENCE ON THE AUCTION CIRCUIT, IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO, THAT DAVE BROWN WOULD BE IN ATTENDANCE TO BID ON HISTORICALLY RELEVANT BOOKS AND ARTIFACTS, ALSO BEING THE CHOICE ITEMS OF THE LOCAL OR REGIONAL HISTORICAL SOCIETIES. THEY ALL KNEW DAVE. TO SAY THEY LOATHED THE MAN IS QUITE CORRECT, BUT GENERALLY, IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT, HE MOST DEFINITELY LOATHED THEM. THERE WERE A NUMBER OF PREVIOUS CONFLICTS DAVE USED TO TALK ABOUT, THAT TAINTED HIS OPINION OF CERTAIN MUSEUMS, AND THE CORRESPONDING HERITAGE SOCIETIES THAT OFTEN PROVIDED THEIR ADMINISTRATION. HE COULD GET ALONG WITH CURATORS AND SOME DIRECTORS, BUT WHEN IT WAS A FORCE AGAINST HIM AT AN AUCTION SALE, HE MADE IT A PERSONAL WAR TO OUT PLAY THEM.

THERE WAS A PARTICULAR AUCTION, TOWARD THE END OF HIS LIFE, WHERE THIS PLAYED OUT BEAUTIFULLY. I WOULD HAVE GLADLY PAID, TO HAVE SAT IN THE GALLERY, WATCHING THE PRE-AUCTION HUSTLING OF SOCIETY MEMBERS, AND DAVE BROWN, SCREWING WITH THE BOXES OF OLD BOOKS AS PART OF THE ESTATE SALE. SO HERE'S WHAT THE CONFLICT WAS OVER. OF ABOUT THIRTY OR MORE BOXES OF OLD AND SOME RARE BOOKS, THERE WERE SOME IMPORTANT REGIONAL HISTORIES SCATTERED OVER THE COLLECTION, STREWN ON A SECTION OF LAWN; BOOKS THAT WOULD BE SOLD OFF SOME TIME IN THE AFTERNOON. IT WAS A BIG SALE. WHAT ANGERED DAVE, WAS THAT THE "OLD FARTS" FROM THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, WERE TAKING THE BOOKS THEY WANTED, AND BUILDING A "SUPER BOX," OF ALL THE ONES THEY WISHED TO PURCHASE THAT DAY. NOW WHAT THAT MEANT TO DAVE, WAS THAT THEY HAD JUST ENOUGH MONEY, TO MAKE A GOOD STAB AT WINNING THAT ONE BOX, WHICH WOULD CONTAIN POTENTIALLY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF REGIONAL MATERIAL. HE DIDN'T WANT THE SOCIETY UNLOADING THEIR SPENDING LIMIT ON ONE BOX, BECAUSE HE WAS INHERENTLY FRUGAL…..CHEAP. VERY CHEAP. SO HE WOULD GO BACK, AND CHANGE ALL THE BOOKS THE SOCIETY HAD BROUGHT TO ONE BOX, BACK WHERE THEY ALL CAME FROM…..A RATHER PAINSTAKING TASK.

"OH THEY WERE WATCHING ME TED," HE SAID. "EVERY TIME I MOVED THE BOOKS BACK TO THE BOXES THEY HAD BEEN TAKEN FROM, ONE OF THE MEMBERS WOULD REVERSE IT BACK AGAIN, SO THEY COULD BID ON ONE BOX INSTEAD OF THE LOT." IN THEIR OPINION, DAVE WOULD HAVE HAD MORE CAPABILITY OF OUT-BIDDING THEM ON A BOX BY BOX BASIS, VERSUS HAVING ONE SUPER COLLECTION OF BOOKS IN ONE NEAT AND TIDY CONTAINER. DAVE WAS WAY AHEAD OF THEM, AND HE KEPT REVERSING THE BOOKS, EVERY TIME THEY'D MAKE THE CHANGES. "THEY WERE GETTING MAD," HE SAID. "WE MUST HAVE DONE THIS BACK AND FORTH THING FIVE OR SIX TIMES, BEFORE I FINALLY GOT FED UP AND WENT TO TALK TO THE AUCTIONEER." FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW SOME OF THE PREVAILING AUCTION PROTOCOLS, THE AUCTIONEER COULD HAVE SOLD THE BOXES "ON CHOICE," WHICH IS DIFFERENT OF COURSE, THAN HOLDING THE BOXES UP INDIVIDUALLY, AND HIGHLIGHTING THE CONTENTS. THE SOCIETY WOULD NOT HAVE WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE DRAWN MORE BIDDERS TO THE "SUPER BOX," AND THUSLY A MORE SIGNIFICANT BIDDING COMPETITION. THIS IS TIME CONSUMING. SO IT'S TO BE EXPECTED, THAT THE AUCTIONEER, WOULD SELL ON CHOICE, AND THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY WOULD KNOW EXACTLY WHAT BOX WAS "STACKED." THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT, SO TO SPEAK, WAS THE FACT DAVE WAS WATCHING CLOSELY, AND THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE WAS NO LONGER A FACTOR IN THE SALE. DAVE MADE IT HIS BUSINESS TO WATCH THEM, EVEN IF HE STOOD AT THE BACK, AND LOOKED THROUGH THE ARMS AND LEGS OF THE CROWD IN FRONT.

WHEN THEY SAW THAT DAVE HAD LEFT THE SCENE OF THE "BOOK SWITCHING CAPER," THEY WENT TO WORK ONE LAST TIME, TO GET THEMSELVES ALL THE BOOKS THEY WANTED IN THAT ONE SPECIAL BOX. DAVE KNEW THEY WOULD. HE ALSO PREDICTED, THAT WHEN THE AUCTIONEER TOOK A COFFEE BREAK, SO WOULD THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. AND HE WAS RIGHT.

SO HERE'S THE SCENE THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEMBERS GOT TO SEE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. MR. BROWN LOADING HIS RED PICK-UP TRUCK WITH ALL THE BOXES OF BOOKS THAT HAD BEEN PUT UP FOR AUCTION AT THAT ESTATE SALE. EVERY BOX, EVERY BOOK, EVERY HISTORIC PIECE OF PAPER, WAS INCLUDED IN THAT JOB-BLOT OF PRINT HERITAGE.

Well sir, what a scene that must have been. "What are you doing with those boxes," they demanded, of the portly little man, with dirty t-shirt and shorts….and really big running shoes. 'Well, I'm loading the books I just bought, onto my truck…..is that okay?" "What do you mean, your books," questioned the officials of the local heritage group…..most standing with stunned looks etched on their sunburnt faces. "Go and ask the auctioneer….I just purchased these books while you people were having coffee."

What was trademark David Brown, was that he had reached a point of frustration with the society members doctoring the boxes, and decided to call a favor of a friend….a long time buddy, the auctioneer, asking if he could please sell off the books as soon as possible, because he had to attend another event that day. Dave was a huge buyer of books at these auctions, and auctioneers knew he'd remove them all, leaving none behind at the end of the day. He was an asset to them. (They would otherwise have to deal with the left over items themselves). I've used this excuse about a dozen times in the past, and it has never failed to work as intended. They don't want to lose my cash contribution to the sale, so they are usually willing to bend if the audience approves. So the auctioneer agreed, told the audience in front, what the next auction lot would be, and without moving more than a few feet, started the bidding. He wasn't the only bidder, and it probably cost him quite a bit of money, but the boxes were not sold "on choice" as the society had hoped would be the case. So he got all thirty odd boxes, and the members of the historical society were left to "hiss" in unison, at the bad, bad, bad bibliophile who had, in their minds, pulled a fast one. If only it ended there.

Dave knew the books that were in that auction. There may have been thirty boxes of old books, but there were only about five exceptional texts, amongst what the society had wanted to purchase. One of the five was missing when he got home. I can imagine he let out a Homer Simpsonesque "doah!!!", when he realized it had been removed from the collection. In about a month's time, he made a point of going to the local museum that had been represented by the historical society, and when he went to look at their archives collection of regional books, he found the copy that had gone missing. He didn't accost them, didn't make a fuss, never called a cop, a lawyer, or had any kind of reaction to the folks who ran the museum. What it did, for him, was justify his actions at the auction, and made it a personal mantra thereafter, to have nothing to do with historical societies. All kind of crazy stuff, but this is not uncommon behavior amongst the vested interests, who attend auctions and estate sales. The auctioneer was doing what he was supposed to do……looking out for the client he was representing, and regarding customer service to be of the utmost importance. Just because the historical society was out of earshot, when the announcement of an order change was made, didn't mean there was any slight of protocol on his part. Dave played fair. He asked a question…..that in his mind was the same as a favor, and put the jockeying for position to rest. This was the way Dave acted for decades, to get what he wanted out on the antique hustings. He was a gentle man in most other ways, and a wonderful teacher to thousands of kids in Hamilton, but he was a champion at getting the big deals out there……and he outplayed many dealers and collectors with similar methodology.

There are those folks who go to auctions, and have no idea how rough it can get between competitors for important and valuable pieces. I've been with Dave at auctions, and he could lock-in like a heat seeking missile, when something of value was coming up. Friendship meant nothing at this point.

I confess to borrowing some of Dave's strategies for acquisition but I won't ever balance on the high wire……in that tippy-toe between honesty and dishonesty, because I don't ever take things that seriously, to wager a reputation on a box of old books. But none the less, I needed to see just how determined some collectors and dealers get out there, so that when I see them clench their teeth, while bidding against me, they're actually wishing I might vaporize, before I dare bid them up one more time.

It's hard to be a pacifist out there, and still come home with something for your efforts.