Muskoka Antiques; Collecting the Macabre and The Weird Because It Is So Much Fun To Be Different

Horse Drawn Hearses by wheel and sleigh.

THE MACABRE AND THE WEIRD! THE ENCHANTED AND THE HAUNTED! COLLECTORS CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED - WITH MUCH JOY

COLLECTING ODDITIES AND MACABRE ANTIQUES MORE POPULAR THAN YOU MIGHT THINK

     GHOSTS HAVE BEEN PART OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE FROM ALMOST THE BEGINNING OF CIVILIZATION. THEY HAVE PLAYED AN ENORMOUS ROLE IN LITERATURE AND THEATRE, AND OF COURSE, IN BOTH ART AND MUSIC. THEY'RE EVERYWHERE, YET THERE ARE STILL THOSE WHO REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR EXISTENCE.....EVEN WHEN IT'S THE IMAGE OF THEIR PASSED MOTHERS OR FATHERS SITTING ON THE EDGE OF THEIR BEDSTEADS, IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING. MY MOTHER WAS ONE OF THE DISBELIEVERS, EVEN THOUGH SHE SAW BOTH HER PARENTS, IN HER BEDROOM, SHORTLY AFTER THEIR RESPECTIVE DEATHS. SHE JUST REFUSED TO BELIEVE THEY WERE GHOSTS AS SUCH....JUST REALLY CLEAR AND MOVING FIGMENTS OF THE IMAGINATION. SHE WAS THE ONE WHO CONVINCED ME OF THESE POST DEATH VISITATIONS, BECAUSE I'VE HAD THEM MYSELF; AND THEY COMPARE PERFECTLY TO WHAT SHE DESCRIBED TO ME. TIMING WISE, FOR HER, THEY OCCURRED WHEN SHE DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE DECEASED, BECAUSE THEY HAD ONLY JUST DEPARTED THE LIVING. I STILL REMEMBER THE SUBSEQUENT PHONE CALLS, LETTING HER KNOW ABOUT THE DEATHS.
     WHEN I FIRST BEGAN WRITING ABOUT THE PARANORMAL, BACK IN THE EARLY 1980'S, PUBLISHING SEVERAL MAJOR PIECES ON REGIONAL GHOST ENCOUNTERS IN MUSKOKA, IT SEEMED TO BE THE COMMENCEMENT OF A NEW AND RELAXED PERSPECTIVE ON PARANORMAL EVENTS. MY PUBLISHER, AT THE TIME, THOUGHT I WAS NUTS FOR PUTTING MYSELF OUT THERE, IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, AS A "NUT-BALL" WHO BELIEVES IN GHOSTS; AND HE WONDERED THEN, WHISPERING IN MY EAR, HOW AN EDITOR COULD, AFTER THIS, RETURN TO COVER THE HARD NEWS OF A MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, OR POLICE BEAT, AND NOT BE LAUGHED OUT OF THE ROOM. I NEVER WORRIED AT ALL. I ALSO DIDN'T RECEIVE EVEN ONE TINY CHORTLE, ABOUT THE FULL PAGE FEATURE STORY PUBLISHED IN THE HERALD-GAZETTE. NO JOKES IN THE HOCKEY DRESSING ROOM. NO SMART ASS COMMENTS SITTING AT THE LOCAL WATERING HOLE. NO "YOU'VE EMBARRASSED ME," COMMENTS, FROM THE GIRLS I DATED. IN FACT, A SHORT TIME AFTER THIS, I GOT A CALL FROM JOHN ROBERT COLOMBO, ONE OF CANADA'S BEST KNOWN GHOST AND PARANORMAL STORY HUNTERS, ASKING IF HE COULD USE A PORTION OF THE MATERIAL I WROTE, IN ONE OF HIS NEW BOOOKS ON CANADIAN GHOSTS. FROM THAT CALL, JOHN AND I KEPT UP OUR CORRESPONDENCE ON GHOSTS, AND THE PARANORMAL, AND HE URGED ME TO WRITE A BOOK ON MUSKOKA ENCOUNTERS WITH THE SPIRIT-KIND....WHICH I HAVE DONE ONLINE IN PART. JOHN ALSO OPENED A SERIES OF ARTICLES I HAD WRITTEN ON MUSKOKA GHOSTS, FOR THE MUSKOKA SUN, BACK IN THE LATE 1990'S, WHICH WAS A TREMENDOUS VALIDATION OF THE WORK I'D BEEN DOING TO THAT POINT. I'VE BEEN HUSTLING IN THIS AREA EVER SINCE. JOHN VALIDATED MY WORK IN THIS AREA, AND IT WAS A GREAT LAUNCH FOR ME, TO CARRY ON RESEARCH.
     WHEN SUZANNE AND I MANAGED BRACEBRIDGE'S WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM, WE ALSO HAD TO CONDUCT GROUP TOURS, OFTEN AFTER THE SITE WAS CLOSED FOR THE DAY. WOODCHESTER DID APPEAR A TAD SPOOKY IN THE EARLY DARKNESS OF THE AUTUMN SEASON DAYS, WHEN WE HAD SPECIAL GROUP TOURS FROM LOCAL AND VISITING CLUBS ETC. WE HAD TO DO THIS IN PART, BECAUSE WE KEPT GETTING CUT-BACK IN OPERATING FUNDS, SO EVERY YEAR, WE HAD FEWER STAFF TO CONDUCT MUSUEM TOURS. QUITE A FEW VISITORS WOULD REFUSE GUIDED TOURS, WHICH WAS FINE, BUT OTHERS DEMANDED A LOT OF OUR TIME, AND WOULD INSIST WE EXPLAIN MOST OF THE COLLECTION. THIS WAS PART OF THE JOB, BUT AT TIMES WE FOUND OURSELVES FLOODED WITH VISITORS, WITHOUT HAVING ANY EXTRA HANDS TO HELP OUT. WHAT THIS DID FOR SUZANNE AND I, BY DEEP IMMERSION IN MUSEUM OPERATION, (BECAUSE IT WAS TRUE, IT HAD BECOME OUR SECOND HOME), WAS CREATE A MUCH MORE ENLIGHTENED OPINION, OF NOT ONLY THE BUILDING, BUT CERTAIN ROOMS AND SPECIFIC PIECES OF THE COLLECTION. AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, WE FOLLOWED UP ON WHAT STAFF HAD IDENTIFIED ABOUT THE CHILD'S BEDROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR. THEY HAD REPORTED MANY CASES, WHERE PEOPLE HAD FLED THE ROOM, SAYING THEY FELT UNCOMFORTABLE; OR THAT THEY THOUGHT THEY SAW SOMETHING IN THE ROOM OF THE PARANORMAL ILK. OPPOSITE THE BEDROOM DOORWAY, WAS ONE OF THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT PIECES IN THE COLLECTION, JUST SHY OF THE VICTORIAN BIRD DIOARAMA, IN THE DOWNSTAIRS DINING ROOM.
     THE VICTORIAN "HAIR WREATH," WAS MOUNTED IN A NICELY APPOINTED SHADOW BOX, BENEATH GLASS, ON THE WALL DIRECTLY ABOVE THE STAIRS, AND THE FIRST ARTIFACT A VISITOR WOULD SEE ARRIVING ON THE SECOND FLOOR LANDING. IT WAS ALSO WHAT YOU WOULD LOOK AT, COMING OUT OF THE CHILD'S ROOM. SO WHEN THE TOUR GUIDE WOULD EXPLAIN, WHAT A HAIR WREATH WAS ALL ABOUT, WITHIN SECONDS, OPINIONS WERE DEVELOPED AND A MAJORITY OF PEOPLE MOVED AWAY FROM IT, AS IF THE PIECE HAD ALL OF A SUDDEN BEGUN TO MOVE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK. THE MOURNING WREATH, MADE FROM THE HAIR OF FAMILY MEMBERS, TAKEN FROM "HAIR RECEIVERS" (A TYPICAL COMPONENT OF JUG AND BOWL SETS IN MOST BEDROOMS), WAS TO TRIBUTE THE DECEASED, AND IN SOME CASES, IT WAS MADE IN AND AROUND THE TIME THE SERIOUS ILLNESS WAS IN FULL BLOOM. I HAVE HEARD STORIES THAT THIS COMING TOGETHER OF FAMILY TO PROVIDE THE HAIR FOR THE WREATH, WAS SUPPOSED TO SHOW SPIRITUAL POWER TO INSPIRE SOMEONE IN MEDICAL DISTRESS TO RECOVER. GENERALLY, IT WAS A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE. AS FOR MACABRE? THE FACT IT WAS MADE WITH HUMAN HAIR, WAS ALL IT TOOK, TO SCARE SOME VISITORS OFF....AND THAT'S NOT WHAT WE WANTED TO HAPPEN. WE EVENTUALLY DROPPED EXPLAINING IT, UNLESS SOMEONE ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT ITS PURPOSE, AND MATERIALS. IT WAS QUITE ATTRACTIVE WITH BEAUTIFUL CRAFTING OF THE HAIR, BUT IT WAS DARKLY VICTORIAN, AND NOT THE KIND OF PIECE, BY LOOKS ALONE, THAT INSPIRED HAPPY THOUGHTS.
     THE CHILD'S BEDROOM WAS VERY DARK VICTORIAN, BECAUSE OF THE FURNITURE, AND THE FACT THE ROOM ITSELF APPEARED CONFINING. THE VICTORIAN ERA TOYS AND DOLLS, DID ADD A HAUNTING ELEMENT TO THE ROOM, WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN UPLIFTING AND BRIGHT INSTEAD. SO SUZANNE AND I BEGAN STUDYING REACTIONS. STRANGE THING. WE HAD PEOPLE COME AND TELL US THE ROOM FRIGHTENED THEIR CHILDREN, AND SEVERAL WHO CLAIM THEY SAW SOMETHING...LIKE A VAPOR, WAFTING AROUND THE BED. WE'D JUMP ON THAT ONE RIGHT AWAY, JUST IN CASE IT WAS SMOKE RISING FROM THE FLOOR. WE WERE ALSO SAFETY MONITORS, AND ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT THESE KIND OF EMERGENCIES IN AN OLD BUILDING. WE TALKED TO LOTS OF GUESTS WHO LOVED THE HOUSE, AND ADORED THE CHILD'S ROOM, BECAUSE IT WAS A LITTLE ON THE EERIE SIDE. AFTER NEWS REPORTS IN THE LOCAL PRESS, THAT WOODCHESTER WAS HAUNTED, WE HAD TO CONTEND WITH THE USUAL ROUND OF GAWKERS, AND PARANORMAL ADVENTURERS, WHO WANTED TO FEEL THE SPIRITUAL OCCUPATION OF THE OCTAGONAL HOUSE FIRST HAND. I TURNED DOWN A LOT OF OFFERS FROM REPORTERS, WHO WANTED TO STAY IN THE BUILDING OVER NIGHT. I WAS ALSO PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF THE BIRD FAMILY'S STAKE IN THE OLD HOUSE, AND I KNEW WE COULDN'T LET IT BE TURNED INTO A SIDE-SHOW VENUE, FROM ITS PURPOSE AS A COMMUNITY HERITAGE SITE. SOMETIMES WHEN PROFITS ARE DOWN, ONE CAN STOOP THIS LOW. BUT NOT US. SO BEING HOBBY PARANORMAL RESEARCHERS OURSELVES, WE LISTENED TO ALL THEIR STORIES, AND CLAIMS ABOUT THE HOUSE, THE ROOM, THE WREATH AND THE STUFFED BIRDS....WHO SOME SUGGESTED, WERE HAUNTED AS WELL.
     SUZANNE AND I HAVE NO DOUBT WOODCHESTER VILLA CARRIED A LITTLE EXTRA IN THE SPIRITUAL SENSE, BUT IT WAS NEVER THE CASE WE FELT UNEASY OURSELVES. WE JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ALL THE FUSS WAS ABOUT, AND IF THERE WAS SOMETHING WE COULD DO, TO EASE THE DISCOMFORT OF SOME PATRONS, WHO FELT THREATENED BY WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, A HAPPY VICTORIAN GAD-ABOUT WITH SOME LIVELY GUIDES. APPARENTLY, TO SOME, THE GHOSTS WERE THE TOUR GUIDES. WE BOTH HAD NUMEROUS ENCOUNTERS WITH THE ENTITIES IN THAT BUILDING, BUT WE ALWAYS FELT THEY WERE ENDEARING TO OUR EXPERIENCES AS MANAGERS. NOT EVERY MUSEUM MANAGER GETS TO OVERSEE THE DAY TO DAY ACTUALITY OF THE GHOST-KIND. BUT WHAT WE CAME AWAY WITH, WHICH IS THE POINT OF TODAY'S BLOG, IS THAT WE FOUND THAT A PORTION OF OUR VISITORS, WHICH WAS PROBABLY CLOSE TO TEN PERCENT, WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHING THEY COULD, ABOUT THE FOUNDERS OF THE HOUSE.....BECAUSE IN THEIR SENSORY PERCEPTION, THEY WERE STILL VERY MUCH STILL RESIDING IN THE FAMILY QUARTERS. WE DIDN'T TELL ANY OF THESE FOLKS, WHAT WE HAD ENCOUNTERED OVER OUR YEARS CONNECTED TO THE MUSEUM. I WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, THAT OPERATED THE MUSEUM, WHICH TOOK ME BACK TO THE WINTER OF 1978, WHEN WE FIRST LAID PLANS TO SAVE THE HISTORIC HOUSE ON THE HILL, HIGH ABOVE THE MUSKOKA RIVER. WE ALSO NEVER VALIDATED THEIR CLAIMS, BECAUSE AFTERALL, WE WEREN'T OPERATING A HAUNTED HOUSE....BUT RATHER, A COMMUNITY MUSEUM, AND ONE OF BRACEBRIDGE'S BEST KNOWN INDUSTRIES, THE FORMER BIRD'S WOOLLEN MILL, FOUNDED BY HENRY BIRD. SO WE LISTENED AND LEARNED, AND ALTHOUGH I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT IT SINCE WE LEFT ITS EMPLOY, WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO SAY THAT IT WAS THE KIND OF HAUNTED LOCALE, THAT WAS UNFRIENDLY, OR FORBODING IN ANY WAY. WE LOVED THAT PLACE BECAUSE OF ITS CHARACTER, AND THIS MAY HAVE INCLUDED THE LURKING, EVER-WATCHING SHADOWS OF THOSE WHO HAD LIVED THERE PREVIOUSLY.

SOME FOLKS WANT SPIRITED PIECES IN THEIR COLLECTIONS

     THE PREAMBLE ABOVE, IS REALLY AN INTRODUCTION, TO THE THEME OF TODAY'S BLOG, WHICH WILL CONTINUE OVER A FEW DAYS THIS WEEK; BECAUSE I THINK IT MERITS DISCUSSION. THE REALITY THAT IN THE FIELD OF COLLECTING, THERE IS A HUGE AND EXPANDING MARKET FOR ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, SOME MIGHT DESCRIBE AS HAVING A MACABRE OR PARANORMAL ESSENCE. THERE ARE BILLIONS OF EXAMPLES OF THIS, FROM THE COLLECTION OF HUMAN HAIR CUT OFF THE HEADS OF HISTORIC AND CELEBRITY FIGURES (BEFORE BURIAL), TO THE COLLECTION OF MILITARY SWORDS AND BAYONETS, THAT WERE USED TO KILL OPPONENTS IN THE FIELD OF BATTLE. THERE IS SOMETHING SO POWERFUL, AND YET STRANGELY ALLURING, ALMOST IN CONTRADICTION, ABOUT HOLDING A BATTLE-USED BAYONET. IT'S NOT A NICE FEELING, AND IT DOES PREVAIL UPON ONE, ABOUT THE TRAGEDY IT HAS BEEN PART OF....ALL OF IT TRUMPED BY THE FACT OF ITS OWN ROLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. AS UNFORTUNATE AS IT IS, THAT A BAYONET HAD TO BE USED IN THE FIRST PLACE, IT IS STILL A HOLDER OF A BREATHTAKING PROVENANCE THAT'S HARD TO APPRECIATE AT FIRST....EASIER AS TIME AND ACCEPTANCE GOES ON. I HAVE HELD A GERMAN BAYONET, FROM WORLD WAR II, AND A BRITISH MADE WILKINSON BAYONET FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR, AND IF YOU HAVE A KEEN SENSE OF PARANORMAL PROVENANCE, AND AN APPRECIATION OF MILITARY HERITAGE, THERE WAS, FOR ME, THE HISTORIAN, MOST DEFINITELY A VIBE WITHIN EACH.....AND I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE COLLECTED. MACABRE? TO SOME! MILITARY REALITY, TO MOST!
 I REMEMBER HEARING ABOUT A CEREMONIAL GOWN WORN BY A MEMBER OF THE KKK, COMPLETE WITH BLOOD AND A BULLET HOLE, BEING FOR SALE IN AN ANTIQUE SHOP SOUTH OF THE BORDER. I'M SURE YOU APPRECIATE THERE ARE SOME PRETTY EVIL EXAMPLES OF JUST HOW FAR COLLECTORS CAN GO, TO SURROUND THEMSELVES BY THE REMINDERS OF CRIME, MURDER, DEATH, NATURAL CALAMITIES, AND ALL ITS TRAGIC AFTERMATH. WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO FLOG DEBRIS FROM THE CRISIS OF 9-11, IN THE FORM OF RUBBLE FROM THE TWIN TOWERS, AND OH SO MUCH MORE. NOW DON'T GET ME WRONG, WE DON'T PARTICIPATE IN THIS, AND WE HOLD A MUCH HIGHER REGARD FOR OUR CUSTOMER'S SENSITIVIES, THAN TO EVER OFFER SUCH ARTICLES FOR SALE IN OUR SHOP. BUT IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT, MANY COLLECTORS ARE OUT THERE, WITH LOTS OF CASH, WHO WANT WHAT THEY PERCEIVE TO BE DEATH RELATED PIECES, REGARDLESS HOW LOATHSOME AND DISTURBING THAT MIGHT BE TO YOU AND I. I HAVEN'T SOLD EVEN ONE LOCK OF HAIR, OR A HAIR WREATH, OR ANYTHING CONNECTED TO CRIME. I'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN TEMPTED, ALTHOUGH WE DO APPRECIATE, WHAT DRIVES COLLECTORS TO SEEK OUT THESE SENSATIONALIST ITEMS. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT MEDICAL SKELETONS GO FOR THESE DAYS? SHRUNKEN HEADS? MUMMIFIED REMAINS FROM MANY CENTURIES PAST? EVEN THOSE WHO COLLECT THIS STUFF, REALIZE HOW WEIRD IT SEEMS TO OTHERS. UNTIL THEY SELL THEIR COLLECTION VIA AUCTION, AND THE SALE PRICE STAGGERS THE VOYEURS.
    THE FASCINATION WITH THE MACABRE HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME, SO IT SHOULDN'T COME AS MUCH OF A SHOCK, TO FIND OUT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT SOME GOOD PEOPLE AROUND US, COLLECT VINTAGE COFFINS....TO THE POINT OF HAVING THEM IN THEIR HOMES, AS A SUBSTITUTE TO COFFEE TABLES, AND CEDEAR BOXES FOR QUILT STORAGE. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THE WHOLE "DEATH" THING, AND EVEN COLLECT MEMORIALS, LIKE HAIR WREATHS, BECAUSE OF THEIR CRAFTSMANSHIP; AND THE HUMAN COMPONENT BEYOND JUST THE HANDS THAT WOVE THEM. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF EXAMPLES OF "MOURNING" COLLECTABLES, AND THESE INCLUDE A WIDE ARRAY OF PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN OF THE DECEASED, ESPECIALLY IN VICTORIAN TIMES.
    I HAVE OWNED MANY "DEATH" IMAGES, MOSTLY OF CHILDREN, AND WHILE IT UNSETTLES SOME VIEWERS, WHO FIND THEM IN POOR TASTE, MOST VIEW THEM AS HISTORIC AND A SIGN OF THE VICTORIAN TIMES. I'VE SEEN IMAGES TAKEN SHORTLY AFTER DEATH, FOLLOWING THE INSERTION OF COINS IN THE EYE SOCKETS, WHICH IT WAS NOTED, WOULD KEEP THE INTEGRITY OF THE EYES AND FACE IN THIS REGION, DURING THE COURSE OF RIGOR MORTIS. OFTEN THEY WOULD TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DECEASED, SITTING UP IN THEIR CHAIRS, AS IF THEY WERE STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE. THE INFANT PHOTOGRAPHS, TAKEN BEFORE THE FUNERAL, WERE DONE TO GIVE THE APPEARANCE OF GENTLE SLUMBER. AT A TIME WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY WAS STILL WINDING OUT, IN ITS EARLY ADVANCEMENTS, AS A USEFUL TOOL FOR CAPTURING HISTORY; PARTICULARLY OF THE FAMILY CHRONICLE, THESE DEATH PHOTOS BECAME AN ACCEPTED TREND, BECAUSE IT WOULD CAPTURE THE FINAL MOMENTS OF A DEAR ONE'S POSITION IN THE HOME. THEIR FAVORITE CHAIR OR PLACE THEY LIKED TO SPEND THEIR TIME. THERE WERE ALSO MANY TAKEN OF DECEASED SOLDIERS, SUCH AS DURING THE CIVIL WAR, AS PERSONAL RECORD OF THE TOLL OF CONFLICT. WE MIGHT FIND IT REPULSIVE TODAY, AND SOMETHING WE WOULDN'T WANT TO HAVE IN OUR COLLECTIONS, BUT I GUARANTEE YOU, SOMEONE ELSE DOES.....AND THE MONEY SPENT ACQUIRING THESE MACABRE IMAGES IS STAGGERING. VICTORIAN ERA MEMORIAL CARDS, WITH SOME SUPERB GRAPHICS, ARE ALSO IN DEMAND. I'VE SOLD QUITE A FEW LATE VICTORIAN ERA, AND EARLY 1900'S, MEMORIAL CARDS AND CERTIFICATES, AND I HAVE A DEATH CERTIFICATE FROM SCOTLAND, DATED IN THE 1890'S I BELIEVE. IN MY COLLECTION NOW ARE SEVERAL NAME PLATES AND CHROME CROSSES FROM COFFINS, WHICH WERE OFFERED TO FAMILY MEMBERS PRIOR TO BURIAL. I HAVE A MAGNIFICENT CROSS MADE OF SEA SHELLS, IN A SPECIAL SHADOW BOX, THAT WAS A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO ONE OR MORE LOST AT SEA. THERE IS DEFINITELY AN ENERGY I FEEL, WHEN I'M IN CLOSE PROXIMITY.
     I BOUGHT A BOOK THIS WEEK, WHILE ON AN ANTIQUE ADVENTURE IN HURONIA, THAT SHOWS A FEW EXAMPLES OF ITEMS I HAVE LONGED TO OWN FOR MANY YEARS. THE SMALL WHITE BOOK, WITH A SIMPLE STAPLE BINDING, IS ENTITLED "HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES," AND WAS PUBLISHED IN THE EARLY 1980'S AS A GUIDEBOOK BY "THE HOUSE ON THE ROCK CARRIAGE COLLECTION," MADISON, WISCONSIN. THE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY ALLEN RUID. WHAT FASCINATES ME SO MUCH, IS THE FACT, PART OF THE COLLECTION, INCLUDES HORSE DRAWN HEARSES, OF WHICH I'M PARTICULARLY FOND. WHEN WE HAD OUR SHOP IN BRACEBRIDGE, I WAS OFFERED AS MANY AS THREE OF THESE HEARSES, FROM THE LATE VICTORIAN PERIOD, IF THAT IS, I HAD AT LEAST TWENTY THOUSAND EACH TO SPEND. SO WHEN I FOUND A BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED HEARSE, IN THE SIMCOE COUNTY MUSEUM COLLECTION, I SETTLED FOR MAKING FREQUENT TRIPS TO STUDY IT....WHICH NEEDLESS TO SAY, WAS THE MORE AFFORDABLE APPROACH. AND CONSIDERING I DIDN'T HAVE A GARAGE OR A STORE-ROOM, BIG ENOUGH TO HANDLE SUCH A CARRIAGE, I SAID THANKS, BUT I'D HAVE TO PASS. THESE ARE BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED WAGONS, AND SOME ON SLEIGHS, AND DESPITE THE CARGO THEY ONCE CARRIED, ARE PRECIOUS RELICS OF OUR FUNERARY HERITAGE. THE BOOK, AND SEVERAL PAGES SHOWN AT THE TOP OF THE BLOG, SHOW FOUR PERIOD HEARSES, FROM THE 1800'S, TWO ON WHEELS, AND TWO OF THEM ON SLEIGH RUNNERS, WHICH IS RARE. I WOULD LIKE TO OWN ALL FOUR, BUT OF COURSE, THERE'S THAT MONEY ISSUE AGAIN REARING ITS HEAD. THE COLLECTION HAS EVEN MORE HEARSES, AND A NICE ARRAY OF WAGONS AND SLEIGHS FROM THE 1800'S, INCLUDING A SWELL CANADIAN SLEIGH KNOWN AS A "VIS A VIS" FROM THE 1860'S. A FASCINATING COLLECTION OF PHOTOS IN THIS BOOK, MAKE IT PERFECT FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES. WE LIKE TO HAVE BOOKS LIKE THIS ON HAND, IN THE SHOP, BECAUSE WE GET A LOT OF REMNANTS, AND FINIALS FROM WAGONS AND SLEIGHS COMING INTO THE SHOP, AFTER THE FRAMES HAVE BEEN TORN APART BECAUSE OF ROT. THE BRASS FITTINGS AND FINIALS, LIKE THE CROSSES AND OIL LANTERNS, ARE SPARED, AND WE OFTEN WONDER WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE ADORNED IN PAST USE. SO HAVING SMALL BOOKLETS LIKE THIS, ARE IDEAL FOR CROSS REFERENCING, AND BELIEVE ME, IT HAPPENS CONSTANTLY, ESPECIALLY WHEN HANDLING LARGE ESTATES. JUST ON A QUICK GLANCE THROUGH THE BOOK, I ALREADY SPOTTED SIMILAR ADORNMENTS WE HAVE BOUGHT AND SOLD, IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, BUT HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEY HAD BEEN ATTACHED TO.....EVEN A HEARSE. I HAVE SOLD AT LEAST FOUR BRASS LANTERNS, THAT WERE USED ON HEARSES IN THESE SAME VICTORIAN TIMES. SO I KEEP BUYING LITTLE BOOKS LIKE THIS, FROM SMALL PRIVATE COLLECTIONS, TO HELP WITH ARTIFACT IDENTIFICATION. AS FOR "THE HOUSE ON THE ROCK CARRIAGE COLLECTION," THANK GOODNESS FOR FOLKS LIKE THIS, WHO HAVE TAKEN SO MUCH TIME AND EXPENSE TO CONSERVE THESE WONDERFUL EXAMPLES OF TRANSPORTATION HERITAGE.
     I WAS ALSO SHOWN A PHOTOGRAPH, TAKEN BY OUR FAMILY FRIEND, CINDY, FROM ORILLIA, WHO TOOK A GREAT FLICK OF A BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED, VICTORIAN ERA, HORSE DRAWN HEARSE, THAT WAS USED, STRANGELY ENOUGH, IN THE 2013 SANTA CLAUSE PARADE. A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT I REMEMBER SEEING A FLOAT, SOME YEARS BACK, IN THE SAME ORILLIA PARADE, DEPICTING TIM BURTON'S "NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS." WHAT SEEMS MACABRE TO SOME, APPEARS FASCINATING TO OTHERS. I KNOW PEOPLE, OF SOUND MIND AND BODY, WHO FIND IT HUGELY INSPIRATIONAL AND COMFORTING, TO WANDER THROUGH CEMETERIES....AND AS A REGIONAL HISTORIAN, I'VE BEEN THROUGH MOST OF THE CHURCH YARDS AND COMMUNITY CEMETERIES THROUGHOUT MUSKOKA. I DON'T FIND THEM HAUNTED PLACES AT ALL, UNLESS BY HAUNTED, YOU MEAN SPIRITED. THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY IN THESE OLD CEMETERIES, AND SO MANY INCREDIBLE STORIES YET TO BE TOLD. IN ENGLAND, AND FRANCE, THEY WOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF SPECIAL TOURS. IN CANADA, WE JUST SEEM TOO RESERVED TO BOTHER THE DECEASED, IN THIS WAY, WITH THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF HERITAGE TOURISM. FACT IS, OUR REGION NEEDS MORE MONEY TO UPKEEP THESE IMPORTANT PROPERTIES, WHICH HAVE FALLEN INTO SERIOUS DISREPAIR. HAVING CEMETERY TOURS DURING THE SUMMER OR AUTUMN SEASONS, WOULD GENERATE FUNDS AND PUBLIC INTEREST, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IS NEEDED NOW. THERE ARE A FEW CEMETERIES THAT HAVE INSPIRED BOOKS, AND TOUR BROCHURES, BUT NOTHING GETS THE JOB DONE BETTER THAN PERSON TO PERSON TOURS. I'VE GIVEN A FEW MYSELF. MACABRE? NONSENSE! THESE ARE OUR ANCESTORS BURIED IN THOSE FORGOTTEN, BYPASSED, CAVING-IN PLOTS. IT'S TIME TO RE-VISIT WHAT SHOULD HAVE REMAINED A PRIORITY AMONGST THE LIVING....BUD SADLY, HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED, MORE THESE DAYS, WASTE OF GOOD DEVELOPMENT LAND. I KNOW OF A SITUATION, WHERE A SMALL CEMETERY WAS MOVED, TO ALLOW FOR COMMERCIAL EXPANSION. BLOWS ME AWAY. BUT IT HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN JUST A FEW TIMES IN THE PAST CENTURY.
     IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION GENERALLY, DEATH IS A FACTUAL REALITY OF EVERY PIECE BOUGHT AND SOLD, SO IF A PIECE IS ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD, STILL THE ACCEPTED CHRONICLE FOR A PIECE TO BE CONSIDERED OF "ANTIQUE AGE," THE PROVENANCE OF EACH ITEM WILL INVOLVE AT LEAST PROXIMITY TO DEATH. WHETHER IT IS AN 1830'S DRESSER, FROM A ROOM THAT SAW TEN FAMILY MEMBERS DIE OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF OWNERSHIP, OR A BED WHERE THE DECEASED WAS LAID OUT FOR MEMORIAL VIEWING. GOT ONE OF THOSE, FROM TORONTO'S ALHAMBRA CHURCH. COMFORTABLE BED, BUT THAT REALITY WAS WASTED ON THE DECEASED. SUZANNE AND I FIND IT COMFORTABLE. IT'S NEVER SHAKEN OR LEVITATED ONCE SINCE WE BOUGHT IT FROM THE MINISTER'S DAUGHTER A FEW YEARS AGO. SO WHEN YOU WALK INTO AN ANTIQUE SHOP, WELL SIR, YOU'LL BE SURROUNDED BY NOT ONLY HISTORY, BUT BY THE DEATH-AURA THAT IS PART OF THE WHOLE AGE, AND CYCLE-OF-LIFE THING. WE THINK MORE ABOUT THIS, WHEN AS DEALERS, WE ARE CALLED IN TO OVERVIEW AN ESTATE; AND DURING THIS TIME, WE HAVE TO REMIND OURSELVES....IF THE SPIRITS DON'T DO IT FIRST, THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH THE DISPERSAL OF SOMEONE'S TREASURED POSSESSIONS. SO WHEN WE THINK, THAT THE SENSATION OF A HAND ON OUR SHOULDER, MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE PREVIOUS OWNER, CHECKING US OUT, MOST OF US DEALER-KIND HAVE JUST ACCEPTED THE PECULIARITIES THAT COME WITH THE TERRITORY....AND VALIDATE THE PERSON WHO HAS PASSED, AS HAVING EVERY RIGHT TO BE SLIGHTLY UPSET BY THE HUMAN INTRUSION. FOR US, AND THROUGH LOTS OF EXPERIENCES, SOME PIECES NEVER LOSE THE ESSENCE OF PREVIOUS OWNERS. IT KIND OF INTRIGUES US, TRUTH BE KNOWN. BUT WE CERTAINLY DON'T FEAR THIS, ESPECIALLY AFTER SO MANY YEARS HANDLING THOUSANDS OF PIECES, THAT CAME TO US BECAUSE OF THE DEMISE OF ANOTHER. IT'S THE DARK SIDE OF THE PROFESSION THAT, HONESTLY, IS WHAT MAKES THE BUSINESS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST THE PURSUIT OF THE ALMIGHTY PROFIT.
     WHEN I GOT INTO THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS ORIGINALLY, I WAS EASILY THROWN OFF MY GAME, BY INFREQUENT BUT ALWAYS UNEXPECTED PARANORMAL INCIDENTS. THE MORE I WORKED WITH ESTATES THE GREATER THE FREQUENCY. BUT SEEING AS MY ANTIQUE BUSINESSES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN BUILDINGS WITH THAT LITTLE EXTRA SPIRIT AS WELL, HAVING ENCHANTED ANTIQUES MAKES IT A WHOLE WONDERFUL DAILY ADVENTURE. SO EXCUSE ME IF I MAKE IT ALL SOUND MATTER OF FACT....BECAUSE THAT'S HOW I SEE IT, MACABRE ELEMENTS AND ALL. YET I NEVER GET TIRED OF NEW ADVENTURES THIS WAY, AND MEETING KINDRED COLLECTORS, WHO SHARE THIS GENERAL INTEREST IN THE SPOOKY, WEIRD, LEFT OF CENTRE KIND OF HUNTING AND GATHERING. I'LL EXPLAIN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THIS IN FUTURE BLOGS. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY. BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, (IF YOU WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK), I WANT YOU TO KNOW I'M ONE DEALER WHO DOESN'T PULL HIS PUNCHES. IF THERE WAS NEVER ANY CHANCE OF PARANORMAL ENCOUNTERS, IN THE PURSUIT OF ANTIQUES, I THINK IT WOULD BE TIME TO FIND ANOTHER PROFESSION....THAT'S HOW MUCH THIS ENCHANTMENT THING MEANS TO SUZANNE AND I.....WHO HAVE LEARNED TO BE OPEN MINDED ON A PERPETUAL BASIS. WE'VE ALL SEEN OUR SHARE OF GHOSTS IN OUR TIME, (DOCUMENTED IN SEVERAL NATIONAL BOOKS) AND SOME OF THEM, HAVE BELONGED TO THE ANTIQUES WE COLLECT.
     THANKS FOR JOINING ME. MUCH MORE TO COME. AND IF I DO MY PROFESSION'S DUE DILIGENCE, MAYBE YOU WILL ALSO CONCUR IN PRIVATE, THAT AS WASHINGTON IRVING ONCE NOTED, IN HIS BOOK, "BRACEBRIDGE HALL," SCIENCE (BOTANY) WILL NEVER SOLVE ALL THE MYSTERIES OF LIFE...THAT KEEP US BELIEVING IN THINGS LIKE WOODLAND FAIRIES AND HOBGOBLINS. WHAT WOULD LIFE BE WITHOUT REVERENCE TO THE UNEXPLAINED....AS PART OF THE EVASIVE MEANING OF LIFE?