THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTING APPRENTICESHIP THAT NEVER ENDS
THE LEARNING CURVE ONLY ENDS AT DEATH'S DOOR FOR THE COLLECTOR
I HAVE HAD THOUSANDS OF MENTORS. TUTORS. TEACHERS. ROLE MODELS. THOUSANDS OF THEM, WHO DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE I WAS WATCHING THEM. I HAVE, OVER THE YEARS, BEEN A PEEPING TOM, AS A STUDENT OF ANTIQUES AND OLD BOOKS. DID YOU REALLY THINK I'D DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT? LOOKING INTO WINDOWS AS UNSUSPECTING FOLKS DO….. YOU KNOW WHAT? WELL, THAT IS WHAT A PEEPING TOM DOES AFTER ALL, BUT IN MY CASE, I'VE EMPLOYED PRETTY MUCH THE SAME STRATEGY……. ONLY FOR WATCHING MY ANTIQUE HUNTING COLLEAGUES AT WORK AND PLAY. KEEP IN MIND, THAT AN ANTIQUE HUNTER'S IDEA OF PLAY, IS REALLY WORK WHEN IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO IT. ON OUR DAY OFF FROM THE SHOP, SUZANNE AND I GO ANTIQUE HUNTING FOR RECREATION. I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT OTHER THAN TO SAY THERE'S A SIDE OF THE PROFESSION THAT IS ETHEREAL, POETIC, ROMANTIC, NOSTALGIC, AND ZEN-LIKE. THEN THERE'S THE ECCENTRIC SIDE, AND THAT'S REALLY WHACKY. SUZANNE AND I HAVEN'T HAD A NON-COLLECTING-THEMED VACATION, SINCE OUR HONEYMOON IN COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG IN THE MID 1980'S. BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING. SO EVEN THOUGH WE WEREN'T BUYING, WE CERTAINLY WERE IMBEDDING IN AMERICAN HISTORY THIS TIME. DAVE TOOK HIS BRIDE TO GETTYSBURG FOR THEIR HONEYMOON. THINK THIS IS ODD? IT'S THE "NORM," FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE AN OUT OF CONTROL LUST FOR HISTORY.
SO WHEN I DECIDE THAT I HAVE A CERTAIN ADMIRATION FOR A COLLECTOR OR DEALER, I'VE COME TO KNOW, THROUGH OUR DAY TO DAY BUSINESS CONNECTIONS, I PAY A GREAT DEAL OF ATTENTION TO THEIR HABITS, AND ASK QUESTIONS WHEN APPROPRIATE. NOW YOU HAVE TO KNOW SOMETHING, ABOUT THIS CIRCUMSTANCE, FIRST OF ALL. WHILE DEALERS ARE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, WE'RE NOT ZEALOTS (JUST MILDLY RABID) AS A RULE. AFTER A FEW YEARS IN THE PROFESSION, YOU LEARN HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE FRIENDS IN THE TRADE. ANTIQUE DEALERS MAY HAVE INVENTED NETWORKING. WE REALLY CAN'T DO WITHOUT EACH OTHER'S GUIDANCE, AND THOSE WHO THINK THEY CAN GO IT ALONE, DON'T LAST TOO LONG IN THIS BUSINESS. THERE IS A LOYALTY TO SHARE INFORMATION, JUST AS THERE ARE USUALLY DISCOUNTS FOR DEALERS BUYING OFF DEALERS. IT'S AN IMBEDDED PART OF THE HUNT AND GATHER PROFESSION. I DIDN'T INVENT IT, OR SUGGEST THE DISCOUNTS TO ENSURE ONGOING LOYALTY. IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST COURTESY GESTURES I LEARNED IN THE ANTIQUE GAME. DEALERS LOOK AFTER DEALERS FIRST, WHO THEN LOOK AFTER THEIR CUSTOMERS. THE GEARS TO THIS TRADE'S MECHANISM WOULD GRIND TO A HALT, IF IT WASN'T FOR THE UNSEEN CO-OPERATION THAT GOES ON, BEHIND THE SCENES. WHERE PROPRIETORS EXCHANGE TIPS, STRATEGIES, AND PLANNING FOR GROUP-BUYING PROJECTS, (FOR EXAMPLE) REGARDING UPCOMING ESTATE SALES; AND WHO PASS CERTAIN ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE PIECES TO THOSE WHO DEAL SPECIFICALLY WITH THAT BRAND OR STYLE…… AND AGE OF INVENTORY (PINE PRIMITIVES EG).
SO FROM THE GET-GO, A FLEDGLING DEALER, WHO REALLY WANTS TO SURVIVE, DOES NOT PEE INTO THE WIND. BY THIS I MEAN, NEGLECTING TO CULTIVATE FRIENDSHIP IN THE ANTIQUE COMMUNITY……OR BY INSULTING COLLEAGUES. IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE A GOOD CLIENT BASE. AS YOU PROGRESS THROUGH THE YEARS, EITHER WITH YOUR OWN SHOP, ANTIQUE SELLING ONLINE, OR AS A ROVING DEALER, ATTENDING SHOWS ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE, YOU WILL, BY IMMERSION ALONE, HAVE TO COPE WITH OTHERS (A WHOLE CAST OF CURIOUS FOLK) LABORING IN THE SAME PROFESSION. IT WILL PREVAIL UPON YOU TO KNOW THE DEALERS WHO CAN BEST HELP YOU SUCCEED, AND THOSE, WHO WISH MORESO, TO BENEFIT FROM WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW. YES, AS WITH ANY PROFESSION, THERE ARE SCOUNDRELS AND ROGUES AMONGST US, AND THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE TO LEARN FAST, WHO YOU CAN COUNT AS FRIENDS, AND WHO MIGHT BE WILLING TO SELL-YOU-OUT FOR A SHORT-TERM BIG PROFIT. IT'S WHY THE DEALERS WHO SURVIVE, CAN ALL WRITE MANUALS ABOUT HOW THEY DID IT……TIGHTROPE WALKING, ON A STRAND OF THREAD, OVER A STEAMING CATARACT, WHILE OTHERS WERE TRYING TO TRIP THEM UP.
I WANT TO CALL AN ANTIQUE DEALER'S START-UP YEAR, AS "MAKING A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL," OR "TAKING A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE," OR EVEN "BURNING THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS." IT'S BLOODY HARD TO IMMERSE IN THIS HISTORIC PROFESSION, DATING BACK TO BIBLICAL TIMES, WITHOUT BEING STALKED, HUNTED, POUNCED-UPON, AND FLEECED, BY THOSE AMONGST US WHO ARE "SHARKS" IN THE TRADE OF HUNTING ANTIQUES. IT'S OUR JOB TO FIND "SLEEPERS," WHICH ARE UNDERVALUED PIECES. SO IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A ROOKIE DEALER, WHO THINKS YOU'VE MASTERED THE PROFESSION EARLY-ON, HONESTLY, MY BET IS, THE SHARKS WILL STRIP THE SHELVES BARE, TO DUST BUNNIES, OF ANYTHING REPRESENTING SIGNIFICANT VALUE. WE WON'T APOLOGIZE, AND WHILE IT'S NOT UNHEARD OF, FOR ANOTHER DEALER, TO ADVISE A GREENHORN ABOUT A PRICING SHORTFALL, THE UNWRITTEN RULE IS THAT LEARNING HAS TO COME FROM EXPERIENCE. SO WATCHING ONE'S INVENTORY STRIPPED TO THE BARE WALLS, IS A HARBINGER OF THINGS TO COME. IT'S NOT WRONG TO HAVE GOOD PRICES THAT ATTRACT CUSTOMERS TO YOUR STORE, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO REPLACING THE INVENTORY, NOT HAVING THE PROFIT YOU NEED……TO HANDLE HIGHER PRICES FOR ACQUISITION, CAN BE A DAMNING REALITY OF A FAILING BUSINESS. KEEP IN MIND, THAT DEALERS DON'T ALWAYS INDICATE WHAT THEY DO FOR A LIVING. EACH OF US HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS OF HANDLING THIS INFORMATION. SO THE PERSON STRIPPING EVERY UNDER-VALUED ITEM IN YOUR NEW SHOP, IS EITHER AN ENTHUSIASTIC HOME DECORATOR, A ASTUTE VALUE-CONSCIOUS COLLECTOR, OR "SMILING ON THE INSIDE" DEALER, WHO IS JUST DOING A DAY'S WORK. BY THE WAY, DEALERS AREN'T LIKE THE OLD NEWSPAPER STAFFERS, WHO USED TO WEAR "PRESS" CARDS TUCKED INTO THE HAT BAND OF THEIR FEDORAS…..TO GAIN ENTRY TO "OFF LIMITS" LOCATIONS. I KNOW MANY PROS WHO WILL NOT REVEAL THAT THEY ARE FULL FLEDGED ANTIQUE DEALERS. I'M LIKE THIS WHEN I LEAVE THE REGION. SO WHILE WE LOOK LIKE RUN OF THE MILL CUSTOMERS, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE WHAT WE BUY FROM YOU, AND FLIP IT FOR MANY MORE DOLLARS. IF WE DON'T BUY SOMETHING, IT'S EITHER BECAUSE WE'VE TURNED OUR NOSES UP, AT INFERIOR MERCHANDISE, OR FOUND THE INVENTORY OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE OF KNOWLEDGE……OR OFTEN, THAT IT IS PRICED ACCURATELY. IF THEY WANT A DEAL, THEY WILL HAVE TO FESS-UP TO BEING IN THE TRADE, TO SEE IF THE VENDOR HAS A DEALER-DISCOUNT TO OFFER. THIS MEANS THEY'LL HAVE TO BLOW THEIR COVER.
I HAD A LOCAL SECOND HAND SHOP OWNER TELL ME ONCE, WITH FULL CONFIDENCE, THAT HE KNEW ALL THOSE WHO WERE ANTIQUE DEALERS WHO CAME INTO HIS SHOP, AND ALL THOSE WHO WERE SPECIALISTS IN FINE ART. I TRIED NOT TO SMILE, AS I WAS ONE OF THE DEALERS WHO BENEFITTED FROM HIS LOW PRICING, AND GENERAL LACK OF KNOWLEDGE. THE GUY WAS SO HEADSTRONG ABOUT THESE THINGS, AND CLAIMING TO KNOW IT ALL, WHEN IT WAS OBVIOUS HE DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE, THAT EVEN IF I HAD SPEND TIME TRYING TO EDUCATE HIM, IT WOULDN'T HAVE CHANGED THE SITUATION. I DID INFORM HIM, THAT ANTIQUE AND ART DEALERS, DON'T WEAR IDENTIFICATION BADGES, AND MAYBE ONLY ONE IN A HUNDRED THROUGH HIS DOOR, WOULD CLAIM TO BE A DEALER, HOPING FOR A DISCOUNT. THE REASON WE DON'T IDENTIFY OURSELVES AS SUCH, EVEN FOR A DISCOUNT, IS THAT THE RELATIONSHIP CHANGES FOREVER, AND THE PRICES GO UP ON THE EXISTING ART INVENTORY, HABITUALLY OUT OF FEAR OF SHARKS…….AND NEW ARRIVALS MAY NOT BE PUT OUT FOR OUR BENEFIT AT ALL……BECAUSE WE ARE OFTEN SEEN AS A THREAT. I UNDERSTAND THIS, WHICH IS PRECISELY WHY WE LIKE TO KEEP OUR PROFESSIONS CONFIDENTIAL.
THE LESSON DAVE BROWN TAUGHT ME ABOUT TRUST AND PARTNERSHIP, AND FRIENDLY PROFESSIONAL BETRAYAL
IN OF ALL PLACES, THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED IN A CHURCH. IT IS A REMINISCENCE WITH AN ANTIQUE-COLLECTING MORAL, ABOUT GOOD FAITH AND SENSIBLE PROPORTION.
When it came to book collecting, my mentor Dave Brown, of Hamilton, was a rogue to the exponent of ten. He was a great outdoor education teacher and summer camp counsellor, as well as being a pretty fair regional historian. As for books, he was something else. To borrow an old, retired reference….."he would skin a louse for its tallow." Dave didn't look like a book shark. Well, what does a book shark look like anyway? Dave re-wrote the dress code in this regard. Few book dealers, in their tidy, pleasant, book-filled shops, seeing Dave Brown coming at them, with his poorly laundered summer attire, of torn gym shorts, heavy socks and running shoes, felt they were faced with a giant in the book collecting game. They probably cringed that a bum wanted to come in out of the weather, contaminating the shop's air quality. Dave smelled like a campfire most of the time. And did I mention he wore a t-shirt that had evidence of everything he got up to in the previous week…..including the beans he ate at the campsite? Part of it was strategic. Book dealers who didn't know him, weighed everything mistakenly, on outward appearances. His brain should have been donated to the Smithsonian, for what brilliance he had at his beck and call.
Dave was known to take baths with his clothes on. He won't be happy that I made this known, because it didn't even make the biography I wrote, published shortly after he passed away. Dave was eccentric and that's all there was to it……but so am I. Suzanne had to deal with both of us in the same house. How do you cook for a guy who won't eat vegetables except potatoes in the form of french fries. Suzanne is clever this way, and when Dave ate here, by golly, he happily consumed whatever was on his plate…..and there were vegetables, without a french fry in sight. He didn't want to piss off the cook. Me neither. I'm fussy in many other ways, but not when it comes to food.
I just want to establish here, that Dave Brown did not look like he would be a book buyer. Even a new book. Magazines, sure. Antiquarian books, no way. That's what he counted on. People not believing he was a major collector of Canadiana. And yes, he got to fly under the radar, and it made him thousands of dollars in book investment value. He just never cashed them in. Instead, he bought more and more each month, each year.
There were unwritten, and unspoken rules of engagement, when it came to our apprenticeship with the good Mr. Brown. In return for lodging, and wholesome meals, Dave would teach us all about old books of value, and where to find them for a good price. Over years, we were completely subservient to this persnickety collector, and after three years, we were finally invited to attend some book events in his company. We knew to let him call the shots, and make the big finds, and we would be happy with the leftovers…….that he would willingly show us, as the "money" books, perfect for resale. He was usually bang-on about this, and it's important to note here, and now, that Dave didn't flip books for profit. He might have traded on occasion, but he didn't involve himself in the acquisition of old books for immediate profit. Having rare books gave him power, and stature among his associates in history, and I don't know of any occasion, when Dave gave up anything he had purposely collected, just because one of his mates asked him if he would be willing to sell one or more. He had lots of excuses not to sell. In fact, a close friend of his, who he actually used to stay with while in Haliburton, made a request of him, for the book "Andersonville," a story about a Confederate Prisoner of War Camp. There was a movie made based on the story. Dave phoned me, quite insulted, that his friend had bothered him at home, to find this particular book. He knew I had two copies, and asked if I would be willing to part with one, to keep this guy happy. Truth is, Dave probably had five or six copies, but he would never have been able to find them, mixed up in the 1000,000 books he did have, stuffed all over his Hamilton bungalow.
I talked to Dave one day, on the phone, and told him about a large used book sale being held at an Anglican Church, in Bracebridge…..where at the time we had an antique shop located a block away. I've told this story a number of times, but it shows the master-pupil relationship, at its sharpest edge. He said he would be up on Friday afternoon, and begged a place to spend the night…..which meant my archives room here at Birch Hollow. I agreed, then got scolded by Suzanne because she said the house had to be cleaned before he arrived. I do things like this all the time, and it's a marvel we're still married.
Dave showed up at dinner time, as was his routine, and all and all we had a good evening. He talked about some of the recent finds he had made, and estates he was hoping to get a crack at, because the former owners, now deceased, had been major collectors of Canadiana as well. The sale was supposed to start at 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Suzanne got us up early, for a country breakfast…..a meal to die for, and we talked for about an hour, discussing a wide array of collecting interests, and a little bit about what we might expect to find at this church book sale. Dave gave me some advice about what to look for, and I knew that my position would be, as usual, wandering behind picking up what he didn't want. Why would I continue to do this? Dave was such a legend in book collecting, for his antics and capability to make major finds, and it was most definitely a status situation for us, to be his underlings.
One minute, Dave was in the bathroom shaving, and the next thing you know, I looked out, and saw his truck pulling out of the driveway. It was easy to spot Dave's truck with the honking big yellow canoe lashed on top. I asked Suzanne where Dave was going, and she said he had some stops before getting to the sale, and he would meet me there at ten. We were in Gravenhurst, and the sale was ten miles up the road, in Bracebridge. So I suspected he was up to no good, and raced out of the house to get to Bracebridge, and join any potential line-up that had formed for this large sale. At least this is how it was advertised. A really "big" sale.
I got there a half hour ahead of the official opening. There were already about twenty people in line, and three of them were significant competitors in book buying. There was no sign of Dave. I couldn't really save him a place in line, although I did think it prudent to give him my spot, when he did show up, as he was the expert…..and he would find books best suited for our shop as a trade-off. I confess to having been a slow learner when it came to buying books that would have a good re-sale potential. Just because a book is old, doesn't make it marketable. Dave on the other hand, could find the five hundred dollar books, amongst those being sold under ten dollars each. I was with him on numerous occasions, and Suzanne and I did an online search of the titles he had found, and we knew from that, he had a good eye for value. Many thousands of dollars found, for a payout of next to nothing. He was good at this stuff. He took no prisoners, and he was ruthless in the heat of battle.
At about three minutes to ten, I had given up on Dave. I was going to have to battle this one out on my own. When the minister in charge, opened the doors to the auditorium, where the sale was being held, there was the unsinkable David Brown, in his awful red shorts, dirty t-shirt, big grass-stained, white running shoes, carrying a big box of books he had just purchased. Ahead of everyone else! The minister slapped him on the back, saying "Nice to meet you Mr. Brown…..and thanks so much for helping us with our fundraising." He looked at me, got this ear to ear smile, and said respectfully, "There are still some books left for you folks." I wanted to trip him. I wanted to jump the guy and take his box of books. I can't tell you how many of his colleagues in old books, had the same experience and the identical reaction, when they had run into the clever, on the verge of diabolical manipulations, to get into sales ahead of the starting time. I never found out what wild and wooly story he told the minister, but I bet it was something like, "My mother's on her death-bed and I have to get back to Hamilton right away……so I was wondering….." Well sir, Dave's mother had been deceased for many years before this, and there was nothing urgent beckoning him that morning. He was well rested, well fed, and had just weaseled his way into a sale where he probably got several thousands dollars in Canadiana. But this is what I needed to see. It's what eventually made me a better and more aggressive collector and dealer. So in repayment, for this tiny betrayal of trust, I worked him over but good, asking him so many questions that night, he probably wished he'd driven back to Hamilton. We softened him up with roast beef and yorkshire puddings, with lots of rich gravy…..and wine…..lots of wine. So what I didn't get in books that day, because he tricked me, I got in information, and I called that weekend competition a draw.
There was an occasion here in Gravenhurst, when Dave, Suzanne and I went to the annual summer book sale at the Public Library. This time it was held in front of the Opera House, as part of an August street sale. We got there as soon as it opened, and I watched where Dave went first. The first thing you learn, studying with an old book collector, is to trust their instincts as if they were your own. Dave knew books by their spines, and even in a sea of books, he could detect vintage book binding a whole table away. He'd move fast, as if his feet weren't even touching the ground, and pretty soon, he'd have five or six books tucked securely under his arm. On this occasion, Suzanne, a school librarian, outsmarted him, and found four particularly significant late 1800's books on the history of Toronto. He knew they were big finds. He had glanced at Suzanne, as she was looking through them to check for damage. Dave saw her pick them out of a pile still beneath the table, from an old box, and he was at her side in a flash of portly humanity. Suzanne was a good apprentice, but not a subservient one. I might have given those books to Dave, instead of keeping them for ourselves. We had committed an indiscretion against our teacher. Even though we weren't restricted from making good finds, what Dave expected, that in return for his guidance and friendship, any truly big finds, would be naturally offered to him first. He weighed, you see, that being a collector was of a higher ranking than a book dealer, who wanted to sell the found treasures…..instead of hoarding them for posterity. Dave's eccentricities got the best of him, and he informed me, right after talking to Suzanne, that he was heading back to our house to pick up his gear, and then motoring back to Hamilton. He didn't even finish looking at the books. I asked Suzanne about the encounter, and she said he asked to see the found books, and when she didn't offer to surrender the finds, he immediately turned his back, and walked toward me. Dave was having one of his famous snits. This is how he let you know about a protocol issue. Suzanne was mad at me for siding with him. I just wanted to keep the peace, and there was a lot more I needed to learn from this bibliomaniac…..which he was, without a doubt.
Suzanne was truly pissed off, that Dave would treat us both so ignorantly. It was later that night, when the phone rang, and we looked at each other, and at the same moment, said "it's Dave." We had seen some minor examples of his cranky disposition before, and this is how he went about making amends. Dave didn't want to talk to me. He wanted to apologize to Suzanne for his hasty retreat, and thank her for making him welcome at Birch Hollow. Dave had a lot of acquaintances but not as many friends as he should have had, considering his position as an Outdoor Educator, working close with hundreds of teachers. But many got tired of his angry retorts. One teaching colleague bought him a pair of magnifying eyeglasses, from a drug store, to help Dave with his reading. Dave was terribly fearful of doctors and the medical community in general, which was odd considering his father was once the director of Hamilton General Hospital. His eyes were bad, and to read a book, he had to hold it up to within a hair's breadth of the tip of his nose. She thought he could benefit from the glasses for minor reading jags. Dave was so upset by this perceived intrusion, he tossed them in the garbage, and wouldn't talk to her for about a year. Dave's perception of good deeds was a little askew. But in the collecting enterprise, folks like Dave Brown are abundant. I have met hundreds of collectors who could rival Dave Brown, for eccentricity. None the less, I learned so much from my years with Dave Brown, that every inconvenience and moment of servitude, was worth the sacrifice of personal dignity. He let me write his biography, and he was right. He predicted the book's success and it sold out quickly. It was a good story about a highly intelligent educator, and legendary bookman, worts and all. I could never have found a better tutor, and it has served me well as a book seller ever since.
I've got a few more stories about my apprenticeship with David Brown, in the next few days. It has been a pleasure having you over for a visit. I greatly appreciate the time you take, out of your busy schedules, to spend a little time, in this spin of stories from an old antique hunter. Please feel free to come on back, and settle down here at the Birch Hollow hearth, where we can have another mid-winter visit. See you soon.
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