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"Have you ever met a Beatle? Well, I have and I’ve met some “Big Names” but it doesn’t come anymore exciting then a Beatle, even if he just says, “Good Day Mate”. You break into a cold sweat, your heart pounds, and feel the perspiration running of the top of (in my case, a bald head). It a moment you never forget for the rest of your life! In case you don’t recognize him from his Ed Sullivan debut, this is Ringo!" - (photos and quote by Fred Schulz)
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NOTE TO READERS: AWHILE AGO, I CONVINCED MY FRIEND AND CREATIVE PARTNER IN BLOGS, FRED SCHULZ, TO LOOSEN HIS GRIP ON THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVES, HE'S BEEN METICULOUSLY BUILDING FOR THE PAST FORTY YEARS OR MORE. AS I BELIEVE HE IS ONE OF THE FINEST PHOTOGRAPHERS IN MUSKOKA, I WANTED HIM TO HAVE A MINOR EXHIBITION…….VIA MY "MUSKOKA AS WALDEN" BLOGSITE, WHICH YOU CAN CONNECT TO, AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS COLUMN. I TOLD HIM NOT TO WORRY ABOUT MATCHING PHOTOS TO THE DAY'S CHOICE OF EDITORIALS. I JUST WANTED HIM TO SHOW OFF HIS ARTISTIC TALENT FOR MY REGULAR READERS. THEN HE STARTED SENDING ME SO MANY OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHS, THAT I BEGAN TO GET WILD IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO SHOWCASE WHAT I CONSIDERED AMAZING PORTRAITS AND LANDSCAPES…..THAT HAD BEEN OUT OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FOR A LONG TIME…..IF THEY'D BEEN SEEN AT ALL. SO THIS IS WHY I HAVE EVEN BEGUN INCLUDING HIS IMAGES IN THIS GRAVENHURST COLUMN. I HOPE HE SEES THIS AS A SIGN OF UNYIELDING RESPECT FOR THE BODY OF HIS WORK.
FRED HAS ALWAYS USED A PORTION OF HIS NEW PHOTOS, FOR HIS NEWSPAPER COLUMN, IN THE GRAVENHURST BANNER, BUT A LOT OF WHAT HE HAS CAPTURED, HAS BEEN OUT OF A SENSE OF PERSONAL ENJOYMENT……SUCH AS THE IMAGES OF THE SMALL COMMUNITY CHURCHES AND GRAVEYARDS, PLUS THE WONDERFUL IMAGES OF LAST YEAR'S TRILLIUMS IN BLOOM. HE ADMITS A REAL ENJOYMENT TAKING PHOTOS OF FLOWERS. HIS PHOTOGRAPHS OF GORDON LIGHTFOOT RECENTLY WERE A BIG HIT, AND SPEAKING OF HITS, THE BLOG HAS JUMPED FROM 500 A NIGHT, TO WELL OVER 700, IN THE PAST WEEK AND A HALF, MEANING TO ME, FOLKS WANT TO SEE WHAT FRED HAS BEEN KEEPING IN HIS PRIVATE RESERVE OF MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHS. I JUST NEEDED TO OFFER THIS LITTLE OVERVIEW, SO THAT YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT A COUP IT IS, TO OFFER YOU SOME OF THESE SPECIAL PICS, HE HAS MADE AVAILABLE FOR ME…..AND YOU, SUCH AS THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SESSION HE HAD, A NUMBER OF YEARS BACK, WITH FORMER BEATLES DRUMMER, RINGO STARR, WHILE HE PERFORMED WITH HIS BAND AT CASINO RAMA. TOMORROW I'LL HAVE ANOTHER SPECIAL TREAT, AS TWO OTHER CANADIAN CELEBRITIES WERE CAPTURED ON FILM BY MR. SCHULZ. I'M SO HAPPY THAT FRED HAS FOUND OUR FRIENDSHIP WORTHY OF SUCH SHARING……AND WE'RE ALL IN FOR MANY MORE TREATS FOR THE EYE.
THE QUIRKS AND ECCENTRICITIES OF THE ANTIQUE TRADE - DEALERS GOING ROGUE
THE NETWORK THAT MOST OFTEN SELF DEFEATED
WHEN I OPENED MY FIRST ANTIQUE SHOP, MOST AREA DEALERS DISTANCED THEMSELVES FROM ANY BUSINESS ASSOCIATION WITH "THE NEW GUY ON THE BLOCK." THEY DIDN'T OFFER ANY DISCOUNTS, IF I BOUGHT ANYTHING AT THEIR SHOPS, AND WE HEARD TIME AND AGAIN, FROM VISITORS TO TOWN, THAT THESE SHOP-KEEPS WOULDN'T ANSWER AFFIRMATIVELY THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER ANTIQUE SHOP IN TOWN. THIS STILL HAPPENS AMONGST DEALERS WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PART OF A TRADITION…..A LEGACY, OF ANTIQUE DEALING THE WORLD OVER. KINDRED SPIRITS. ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL. RIGHT? WELL IT JUST ISN'T SO. IN FACT, IN MY NEARLY FOUR DECADES BUYING AND SELLING ANTIQUES, I'VE NEVER THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO BRING REGIONAL DEALERS TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THE INDUSTRY…..OR FOR THE GOOD OF TOURISM IN OUR REGION. THEY'VE TRIED BEFORE AND FAILED. WHAT ISN'T OFTEN CONSIDERED RELEVANT HERE, IS THAT ANTIQUE DEALERS MIGHT APPEAR GENTLE AND PASSIVE, POSSIBLY OVERLY CONSERVATIVE, UNTIL PUT INTO A SITUATION WHERE THE COMPETITIVE STREAK CAN BE ASSESSED…..AND UNLEASHED LIKE HEAT SEEKING MISSILES.
IN THE FIELD OF COMBAT, YOU MIGHT SAY, THE STRESS TEST WILL ALWAYS OFFER SOME VALUABLE INSIGHTS, AS TO THE VIGOR OF THE MEEK AND MILD ANTIQUE DEALER, EXTREMELY PASSIONATE ABOUT GETTING TO THE HOLY GRAIL FIRST. WHEN YOU SEE THESE FOLKS OUT ON THE YARD SALE CIRCUIT, WELL NOW, THAT SHOWS A DIFFERENT CHARACTER ENTIRELY, FROM WHAT YOU SEE IN THE SHOPS…..OF THE KINDLY, CONSIDERATE DEALERS FIDDLING ABOUT WITH PACKAGING BEHIND THE COUNTERS. IF YOU WERE TO WALK IN, AND SUDDENLY ANNOUNCE THAT A HUGE, PREVIOUSLY UNANNOUNCED ESTATE SALE WAS GOING ON, JUST DOWN THE STREET, HOW MANY OF THESE DEALERS…..DO YOU THINK, WOULD HESITATE LEAPING OUT FROM BEHIND THE COUNTER, AND DASHING OFF TO COLLECT THEIR SHARE OF THE ANTIQUES? "YOU'RE IN CHARGE UNTIL I GET BACK," THEY MIGHT BE HEARD YELLING TO THE CUSTOMER THEY LEFT STANDING THERE, AT THE TIME THE BIG NEWS WAS RECEIVED. THINK I'M KIDDING? THEN YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT AN ANTIQUE DEALER OR SERIOUS COLLECTOR. I'VE BEEN IN THESE BIG STAKES SITUATIONS, AND IT'S ALSO WHEN, PERSONALLY, I'VE HAD IT CONFIRMED IN MY OWN MIND, THAT I AM ONE OF THEM. AND YES IN DEED, I WOULD BE ONE OF THE FASTEST GETTING FROM BEHIND THE COUNTER, TO THE LOCATION OF THE SALE…….TO FIND OUT, HOWEVER, THAT I HAD BEEN DUPED BY A PRACTICAL JOKER.
THERE ARE DEALERS WHO WILL BE CRITICAL OF THIS ASSESSMENT, AND UPSET TO BE LUMPED INTO THIS GENERALITY…..THAT SEEMS UNFAIR TO THE INTEGRITY OF DEALERS EVERYWHERE…..WHO WOULDN'T ACT AS HASTILY, AND COULD NEVER HAND OVER THE REINS OF THEIR SHOP TO A CUSTOMER…..EVEN FOR A FEW MINUTES. I USED TO DO IT CONSTANTLY, ESPECIALLY IF I HAD TO PICK MY KIDS UP FROM SCHOOL. IT WAS THE ONLY TIME WHEN SHOPLIFTERS DIDN'T THINK TO PRACTICE THEIR CRAFT AT BIRCH HOLLOW ANTIQUES. MOST ANTIQUE DEALERS ARE IN THE PROFESSION BECAUSE OF THE ADVENTURE OF HUNTING AND GATHERING. IF THEY WERE BODY-BUILDERS, LOOKING TO SHOW OFF THEIR BODIES, AND ENTER COMPETITIONS, YOU'D PRETTY MUCH GUESS THIS, BY LOOKING AT THEM. MOST OF US DON'T GIVE THE APPEARANCE OF BEING ANYTHING MORE THAN WHAT OUR SURROUNDINGS CHARACTERIZE, ON FIRST GLANCE, ABOUT OUR BUSINESS AND HOBBY INTERESTS. I THINK THIS IS THE REAL POINT TO EMPHASIZE…….THAT ANTIQUE DEALERS, BY THE INHERENT INTENSITY OF THE PROFESSION, HAVE THAT UNUSUAL MIX OF WORK AND RECREATION AS ONE OVERALL CONSIDERATION……UNLIKE THE DONUT MAKER WHO ISN'T INTERESTED IN COLLECTING DONUT RELATED NOSTALGIA, DURING OFF-HOURS AS A HOBBY. MOST DEALERS HAVE COLLECTING AS A HOBBY, AND IT PRETTY MUCH EMBRACES THEIR PSYCHES BOTH AT WORK AND PLAY. SO IT IS THIS 24-7 RELATIONSHIP, AND THE PASSION WITHIN BOTH WORK AND HOBBY, THAT STIRS OUR COMPETITIVE NATURE…..FROM WHAT APPEARS AT FIRST TO BE COMPLACENCY, BUT ON HIGH OCTANE FUEL…..AND THIS IS THE ADVENTURE OF THE HUNT, GATHER AND ACQUISITION, THAT KEEPS US PUMPED UP. SOMETIMES BECAUSE OF IT, WE MAKE COMPLETE ASSES OF OURSELVES, TRIPPING OVER ONE ANOTHER TO GET TO THE KITCHEN HOOSIER, AT THE YARD SALE FIRST, BEFORE THE COMPETITION ARRIVES…..AND THIS SOMETIMES ENDS WITH UNCEREMONIOUS CARTWHEELS ACROSS THE LAWN.
SO THE ANTIQUE DEALER WHO WOULD ADMIT, THAT THEY MOST CERTAINLY WOULD NOT BE EXCITED BY THE NEWS THAT AN ESTATE SALE HAD POPPED UP, WITHOUT THEM KNOWING IT, ARE DELUSIONAL TO THEIR OWN NEED TO MAINTAIN THE HUSTLE STANDARD……INTIMATE TO THE TRADITION OF THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION DATING BACK CENTURIES. IT'S WHAT THE ENTERPRISE IS ALL ABOUT, AND THE WORK-PLEASURE-THING IS A VICIOUS CYCLE, SUCH THAT DEALERS CAN OFTEN STATE, WITH FISCAL ACCURACY…."WELL, THIS WEEK, I SPENT MORE THAN I EARNED." WE SAY IT IN OUR SHOP, AND MY COLLEAGUES SAY THE SAME THING IN PASSING, AND FOR ALL THE YEARS I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE TRADE, IT HAS BEEN EXACTLY THE SAME COMMENT……BUT IT ONLY SEEMS STRANGE WHEN YOU READ-IT IN A BLOG LIKE THIS. BUT EVENTUALLY, IT ALL MAKES SENSE, TO THE VERY COMPETITIVE NATURE OF BUYING AND SELLING ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES. THERE IS A LOT OF MONEY AT STAKE, AND MISSING THE ESTATE SALE……EARNINGS POTENTIALLY LOST…….MEANS THAT IN OUR CIRCLE OF BUSINESSES, YOUR STATUS HAS JUST BEEN REDUCED; AS OTHER DEALERS BRAG ABOUT THE BUYS THEY PULLED OFF AT THE SAME SALE. BUT IT WAS A HOAX, REMEMBER?
THE MIX OF "SURVIVOR" AND "THE AMAZING RACE," PARALLELS THE ANTIQUE HUNT
I HAD A DEALER, I KNOW, ASK ME POINT BLANK, WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR AT A SPECIAL SALE BEING HELD BY A LOCAL THRIFT SHOP. WE WERE LINED UP OUTSIDE, WHILE THE THRIFT SHOP STAFF BASICALLY HID ANTIQUE ITEMS AROUND THE STORE, IN ONE OF THE MOST ILL-CONCEIVED MARKETING STRATEGIES I'VE EVER WITNESSED. SO ON THE PRE-ARRANGED DAY, WITH A LOT OF SIGNIFICANT ITEMS BEING MADE AVAILABLE, OF COURSE, TEN OUT OF THE THIRTY PEOPLE LINED UP WERE DEALERS (SOME ARE CALLED ATTIC DEALERS, WHO SELL THROUGH ONLINE AUCTIONS, AND FLEA MARKETS). SO THE DEALER WHO I KNOW QUITE WELL, FOUND IT INCOMPREHENSIBLE THAT I REFUSED TO TELL HER WHAT ITEMS I WAS PLANNING TO HUNT AND POTENTIALLY PURCHASE ONCE ALLOWED IN THE STORE…..IF ALL WENT ACCORDING TO PLAN. LET'S JUST SAY I WAS CALLED "A MEAN MAN," FOR NOT SHARING THIS INFORMATION. I'VE BEEN CALLED WORSE. THE DEALER KEPT NATTERING ABOUT THIS, AND I JUST REFUSED TO MAKE ANY OTHER COMMENT. IT WASN'T NECESSARY FOR ME TO GIVE OUT MY ITINERARY TO THE COMPETITION. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, THEY WERE ALL COMPETITORS, EVEN WITH THEIR PAINTED-ON SMILES. INSIDE, IT WAS A RIDICULOUS DISPLAY OF "RUNNING AMUCK," FOR A FEW ANTIQUE PIECES. I SAW THE CARNAGE, AND PEOPLE ACTING BADLY, AND I MADE IT KNOWN TO MANAGEMENT THAT THIS WAS A SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS, FOR A CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATION…….TURNING PATRONS INTO WARRING FACTIONS, OVER A SMALL NUMBER OF COLLECTABLE PIECES. THERE WAS NO GOODWILL IN THAT STORE FOR THAT OPENING HOUR. THESE MONTH-ENDING FREE-FOR-ALLS WERE SUSPENDED. I DON'T TAKE CREDIT FOR IT. I THINK THEY SAW FOR THEMSELVES WHAT UNLEASHING THE MOB, CAN DO TO THE KINDLY NATURE OF A THRIFT SHOP.
A cluster of dealers, back in the early 1990's, would often make deals, with each other, especially at auctions, to avoid bidding on certain antique items, agreed before the sale began. The idea was to avoid bidding up associate dealers, and was usually confined to a few special pieces. Not the whole sale inventory. It was a business to business courtesy. I never once initiated any of these group "hands-off" deals, but got into the deal only once, and it was because of my own interest in a half dozen boxes of old books. There were regional histories included in the box, and this was the kind of local collectable I sold regularly. I agreed not to bid on a beat-up old hoosier cupboard, and a pine harvest table, if these two associate vendors would agree to bypass the books. I had other competitors, but these two dealers also had an interest in regional materials. So I stuck to my part of the bargain. I didn't bid on the two items identified. One of the dealers in the pact, seemed to think that I wasn't allowed to bid on anything she was interested in, and we crossed paths about a dozen times during the sale. Each time she gave me the evil eye, and I could see her chatting with the second dealer in our little triangle of bidding strategy. So without my knowing it, they had decided to break the pact without telling me first. So when Suzanne pinched me, and directed my attention toward the front of the hall, where one of the dealers had moved to be closer to the books, (we already assumed our deal was null and void) it was of no surprise that she began bidding up the books. Which was pretty stupid, and simply an unwarranted act of revenge for a perceived slight of protocol……and I threw in some angry body language, some hefty bids, and basically embarrassed her in the line of fire. She had told her other dealer mates, to watch my surprised expression, when she placed her first stinging rebuke…..a bid on the lot of books. Well sir, I was ready for her, and because I was an expert in the books in the box, and their valuation, I had no hesitation spending a tad more to get what I wanted. She commented to me later, that I had broken the pre-arranged deal, and that's why she had bid me up. I looked at her, smiled, and asked if she could move out of the way, so I could remove my books from the hall. The satisfaction she was looking for, was a no-show, and as I didn't need to network with her anyway, it was an pain free divorce.
There was another auction, when two dealers decided they were going to get in our way, during the sale of certain Muskoka pieces Suzanne and I desired. We are well known as Muskoka specialists, so it's generally expected these items will draw our attention. They were from the former Elgin House, on Lake Joseph, and represented a wicker table and two chairs. As we had buyers for them, and a price valuation in our minds, before the first bid, the scene the dealers put on, was fit for the theatre stage. They made a fuss, and targeted comments that were both sarcastic and nasty toward us…..thinking we couldn't read their lips from across the floor. We could. It has happened a lot, when we assert ourselves at these type of sales. If I go to sales these days, it's not recreational like when I first began as a dealer. Admittedly I miss this, but times have changed and competition is much more aggressive than I remember it from the late 1970's to the early part of this new century. So knowing what kind of profit we needed from the sale of the pieces, we stuck to our budget, and just kept bidding along….and occasionally, upping the bid by twenty dollar increments, to discourage them from playing games. I'm pretty good at dropping out of a bidding war without warning, "sticking" the smart ass with an item they were sure I was going to pay many hundreds for……..and what a treat it is, when they come to us later in the sale, and offer the item back to us….as they decided it wasn't what they really wanted. I wave goodbye. We finally blew off the dealer competition, and because it was a crowded room, we couldn't get to the chairs to remove them, as we would normally. The reason you do this, is to avoid the possibility they will be damaged by members of the audience. It happens more than you'd think. So the two dealers made quite a ruckus about us winning the bid, and decided to lodge for awhile in our newly purchased chairs…..making themselves quite comfortable, looking at us with eyes that said, "We're going to sit in your chairs because we can!" So I unleashed the hounds. Suzanne took the husky lads, Andrew and Robert, to rescue the chairs and table. They had to ask three times for the dealers to remove their behinds from the chairs….which by auction protocol, we were thusly responsible for….and required to pay for at the clerk's table.
When I bid, at auctions, I'm focused. I've made mistakes when my concentration has been less than a hundred percent. So a lot of dealer colleagues are struck by my rather hard-ass, emotionless pursuit of what I came to the sale to bid on. They seem to feel it necessary to comment….."Boy are you ever serious….lighten up Ted!" I don't get my advice from those who make these statements. I have the experience at auctions, to know that I'm routinely in a tank of sharks, all who would greatly benefit if I was off my game. It's business. If I want to keep mine, this is the sacrifice…….appearing to some as a ruthless businessman. If they only knew, that my recreation is being the successful bidder, by employing every trick I've learned in nearly forty years of attending auctions.
I am a target because I'm the big mouth, opinionated son of a gun, who has had numerous published antique columns, dating back as far as 1978. One of my favorites was a column entitled "The Auction Roll," because it critiqued local auctioneers…..and dealers who clustered at these regional sales. The auctioneers liked to hold the balance of power, but they'd look out on the crowd, and see me walk through the gate…..and honestly, I could hear them mumble (into the microphone) "Oh crap, Currie's here." Good times. I didn't let them off easily, let me tell you, and they'd even, at times, resort to sending me a little lecture, over the public address system, for being a pain in the ass…….but said it as if they really liked my work but……..
I made the statement, at the top of this section, that being an antique dealer, at least here in rural Ontario, was like "the mix between the reality television shows, "Survivor," and "The Amazing Race'." There are a lot of games played out there on the hustings, and I've only pointed out a few of the thousands I've known personally in the trade. Hey, I don't play fair all the time either. Like the time the neighbor dealer came running into my shop, following one of the customers known to both of us. He came right up to the guy, nose to nose, as if by body language alone, to aggressively point out the favors given by his business to the collector in question. It was the case, the dealer believed I was poaching his good customer. The discounts he had been giving the Muskoka collector, was supposed to cement the relationship, at least it had been the plan. I had better prices on better stuff, and I won the sales competition. But there was no rule about poaching customers. I had what he wanted, and on items he could purchase at the neighbor store, my discounts were bigger; and my product in better condition. So the dealer just stood there, in my store, imposing upon the chap to come to his store……..and finally, to get him off his back, he assured him the very next stop on his antique tour, would be next door. It was the look back at me, from the dealer, that was a little like the ill feelings between North and South Korea……but without the bombs.
I've got a few more meaty tales of competition between antique dealers, collectors, and the home decorators. I always preferred the demeanor of the home decorators, by the way. They didn't study their purchases with magnifying glasses.
Thanks for joining me today….on the brink of a storm……or not a storm…..that is the question. Drive carefully out there, as winter makes a return to the main stage.
please visit my other blog at http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/
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