Being A Generalist Dealer Not So Bad, Now 100,000 Views!

Long Oak Antique Wine Casket Barrel

OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY WHEN YOU'RE A BIG TIME ANTIQUE HUNTER

BACK TO BEING A GENERALIST ANTIQUE DEALER - THAT'S OKAY TOO

     TO BEGIN THIS BLOG TODAY, AND I GUARANTEE THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WILL BRING IT UP, (BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE I'M OVERLY FOND OF MYSELF), MY DAILY COLUMN HAS NOW HAD 100,000 HITS SINCE THE FALL OF 2011. SOME CELEBRITY AND POLITICAL BLOGGERS GET THIS IN ONE DAY. BUT WHEN YOU POUND OUT A SMALL TOWN, SMALL BUSINESS BLOG, WELL, THIS IS BIG BANANAS TO A HACK LIKE ME. I'VE GOT MY OLD SMITH-CORONA PORTABLE BESIDE ME, SO I WILL OCCASIONALLY BE REMINDED HOW IT ALL BEGAN IN THE MID 1970'S, WITH MY FIRST PAID WRITING GIG. A YOUNG JIMMY OLSEN WITHOUT A SUPERMAN CAPE. I HAD THIS TYPEWRITER AND A BEAT UP OLD DATSUN….THAT WAS AS BIG AS A PHONE BOOTH. AND FIVE BUCKS LEFT AT THE END OF THE WEEK TO GET WILD AND CRAZY.

     IT WAS IN NOVEMBER 2011 THAT I BEGAN WRITING A DAILY BLOG. I HAD BEEN WRITING A BLOG PREVIOUSLY, DEALING WITH THE ISSUES OF SOUTH MUSKOKA GENERALLY, GRAVENHURST SPECIFICALLY. WHEN I BEGAN TAPPING AWAY AT THIS KEYBOARD DAILY, I WAS RE-LIVING MY OWN EARLY DAYS OF JOURNALISM, WITH MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, AND MY YEARS WITH THE HERALD-GAZETTE, THE MUSKOKA SUN, THE MUSKOKA ADVANCE, THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, MUSKOKA TODAY, THER WAYBACK TIMES, THE BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER, AND THE GRAVENHURST BANNER. I ENJOYED THOSE YEARS BUT I WASN'T A GOOD EMPLOYEE. I COULDN'T, AS THEY SAY  TOE THE LINE; EVEN IF MY TOE HAD BEEN NAILED TO THAT SAME LINE. I WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS TO EVERY PUBLISHER BACK IN THOSE DAYS, AND I DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS RIGHT EDITORIALLY, WHICH TO MY CREDIT, EARNED ME THE DISTINCTION OF NEVER HAVING BEEN SUED, OR GETTING THE NEWSPAPERS, I WAS ASSOCIATED WITH, IN ANY LEGAL TROUBLE BECAUSE OF MY INACCURATE REPORTING. I NAVIGATED THE HERALD-GAZETTE THROUGH SOME PRECARIOUS WATERS BACK IN THE 1980'S, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE MOST AGGRESSIVE NEWSPAPER COMPETITION IN THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA MEDIA. YOU HAD TO BE AGGRESSIVE BUT YOU COULD NEVER BE WRONG, OR YOU'D PUT THE NEWSPAPER IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY. THERE WASN'T A WEEK THAT WENT BY, THAT I WASN'T ACUTELY AWARE JUST HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO BE COMPETITIVE…..AND PICK UP SUBSCRIPTIONS, TO KEEP OUR ADVERTISERS HAPPY WITH PAID CIRCULATION NUMBERS, WITHOUT GETTING TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE OF THE BOTTOMLESS ABYSS……OF A MAJOR LAWSUIT, BY FLIRTING WITH "THE RISQUE."

     I WASN'T SORRY TO LEAVE THAT ERA OF WRITING BEHIND. I WANTED TO BE A FEATURE WRITER, OR A BASIC WEEKLY COLUMNIST, AND SO I DECLINED TO JOIN ANY OTHER PUBLICATION AS PAID STAFF IN THE 1990'S ONWARD, PREFERRING INSTEAD TO WRITE FOR EXPOSURE, AND MY ENJOYMENT. SINCE THE SUMMER OF 1990, I HAVE HAD AN ENJOYABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL THE PUBLISHERS I'VE WORKED WITH, AND HELPED OUT WITH COPY DEMANDS, WITHOUT EVER BEING COMPELLED TO ATTEND MEETINGS WITH THE RESPECTIVE EDITORS. THE LAST MEETING I WENT TO, AFTER I HAD ASKED TO BE REASSIGNED TO THE POSITION OF ASSISTANT EDITOR, OF THE MUSKOKA SUN, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ROBERT J. BOYER, (I WAS A STAY-AT-HOME DAD), THE EDITOR OF THE WHOLE OUTFIT, MISTAKENLY REFERRED TO ALL STAFF WRITERS AS "FLOWERS," "THAT NEEDED TO BE NURTURED….. TO MAKE US BETTER AT OUR JOBS." I TOOK THE CHAP ASIDE, (AND I MAY HAVE CALLED HIM LES NESMAN, OF "WKRP IN CINCINATTI ), LETTING HIM KNOW THAT IF HE EVER REFERRED TO ME AS A "FLOWER TO NURTURE," AGAIN, HE COULD TAKE HIS JOB….AND YOU KNOW THE REST. HE MADE SOME OTHER RIDICULOUS STATEMENT, I FOUND HUGELY OFFENSIVE, FOR MY TENURE TO THAT POINT, AND I LET HIM KNOW THAT I COULDN'T POSSIBLY WORK THERE ANY LONGER, AS IT WOULD LEAD TO MY EVENTUAL SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION….AND THAT WOULDN'T BE GOOD FOR ANY ONE. INCLUDING MY TWO BOYS WHO NEEDED THEIR MR. MOM AT HOME.

     NOW I WRITE FOR TWO WONDERFULLY PLEASANT PUBLISHERS, AT "CURIOUS;THE TOURIST GUIDE," (YOU CAN ACCESS ONLINE), AND "THE GREAT NORTH ARROW," FROM DOWNTOWN OR UPTOWN DUNCHURCH, ONTARIO. THEY ARE GREAT FOLKS TO WORK FOR, AND THEY HAVE NEVER ONCE REFERRED TO ME AS A FLOWER THAT HAD TO BE NURTURED. I THANK THEM FOR THIS, AND THEY GET THE BEST OF THE BEST THAT I CAN STILL MUSTER, FROM BIRCH HOLLOW.

     A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, SON ROBERT, WHO IS MY COMPUTER GEEK, AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATE IN ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, SUGGESTED THAT I SHOULD TRY WRITING A BLOG. WELL, I NEVER DO THINGS IN A SMALL WAY…..LIKE TIM TAYLOR OF THE OLD SITCOM, "HOME IMPROVEMENT." SO I HAD FIVE BLOG-SITES, REFLECTING MY MOODS OF WRITING. SOMETIMES I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT HANDWRITTEN RECIPES, AND AT OTHER TIMES I NEEDED TO WRITE ABOUT GHOSTS, AFTER STRANGE ENCOUNTERS. IF I WAS FEELING A LITTLE NOSTALGIC, I'D PUT SOME TIME INTO RECOLLECTIONS ABOUT GROWING UP IN BRACEBRIDGE. "MUSKOKA AS WALDEN," WAS MY BLOG TO USE WHEN I WAS "PINING FOR THE FJORDS," (TAKEN FROM A MONTY PYTHON SKIT), AND MY GRAVENHURST, HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE SITE, WAS TO WAX POLITICAL WHEN NOT POETIC. IT BEGAN AS A CRITIQUE OF LOCAL AFFAIRS, AND IT MORPHED INTO REGIONAL HISTORIES, AND NOW INTO AN ANTIQUE BIOGRAPHY…..THE ONE I FELT WAS LONG OVERDUE, AND SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO LEAVE MY SONS WHEN THIS  OLDTIMER MAKES HIS LAST ANTIQUE PURCHASE….OR SALE, WHICH EVER COMES FIRST.

     I BEGAN IN NOVEMBER OF 2011 WITH ONLY A FEW HITS (READERS) EACH DAY. BY CHRISTMAS I WAS LUCKY TO GET FORTY, AND BY JANUARY OF 2012, WHEN I STARTED WRITING ABOUT ANTIQUES FOR A TAD, MY NUMBERS STARTED TO INCREASE CONSISTENTLY DAY AFTER DAY. WHEN I WROTE AN ONLINE BIOGRAPHY OF MUSKOKA ARTIST, RICHARD KARON, (BAYSVILLE), I JUMPED TO BETWEEN SEVENTY AND ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY EACH DAY. BUT BY THE LATE AUTUMN OF 2012, I HAD JUMPED TO BETWEEN THREE HUNDRED AND FIVE HUNDRED A DAY, WITHOUT THE USE OF NUDITY OR MENTIONING NAMES OF HOLLYWOOD OR MUSIC CELEBRITIES, JUST TO BUMP UP THE DAILY HITS. NOW AT THE FIRST OF MAY, STILL WRITING THIS BLOG ON A DAILY BASIS, I AVERAGE SIX HUNDRED PER DAY, AND HAVE HAD A RECORD OF EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY, NOTCHED IN THE LAST MONTH. PART OF THIS I HAVE TO CREDIT TO THE OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHY OF FAMILY FRIEND, FRED SCHULZ, WHO HAS BEEN HELPING ME ILLUSTRATE MY "MUSKOKA AS WALDEN," SITE…..AND I'VE BEEN SNITCHING A FEW EXTRAS TO HEAD THIS DAILY BLOG…..BECAUSE I BELIEVE HE IS ONE OF THE FINEST PHOTOGRAPHERS WORKING IN THE DISTRICT TODAY…..AND A CHAP WHO HAS CAPTURED A GREAT DEAL OF MUSKOKA HISTORY OVER FORTY YEARS, OF ALWAYS BEING CAMERA-READY. SO I WOULD BE NEGLECTFUL NOT TO MENTION, THE CONTRIBUTION HE HAS MADE TO THIS ENTERPRISE, OVER THE PAST MONTH OF OUR MOST RECENT COLLABORATION. YOU KNOW, FRED'S A GOOD FRIEND AND A GOOD SPORT, AND I'M DRIVING HIM NUTS, BY USING FOUR TO SIX PHOTOS A NIGHT. POOR GUY. WHEN HE AGREED, HE UNDERSTOOD IT WAS GOING TO BE ONE PHOTO FOR ONE BLOG EACH DAY. LIKE I MENTIONED EARLY ON, I'M A LITTLE UNPREDICTABLE THIS WAY…..BUT I MEAN WELL.

     SO IT IS A RE-GENERATING SORT OF EVENT, TO BE ABLE TO SAY I'VE HIT THE 100,000 MARK, IN DAY TO DAY WRITING SINCE NOVEMBER 2011. BUT HONESTLY, THE REAL BOOM HAS COME IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE VISITED THIS COLUMN ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK, OR EVEN DAILY, AND BELIEVE ME, IN THE WRITING PROFESSION, HAVING AN AUDIENCE IS, WELL, THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS. SO IT IS MY JOB TO PROVIDE SOME INTERESTING MATERIAL, AND I'M THE KIND OF WRITER WHO LIKES TO FLY BY THE SEAT OF HIS PANTS……AND MOST OF THIS IS INDEED, THAT SPONTANEOUS. I DON'T SIT DOWN WITH ROUGH NOTES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WILL WRITE ABOUT UNTIL MY FINGERS HIT THIS KEYBOARD, AND MY WIFE KNOWS THIS WELL……BECAUSE OCCASIONALLY, I HAVE THE KIND OF BLOCK THAT FORCES ME TO SING TO MYSELF, DRUM ON MY DESKTOP, AND TALK TO NO ONE IN PARTICULAR, UNTIL THE CREATIVE JUICES START FLOWING.

     SO SPONTANEOUSLY, AND OFTEN THE RESULT OF TAPPING INTO A CREATIVE POOL I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD, AT THAT MOMENT, I START WRITING IN UPPER CASE, AND GET SO FREAKING CARRIED AWAY, I FORGET TO DROP THE CAPS. THIS IS THE CASE IN POINT TODAY. I'M BUZZED BY HAVING HAD A GOOD DAY OUT ON THE "YE OLDE" ANTIQUE HUNT AND GATHER, AND FEELING ENTIRELY UPBEAT, ABOUT HAVING REACHED THIS LITTLE MILESTONE OF READERSHIP. SOMETIME AGO, I ASKED IF SOMEONE OUT THERE HAD A MILLION BUCKS TO INVEST IN A NEWSPAPER, SUGGESTING THAT I WOULD GLADLY WORK, FOR A SMALL WAGE, JUST TO SIT IN THAT EDITOR'S CHAIR ONCE AGAIN. I LOVED BEING EDITOR. BUT YOU KNOW, WITH THE PUBLICATIONS I CURRENTLY WRITE FOR, THE BLOGS, AND THE FREELANCE WRITING THESE DAYS (JUST FINISHED A MAJOR HISTORY FOR A SPORTING ORGANIZATION), I'M PRETTY CONTENT TO SPEND THE REST OF MY DAYS DOING THIS WONDERFUL "SAME OLD, SAME OLD." I'M AN ANTIQUE DEALER. "OLD" IS WHAT I DO TO MAKE A LIVING. IT WORKS IN WRITING AS WELL.

     MAYBE IF I ACHIEVE A MILLION HITS, I MIGHT MENTION THIS IN PASSING…..CASUALLY, NONCHALANTLY, JUST BECAUSE IT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL GOOD, THAT WITHOUT BEING NURTURED BY A DING-DONG EDITOR, I HAD HIT THE NOSE-BLEED SECTION OF WRITING ACCOMPLISHMENT. OTHERWISE, I WILL JUST CARRY-ON, AND BE VERY THANKFUL ABOUT HAVING NICE FOLKS LIKE YOU, WILLING TO TRUST A NON-BLOOMING FLOWER-GUY LIKE ME, TO SPIN A GOOD STORY NOW AND AGAIN. IT IS A PLEASURE SERVING YOU…..I AM YOUR SERVANT.

A FIND IN A PAWN SHOP - WHERE?

     I've been visiting pawn and hock shops, as an antique and collectable dealer, since I began in this profession, back in the mid 1970's. I used to visit them in Florida, when I was with my parents on holidays. I used to visit dozens when I was living in Toronto, during my university years, but I never hockey my typewriter for booze, like Ray Milland, in the movie "The Lost Weekend."

     There are a lot of antique collectors and dealers, who have just gasped (I heard them), with this admission that I shop regularly at places where people turn, as a last resort, to pawn stuff…..including family heirlooms. I've talked to quite a few dealers, who don't share my interest whatsoever, and even on a dare, wouldn't visit one of these shops because of this negative connotation. There is the perception that everything they sell is "hot," having been stolen from someone, or some business, house or cottage. It's not to say they haven't been subject to investigations, for these kind of situations, but by and large, I find staff in these businesses to be quite reliable and very honest. And generally very thorough when people come in to pawn items. We are voyeurs all the time. We pay attention to all transactions within ear-shot, because it is our advantage, to know as much as possible, about the way these shops conduct routine business. We feel more comfortable knowing just how thorough shop staff is, on these purchases; some which we are of course interested in ourselves.

    We of course are fussy about who we will deal with, and make at least ten trips in, to investigate, before we actually buy our first pieces. For about nine years we've been actively buying from these pawn style shops, and there has only been one occasion, when there was a problem, and that was handled immediately, and without any argument. They had sold something that had been stolen, and we had been the unsuspecting purchasers. The shop co-operated with the police in this case, and they refunded our purchase price immediately, with an apology. When we had guitars stolen from our shop, a number of years ago, we put a call out to regional swap and hock shops, and within 48 hours, we got calls back from the shops where the perpetrator had gone to flog them for a quick profit. The materials were returned to us quickly.

      It is unfortunate when someone is forced to sell off cherished, heirloom pieces, because of a financial pinch. Geez, when I was a starting dealer, this used to happen all the time. I just didn't go to pawn shops, because we didn't have any locally. I just put sales on, in our shop, with give-away prices, so that I could pay rent, and buy some groceries. A shortage of cash does this to people, and whether it is an antique shop selling wares, because a client needed to raise some quick money, or a hock shop doing the same, why wouldn't we….as collectors and dealers, take a little sneak peek to see if there's something we might like?

     Today was a good example, of reasons you should visit these kind of second hand shops. I was able to pick up a rare "22.25 inch long oak antique wine casket barrel," worth between $200 and $400 based on condition. This one is missing the tap, but has the apparatus to plug the hole. It was sitting in the window of a little pawn shop in our region of Ontario, and the owner didn't know what it was…..and suggested it would come back into shape if we soaked it in oil. Wrong answer. But it demonstrated why he had under-priced it by at least three hundred percent, based on the fact he didn't know it was for wine….or water, but definitely not oil. The price was more than right. It was generously low. Similar ones were used on sailing ships, and could even hold water. To get this piece back in shape, it needs to have some water put back inside, so the oak will swell and seal the casket. This is the kind of antique you can find in these shops, brought in from someone's household to sell or hock. And sometimes the items hocked aren't picked up, and can be sold-off later. These shops are a fact of life and times, and we're in that kind of business, dealing with facts, fortunate and unfortunate. We even hate going to estate sales and auctions, when family is bidding alongside us for heirloom pieces. But I've gotten used to this, and all the sentiment that goes along with it. I've been in the same situation myself, and yup, it sucks. But we'd be shortchanging our businesses out of a lot of inventory, if we didn't prep ourselves to deal with these kind of emotional, sentimental issues. So I was really pleased to find this interesting piece, and it will be passed on to a collector who will cherish and look after its well being in the future. So the piece is going to be conserved and survive……and be on display, despite where it has travelled, and with a piece like this, potentially on the seven seas……all over the place.

         Thanks for visiting today, on what I'm feeling is a banner day for being a writer, with so many friends; and an antique dealer, who gets ethereal pleasure, roaming around the countryside, looking for the holy grail. See you again soon.

Please visit my other blog at http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/