THE BEST FEELING YOU CAN GET, BEING AN ANTIQUE DEALER, IS PASSING ON A TREASURE TO THE DELIGHT OF SOMEONE ELSE
GETTING ABSORBED BY THE "MONEY-IS-EVERYTHING SIDE" OF THE ANTIQUE TRADE, LIMITS THE DYNAMIC OF GOOD TIMES
When we see a customer beaming, holding onto a purchase they have just made from our shop, regardless of the price, forgive us for feeling damn fine about the business in which we are embedded. I just love to know that an antique piece(s), we have uncovered out on our regular, and always enjoyable hunt and gather expeditions, have gone to an appreciative new owner. It justifies in more ways, than just profit, being in a profession, that has at its core, the true never-ending-adventure. So when we see the fruits of our efforts, under someone's arm, happily loaded into a car, or strapped to a van, to head off to another home, it's a sort of "completion-factor," bezinga, that justifies what we do every day.
All our antique and collectable items are purchased one at a time, and never at only one location or favorite haunt. We don't buy off pickers, showing up with truck-loads of antiques, and we seldom purchase more than a few choice pieces at any one place, whether it is an estate sale or auction. We buy what we think our customers will like; meaning, it's not about our values or interests, other than the enjoyment we garner from the trip itself. Other retailers can get their inventories from a wholesale catalogue, by making a phone call, or sending an order by electronic link. For us, well, we are real sticklers for detail, and we like the fact, of being able to examine up-close, what will is intended eventually for our customers; ensuring quality is never compromised at the root level. Suzanne and I, and the boys, have been doing this seemingly forever, and it has never once proven an ineffective, or inefficient method of stocking the shelves of our shop. And we sure enjoy the country fare along the way, stopping frequently at community bakeries, restaurants and markets (in season), taking many respites along the way, there and back. I've been sucking the nectar out of the advantages of being an antique dealer, since I was nineteen years of age. Which may explain my weight problem; the gathering of butter tarts and squares from village to village while hunting heritage articles. This is living the old fashioned way; browsing through antique shops located near bakeries.
I know antique hunter / gatherers, who run themselves ragged, trying to find the elusive Holy Grail, looking in all the wrong places, and confounding themselves, like a dog trying to find the bone it buried the day before, without success. I have companioned with associate dealers, on acquisition co-operatives, and found myself totally out of place, because I don't have the same hustle gene. I have always been plodding about my work, and I love the profession too much, to ever let it be compromised, by out of control ambition, to be the top dealer of the bunch. I don't make our business ambitions, for our family, into a dealer-wide competition, although it's nice to look at the accountant, now and again, and see a smile, versus the frown of deficit. We of course like to know that customers appreciate the advantages of shopping at our antique store, but as far as cartwheeling over the competitors, to get to an auction or estate sale ahead of them, it just doesn't happen. But then, it never has happened in this fashion, because I don't like treating my chosen profession with such blatant disrespect. Suzanne and I both adore what we do, now truly as a retirement business, and the last thing we will ever do, after all these years setting the business up, as our new era recreation, is to corrupt it with misplaced ambitions and ridiculous expectations.
We come in contact with a lot of antique dealers each year, who have similar philosophies about their way of conducting business, and we also chat with those who are driven to succeed, wishing very much to earn the right to be called the "best antique dealer ever!" The difference with these folks, and I certainly don't try to change their opinions, or business strategies, is that their ambitions, like a dog with its hind legs passing its front, while running, eventually ruins what could have been a well balanced and rewarding profession. A beautiful relationship with antiques and history; a great recreation and profession rolled into one contenting, profitable pursuit. I didn't become an antique dealer to hustle, make a quick million or two, or immerse myself in more stress, than what generated from my day job of editing a newspaper. I used the antique hunt and gather, to ease my work-week stress, so right from the very beginning, I adopted a casual approach to everything I wanted to accomplish in this regard. The optimum return from a profession, for me, was spiritual satisfaction. Antiques fit the bill. I used to attend auctions in the spring, summer and fall, and justified them on my weekends-on-call, by taking photographs, and writing human interest stories, by crowd watching and historical sleuthing on site; while buying the occasional vintage quilt, or old rocking chair, box of vintage kitchen utensils, or maybe even select vintage furnishings, as a jam cupboard; and then writing about the day's acquisitions, or the ones that got away to a higher bidder.
I found attending auctions, in those days, an incredible change of pace, from the normal fare of writing editorials, and answering the publisher's demands five days a week. I enjoyed the setting of the sales, especially ones held at Muskoka and regional farm properties, and when it was a nice, sunny, warm day, I'd find myself wandering through the overgrown pastures, and poking through the barns, interested in the history that had occurred on this terrain for all these years; some auctions, at homesteads that dated back to the 1860's. The only thing stressful was occasionally thinking about work, and that just meant I had to focus harder on the auction, and the folks who attend these sorts of events, and all was right as rain in no time.
I watched my colleagues racing to yard sales, flea markets, and estate sales, as if they were late for the Mad Hatter's tea party, and honestly, they made me laugh; because they truly believed that if they got to the sale first, they would get the best pieces offered by the sale host. I could write a book just about this, and how foolish these foaming-at-the-mouth antique hunters are, and just how many treasures they leave behind for slow-pokes like Suzanne and I, who never compromise the good qualities of the day, and our time together, just to make a little bit more money. I draw your attention to the story of the "tortoise and the hare," and reintroduce the idea that speed is not the cornerstone of our profession. Just because a competing dealer makes it to three times more yards sales than we do, on a summer Saturday, has no bearing on who makes the better finds. I have bumped into all kinds of dealers, smiling as if they had just picked up a Rembrandt for fifteen bucks, who have missed a small original landscape worth much more than the print of a classic, they assumed was an original etching, or engraving. These over-zealous dealers look for the big "score," as they call it, and yes, they do look instinctively for the biggest, "best" pieces, and wind-up ignoring anything that seems at first glance, to be insignificant in terms of size and heritage appearance. Suzanne and I have been cherry-picking antiques and collectables, at our own pace, and at our own recreation, from the days before our marriage, to the present, and for the life of me, I could not find a single disadvantage associated with being of a "snail's pace," in our mission to uncover big finds. I like making money, or I wouldn't have turned my general interest in antiques, into a profession. I just don't like having money define our lives, or limit our sources of entertainment, and it's the same way we operate our store-front. We are speedy when it comes to dealing with our customers, just not out on the road, or traveling from shop to shop, sale to sale, to gather unique and interesting inventory.
Suzanne and I have a longstanding rule. We have quarterly reviews, of our work successes and failures, and how we are faring in the "like" department. I am very much the character parallel of Charles Dicken's "Old Fezziwig," from his story, "A Christmas Carol," and I very much pursue our enterprise, as if it is an extension of our home and home values. If you know our family at all, and have visited our shop, or met us in some antique shop, or mall in Ontario, you will probably remember us as dawdlers and gawkers, and those who appeared to be having too much fun, to actually depend on antiques to fundraise. I like to think it is our attitude in this regard, that has heralded the successes we have achieved. But our rule is, that when, one day, we wake up in the morning, or even have a rude awakening in the middle of the day, thanks to a disruptive customer, and find ourselves unimpressed any longer, by our involvement in antiques, we would offer it to our boys to continue in our absence. Andrew and Robert know this as well, and it's pretty much the way they run their own vintage music enterprise, in the same building. Our work is lifestyle, social and cultural, and the strange thing about this whacky idealism, is that it works as an economic strategy, without us intending it this way. It seems many of our customers prefer the laid-back, relaxed atmosphere, where, for example, there's no pressure to purchase anything, no sales staff stepping on your heals, or subliminal messages from anywhere, trying to get you to buy something you don't really want. I am sitting in the rear studio-shop right now, on a wonderful 1970's era couch, next to a fully dressed female mannequin, a real peach, wearing a bus driver's cap, looking as if she is reading a magazine; in a room full of nostalgic art and graphics, and honestly, feeling rather spoiled, that I've got such great digs in which to create these daily tomes. There will be dealers who read this, who might wish to challenge my claims about "the early bird getting the worm," and the unwritten reality, that "a hare can beat a hare in a road race." I feel sorry for some of my antique contemporaries, who have been involved in the profession for decades, but can't pause long enough in the quest for the holy grail, to relax and enjoy the accomplishments they have achieved; thus, never affording themselves the wonderful opportunity of celebrating history, and a profession that is centuries old and full of exciting traditions.
Today was one of those special days for traveling. I wished very much to head south, to visit some of our favorite antique haunts. It was sunny, early on, and the temperature wasn't severe, and the open road beckoned as it usually does, on such winter days in our area of the province. I have always been very much affected by the Thule passion for exploration, and adventure, but without a rabid sense of urgency. I just love taking motor trips through these winter-clad landscapes, and stopping at interesting places we find at country crossroads, and in quaint villages that A.Y. Jackson or A.J. Casson might have preferred, as studies for their afternoon sketches. This is the romantic side of the antique and history profession that I grew up with, from childhood in fact; and I have long benefitted from these unmapped, unscheduled journeys, as both an antique hunter and a writer. I have probably written a thousand or more travel pieces, for regional publications, detailing specific trips and occurrences, during the four seasons Suzanne and I used to hunt and gather collectables; before we became, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on the prevailing mood, tied to a storefront business. When I write about antique hunting, and the profession generally, my early commitment to enjoying the travel aspect, of each adventure, as much as discovery, has survived up to my near-golden years; and I wouldn't have done anything differently, if indeed, I had to do it all over again.
When I write these blogs, truth be known, I have my car keys on the table beside me, and I'm always within earshot of Suzanne, if she should, all of a sudden, yell out those familiar, and heart palpitating words, "Come on you old fart, it's time for a road trip." Maybe I'm not as successful, as an antique dealer, as my hard core, rush, rush, rush contemporaries. I'm pleased for them. Yet I am also not envious, because I have everything I want now; and I've never changed my opinion about the emotional windfalls of the profession, from the very day I pinched myself, after buying my first item as a fledgling antique dealer; a large coal-oil farm lamp, that my girlfriend, at the time, Gail Smith, had to finance for a couple of days until my next pay cheque. It was in the spring of 1976. I still own it. Occasionally, when I'm feeling a little nostalgic, I will light it up, and bask in its beautiful yellow glow against the frosted-over window pane. Antique collecting and dealing for Suzanne and I today, has to be enjoyable in every regard, or we will find something else to do. While we don't expect associate dealers will follow our mantra, or ever let the tortoise-us, fall off the radar, because competition is competition, no matter what the pace of the battle for a very few pieces of treasure. I don't wish to enter any competition they happen to initiate; but fair warning, if they should wish to play the game with a couple of savvy geezers, who get so much more out of the profession, than others can possibly fathom, well sir, we're just spry enough to play another three periods. I would suggest however, that the chase for the holy grail is never ending; thus, why not slow down, and enjoy the hunt, and the beautiful nature of our region, that makes it all so deliciously profitable in heart and soul, if not in cash reward.
From The Archives
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Crested Windermere House Hotel Ware Wash Basin and White Rose pattern dishes used in the dining room of the historic Lake Rosseau hotel
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CAPTAIN SHIRLEY MONTAGUE TUKE, DESPATCHES FROM THE WAR OFFICE, AND ON ANOTHER MATTER, A WINDERMERE HOUSE WASH BASIN
EVEN FOR A CAREER ANTIQUE DEALER, THERE ARE ARTIFACTS AND ARCHIVE MATERIALS THAT AREN'T FOR SALE - BUT WE WANT YOU TO SEE THEM!
IN THE WEEK SINCE A NEW ANTIQUE SHOP OPENED BESIDE US, HERE, IN UPTOWN GRAVENHURST, WE HAVE HAD ALL KINDS OF CUSTOMERS COMING IN TO OFFER US INSIGHTS, ABOUT THE CHALLENGES FOR MARKET SHARE, WE MAY OR MAY NOT FACE, IN THE COMING MONTHS (MAYBE YEARS, IF WE ALL STAY IN THE SAME PLACE). WE LISTEN TO THE OVERVIEWS, AND A FEW WARNINGS ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR BUSINESS TO MEET THE COMING CHALLENGES, AND WE THANK THEM FOR THE UNSOLICITED REVIEWS AND ADVISORIES, AND THEN SETTLE BACK TO THE SAME WORK WE WERE DOING BEFORE THEY ARRIVED AT OUR COUNTER. THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME AN ANTIQUE SHOP, OR BUSINESS, SELLING VINTAGE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, OPENS ANYWHERE IN THE REGION; AND I THINK WE SURPRISE THESE SPIES, ON OUR BEHALF, WHEN WE DON'T TURN WHITE, AND START SWEATING, BECAUSE OF THE REVELATIONS. THEY THINK, I SUPPOSE, THAT WE SHALL SUCCUMB TO COMPETITION, AND THEY SEE THEMSELVES AS THE HARBINGERS OF THE CAUSE OF "INEVITABLE CHANGE," COMING ALONG ANY DAY. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY ARE TRYING TO WARN US, WE'RE NOW IN TOUGH COMPANY. THEY ARE ALL WELL INTENTIONED, AND WE TRY TO REMAIN ATTENTIVE, BUT HONESTLY, SEEING AS WE'VE HEARD SO MUCH, IN SO FEW DAYS, WE'RE JUST OVERLOADED WITH CRITIQUES AND REVIEWS. NOTHING WHATSOEVER THAT WILL INFLUENCE US, TO CHANGE WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS, (FOR ME, 35 YEARS IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION). AND WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT BURDENED BY THEIR HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS, ABOUT CHANGING THE KIND OF INVENTORY WE CARRY, OR WHAT WE MIGHT CHOOSE TO ACQUIRE IN THE COMING MONTHS. WE HAVE, YOU SEE, AN ENORMOUS FAITH IN EXPERIENCE GARNERED, IN AND OUT OF THE SHOP, ESPECIALLY ON THE ONTARIO HUSTINGS, WHERE WE FIND MOST OF OUR INVENTORY. WE LEARNED A LONG TIME AGO, BASED ON ERRORS IN JUDGEMENT, AND A GENERAL SHORTAGE OF COMPARISON EXPERIENCES, TO TRUST OUR INSTINCTS, AND THE SAGE WORDS OF MANY WELL TRAVELLED TUTORS, WE'VE BEEN ASSOCIATED, FROM OUR BEGINNINGS IN THIS STORIED PROFESSION. ALTHOUGH WE APPRECIATE THAT SO MANY CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN CHECKING IN ON US, TO SEE IF COMPETITION HAS CRUSHED OUR SPIRITS YET, WE REMIND THEM WITH A SMILE, THAT THE ONLY REASON WE WILL LEAVE THIS LOCATION, IS WHEN WE FINALLY, EXHAUSTED IN OUR TRACKS, RETIRE BACK TO BIRCH HOLLOW TO WATCH THE FINAL SUNSET. NOT BECAUSE WE COULDN'T MEASURE UP TO THE LOCAL COMPETITION. WE REPRESENT THE TORTOISE IN BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY, SO JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T SEE A FERRIS WHEEL, OR MERRY-GO-ROUND AT THE FRONT OF THE SHOP, DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE FALLING BY THE WAYSIDE, OR LACKING IN ANY WAY, FROM A CURRENT OF ENTHUSIASM. WE KNOW WHERE WE WANT TO TRAVEL, AND SHALL GET THERE IN GOOD TIME.
WHEN THEY ASK "HAVE YOU BEEN OVER TO SEE THEIR SHOP," WE ANSWER WITH GENTLE DIPLOMACY, "NOT YET, BUT WE WILL SOONER OR LATER." IT'S NOT BECAUSE WE'RE BEING RUDE, OR UNCARING NEIGHBORS. IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, WHEN EVEN ANTIQUE MALLS A HUNDRED MILES AWAY, ARE OUR COMPETITION; AS FOLKS TRAVEL A LOT FURTHER AFIELD THESE DAYS, TO GET WHAT THEY WANT, FROM THE SHOP THEY FIND BEST SUITS THEIR NEEDS. SO AS FAR AS BEING USED TO COMPETITION, IT'S ALWAYS ON THE AGENDA, AND EVERY TIME WE PRICE A PIECE OF INVENTORY, LARGE OR SMALL, WE APPRECIATE THAT WE HAVE TO BEAT ALL THE AREA COMPETITORS; AND EVEN BEYOND THAT, TRUTH BE KNOWN. WE ALSO ARE ARDENT BELIEVERS, THAT COMPETITION IS RIGOROUS, CHASING AFTER A FEW DOLLARS, AND SOMETIMES FEWER, DEPENDING ON THE MOOD OF THE PUBLIC; SO JUST LIKE BOXERS, WE WILL ACKNOWLEDGE OUR ANTIQUE COMPETITORS, BUT MAINTAIN THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE OUT ON THE OLD HUNT AND GATHER, AND WHERE IT CAN GET REAL UGLY, WHEN DEALERS, COLLECTORS, AND ANTIQUE ENTHUSIASTS, COMPETE FOR A FEW GOOD PIECES. I AM AN "OLD SCHOOL" ANTIQUE DEALER, WHO UNDERSTANDS AND APPRECIATES THE LEGACY OF THE ANTIQUE ASSOCIATION, DATING BACK TO BEFORE THE TIME OF DICKENS, AND HIS OLD CURIOSITY SHOP. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE AND HISTORIC PROFESSIONS, AND IT IS FULL OF TRADITION AND ANECDOTE, THAT HAS TRICKLED DOWN TO THIS NEW CENTURY. WE WILL STICK TO OUR LANE, BUT IN A KINDLY FASHION.
EVERYONE WHO REFERS TO THEMSELVES AS A DEALER OF ANTIQUES, NO MATTER HOW HALE, HARDY AND WELCOMING THE REFRAIN, IS OUR COMPETITOR. EVEN AFTER WE SHAKE HANDS, AND RETURN TO OUR RESPECTIVE CORNERS, WE MINDFULLY, AS WE WERE TAUGHT IN BUSINESS CLASS, GET READY TO RUMBLE. AND THE CONTRADICTION, IN TERMS, IS THAT WE DO BUY AND SELL WITH COMPETITORS ALL THE TIME. BUT AS TRADITION RULES, AND PRECEDENT REFLECTS, WE NEVER SURRENDER OUR INDEPENDENCE, ALTHOUGH A GOOD MANY IN OUR TIME, HAVE WISHED WE WOULD JOIN FORCES TO RULE THE WORLD. WE ARE, IF NOTHING ELSE, REALISTS, TO JUST HOW COMPETITIVE THE ANTIQUE TRADE CAN BE, AND HOW EXPERIENCE DICTATES, THAT OUR CUNNING NATURES, WILL CONFLICT SOONER OR LATER, DURING A STRUGGLE FOR THE BEST PIECES ON THE MARKET.
AS A CASE IN POINT, A LARGE NUMBER OF LOCAL DEALERS AND COLLECTORS, USED TO ATTEND THE AUCTIONS OF BOTH ART CAMPBELL, AND THEN WAYNE RUTLEDGE, HERE IN MUSKOKA. WE WOULD MEET UP WITH ASSOCIATE DEALERS, SHARE SOME INTERESTING STORIES OF ANTIQUES BOUGHT AND SOLD, A CUP OF COFFEE, AND SMALL TALK ABOUT THE AUDIENCE IN ATTENDANCE. OFTEN THERE WOULD BE VERBAL ARRANGEMENTS MADE, BETWEEN DEALERS, TO TRADE OFF BIDDING ON CERTAIN ITEMS, THE OTHER DEALER MAY HAVE WISHED TO PURCHASE. THIS IS AN AGE-OLD TRADITION, AND IT CAN GET VERY COMPLICATED, AND IN SOME CASES, ISN'T LOOKED UPON KINDLY BY THE AUCTIONEER. THIS IS PART OF AUCTION HISTORY, NOT SIMPLY SOMETHING THAT CAME UP AT MUSKOKA AUCTIONS, DURING THEIR TENURE. SUZANNE AND I REFUSED TO MAKE THESE COMMITMENTS, GENERALLY, AND YET, I KNOW MANY TIMES, WE WOULD BACK OFF BIDDING, IF WE SAW ONE OF OUR COLLEAGUES GOING AFTER THE SAME PIECE. WE DIDN'T WANT TO START A WAR WITH OUR CONTEMPORARIES IN THE PROFESSION. THE EXACT OPPOSITE WOULD HOLD TRUE, IF SUZANNE AND I WERE BIDDING ON SOMETHING WE WANTED FOR THE SHOP. THE SAME LADY WHO WOULD BEG US NOT TO BID UP THE ITEM(S) SHE WANTED, WOULD THEN GOON US WITH SUCCESSIVE BIDS. SO ONE DAY, I CONFRONTED HER, AND IT WAS VERY MUCH THE SITUATION, THAT HER RULES WERE A LITTLE ONE SIDED. ALL IN HER FAVOR OF COURSE. A LOT OF BAD FEELINGS WERE INITIATED BY THOSE EXPECTED CONFLUENCES, WHERE DEALERS WERE DOING WHAT THEY DO! TRYING TO GET THE BEST INVENTORY FOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY. SO WHEN IT IS SUGGESTED "WE SHOULD ALLL BE FRIENDS IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION," I AM REMINDED OF THESE SITUATIONS I'VE LIVED THROUGH, WHERE DEALERS BOUNCED OFF ONE ANOTHER, TO GET THE BIG PRIZES OF EVERY SALE. IT COULD GET UGLY. IT'S THE NATURE OF THE BUSINESS, AND IT'S AS OLD AS THE PROFESSION ITSELF.
SO THANKS FOR KEEPING US TO SPEED ON OUR COMPETITION. BUT IT ISN'T NECESSARY. WHEN WE ENTERED THIS INDUSTRY, THE OLDTIMERS OF THE BUSINESS, LET US KNOW, IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, THAT WE WOULD BE FIGHTING FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END; AND SO FAR, THEIR ADVICE HAS BEEN SPOT-ON.
"WHITE ROSE" AND "MAYFLOWER" PATTERN HOTELWARE, USED AT MUSKOKA AND ALGONQUIN RESORTS
SUZANNE AND I TALK ABOUT LOCAL AND REGIONAL HISTORY A LOT. MOSTLY WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, SOME WHO ARE VISITING THEIR FORMER HOME REGIONS, AFTER YEARS OF ABSENCE, WHO ARE EAGER TO LOOK-UP THEIR OLD NEIGHBORHOODS, HOPING TO FIND A FEW FRIENDS STILL RESIDING IN THE COMMUNITY. SO, THEY FIGURE, THAT BY DROPPING IN TO THE LOCAL ANTIQUE SHOP, THEY WOULD FIND KINDRED SPIRITS IN THIS REGARD. IN MOST ANTIQUE SHOPS TODAY, EXCEPT A VERY FEW, YOU WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO MUSTER A CONVERSATION, MORE THAN A GENERAL, WHAT'S-UP DISCUSSION OF CURRENT EVENTS. THEY (SHOP OWNERS) MIGHT HAVE LIVED IN THE REGION FOR QUITE AWHILE, BUT THEY'RE STILL NOT PARTICULARLY WELL VERSED ON MUSKOKA HERITAGE. WHICH IS OKAY, BECAUSE IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT OF RUNNING A LOCAL ANTIQUE SHOP. OUR FAMILY EXTENDS BACK TO THE PIONEER ERA, AND SUZANNE AND I, ARE BOTH WORKING REGIONAL HISTORIANS, WHEN NOT SELLING ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES. PART OF OUR ANTIQUE THING, AT LEAST AS WE CHOSE TO OPERATE OUR SHOP, IS TO HAVE, SO CALLED "CONVERSATION PIECES" HANGING AROUND, TO SHOW OUR ENJOYMENT AND PRIDE OF STEWARDSHIP, OF HISTORIC ARTICLES, WITH INTERESTING LOCAL PROVENANCE. AS I'VE POINTED OUT PREVIOUSLY, EVERY ANTIQUE DEALER, WILL HAVE A FEW PIECES SET ASIDE, THAT ARE FOR "DISPLAY ONLY." BRAGGING RIGHTS, YOU MIGHT SAY. SOME CUSTOMERS DESPISE THIS, AND WANT EVERYTHING IN THE SHOP TO HAVE A PRICE TAG, INCLUDING THE SALES COUNTER. WELL, WE LEARNED A LONG TIME AGO, TO LET THE CRITICS DO, AND SAY, WHAT THEY WANT; SATISFYING OURSELVES, AS A LAST RESORT, THAT WE CAN TURN DOWN THE SOUND, WHEN THE CRITIQUE BECOMES OVERLY INTRUSIVE. WE'VE PROVEN A THOUSAND TIMES OVER, THAT "YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE, ALL OF THE TIME!"
YESTERDAY, OUT ON OUR WEEKLY HUNT AND GATHER EXPEDITION, WE FOUND THE HOLY GRAIL OF MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES. (ACTUALLY THERE ARE NUMEROUS IN THE SAME CATEGORY, SUCH AS MUSKOKA NAVIGATION COMPANY MEMORABILIA) THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD HAVE MADE IN MORE VALUABLE, WAS IF THE ORIGINAL JUG HAD BEEN WITH THE WASH BASIN. THERE WILL BE A SIGH AMONGST COLLECTORS AND DEALERS OF MUSKOKA MEMORABILIA, THAT THE CURRIES, NOW HAVE AN ORIGINAL AND BEAUTIFUL "WINDERMERE HOUSE (MUSKOKA)" CRESTED HOTELWARE BASIN, WHICH IS JUST ONE PART, OF WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MUCH LARGER SET OF BEDROOM CONVENIENCES, IN THE ERA BEFORE WATER WAS BEING PUMPED TO HOTEL WASHROOMS. TO MANY MUSKOKA COLLECTORS, THIS IS ONE OF THE PIECES YOU DIVE AND WRESTLE FOR, BECAUSE, FOR ONE THING, IT IS ONE OF THE MUSKOKA RESORTS STILL OPERATING, THAT DATES BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PIONEER ERA CABIN, ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ROSSEAU, BUILT BY THOMAS AITKEN, OF WINDERMERE, THE FOUNDER OF THE HISTORIC RESORT. CANADIAN DEPARTMENT STORE MAGNATE, TIMOTHY EATON, RESIDED AT THE AITKEN HOUSE, ON ONE HUNTING AND FISHING EXPEDITION, AND TOLD THOMAS, IN CASUAL CONVERSATION, THAT HE SHOULD CONSIDER OPENING UP A BOARDING HOUSE, FOR ALL THE FUTURE TRAVELLERS AND SPORTSMEN, THAT WOULD SOON BE VENTURING TO THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND FOR RECREATION. EATON WENT ON TO PURCHASE LAND, NEARBY, WHERE HE BUILT HIS "RAVENSCRAG" ESTATE. BUT IN SOME SMALL WAY, WINDERMERE HOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY INSPIRED BY EATON. THE ORIGINAL RESORT BUILDING WAS LEVELED BY FIRE IN THE 1990'S, THE RESULT OF A TECHNICAL MISHAP, DURING THE FILMING OF A MOVIE, AND REBUILT LATER IN THE DECADE, TRUE TO ITS ORIGINAL DESIGN, ON THAT SAME PROMONTORY, OVERLOOKING LAKE ROSSEAU.
SO GETTING AN ORIGINAL CRESTED WASH BASIN, WHICH IS EXTREMELY FRAGILE, IS EXCEPTIONAL FOR TWO REASONS. ONE, THERE ARE VERY FEW SURVIVING EXAMPLES. AND TWO, COLLECTORS WILL NEVER UNCLENCH THEIR HANDS FROM THESE WINDERMERE HOUSE RELICS, ONCE IN THEIR POSSESSION. SO ACQUIRING THIS RARE ITEM OF HOTEL HISTORY, IN MUSKOKA, IS ONE OF THOSE HIGH FIVE MOMENTS, FOR SURE. IF, THAT IS, SUZANNE AND I WERE MUSKOKA COLLECTORS, LIKE SOME OF OUR FOAMING-AT-THE-MOUTH COLLECTOR ASSOCIATES.
AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT IN THE PAST, SUZANNE COMES FROM PIONEER MUSKOKA STOCK, AND AS WINDERMERE IS HER HOME VILLAGE, AND HER FAMILY OPERATED THE WINDERMERE MARINA, AND "THE SKIPPER" SNACKBAR (ABOVE THE MARINA), AND OWNED BOTH A HOUSE AND COTTAGE IN THE COMMUNITY, WE HAVE INHERITED QUITE A VARIETY OF SO CALLED "MUSKOKA MEMORABILIA." SUZANNE'S GRANDFATHER, SAM STRIPP, AND HIS SON NORMAN (SUZANNE'S FATHER), WERE CONTRACTORS EMPLOYED TO LOOK AFTER COTTAGE PROPERTIES, AROUND THE LAKE, AND THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE WONDERFUL OLD WOODEN BOATS, IN THE MYRIAD OF BOAT HOUSES IN THE WINDERMERE VICINITY. SO OVER THE YEARS, HER FAMILY WAS GIVEN A LARGE AMOUNT OF MUSKOKA RELATED PIECES, FROM BOAT PARTS, TO VICTORIAN SETEES, SOME OF WHICH WE STILL HAVE, WITH THE PROVENANCE, OF WHERE THEY ONCE WERE SITUATED; FROM HOME OR COTTAGE. DUE TO THE FACT WE COULD HARDLY MOVE IN OUR HOUSE, ESPECIALLY AFTER WE SETTLED THE FAMILY ESTATE, WE DID SELL OFF A SMALL PORTION, JUST TO GIVE US A LITTLE ROOM AT BIRCH HOLLOW. WE EVEN HAVE THE ORIGINAL CHURCH PEW FROM AN UFFORD CHURCH, THAT ONE OF HER KIN FOLK BUILT BACK IN THE LATE 1800'S, PLUS AN ORIGINAL PUMP ORGAN THAT HAD BEEN DONATED BY A PIONEER FAMILY THAT HAD BEEN IN THE FIRST UFFORD CHURCH. WE HAVE HAD TO MAKE A NUMBER OF TOUGH CHOICES IN THE PAST, AS TO WHETHER WE SHOULD OPEN A MUSEUM SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN THE HOUSE, TO EXHIBIT THIS MEMORABILIA, OR SELL SOME PIECES TO COLLECTORS, WHO HAVE BEEN PESTERING US FOR DECADES ABOUT SPECIFIC PIECES. AFTER AWHILE, WE SUCCUMBED, AND MADE THESE FOLKS HAPPY FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. BUT AS THEIR APPETITE IS HUGE, IT HAS BOTHERED THEM THAT WE'RE APPARENTLY HOLDING BACK. IN REALITY, IT GOT SO BAD, ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO, WE JUST DECIDED TO PULL BACK THE MAJOR PIECES, WITH ANTICIPATION, OF ONE DAY HAVING WHAT WE POSSESS TODAY. A PLACE TO EXHIBIT SOME OF THESE NEAT MUSKOKA PIECES, FROM A LIFETIME'S CELEBRATION OF FAMILY TIMES, WORK AND RECREATION. SO WHAT ABOUT THE WINDERMERE HOUSE WASH BASIN?
WITHIN HOURS OF ACQUIRING THE WASH BASIN, WITH ITS TINY CREST, WE HAD A COLLECTOR DEMANDING TO SEE IT. THAT'S RIGHT! WE KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED, AND WHERE THE INFORMATION CAME FROM, AND SUZANNE WAS PERTURBED ALL NIGHT BECAUSE OF THE COLLECTOR'S INTRUSION. THE INFORMATION WAS PASSED ON, INNOCENTLY ENOUGH, AS THE INDIVIDUAL ASSUMED, AS DEALERS, WE WOULD BE RE-SELLING THE WASH BASIN IN OUR GRAVENHURST SHOP. SO THE SELLER BELIEVED IT WAS POSSIBLE TO PURCHASE THE BASIN, WHEN IN FACT, WE MADE THE PURCHASE SO THAT WE COULD USE IT IN OUR SHOWCASE DISPLAY, OF INTERESTING AND RARE REGIONAL COLLECTABLES. IT IS NOSTALGIA FROM SUZANNE'S PAST, AND SHE ONCE WORKED IN THE WINDERMERE HOUSE GIFT SHOP, BACK IN THE 1970'S. EVEN BEFORE THE COLLECTOR ARRIVED HERE, SUZANNE HAD PLACED THE BOWL IN OUR BEAUTIFUL OLD DISPLAY CASE, WHICH WAS ONCE PART OF THE BUSH DRUG STORE, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, HERE IN GRAVENHURST; SITUATING IT BESIDE A SMALL STACK OF "WHITE ROSE" PATTERN, HOTEL-WARE DISHES, THAT WERE USED IN THE DINING ROOM, BACK IN THE DAYS OF FORMER WINDERMERE HOUSE OWNER, MARY ELIZABETH AITKEN. WE'VE HAD MUSKOKA COLLECTORS TURN THEIR NOSES UP AT THEM, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT "CRESTED," WHICH PRESUMABLY, AT LEAST FOR THEM, IS THE ONLY TRUE WAY TO IDENTIFY DINNERWARE AS ORIGINAL WINDERMERE HOUSE COLLECTABLES. THE FACT THAT SUZANNE DINED ON THEM, AT WINDERMERE HOUSE, APPARENTLY ISN'T ENOUGH EVIDENCE FOR THEM. SO NOW THEY ARE ON DISPLAY, WHERE THEY BELONG, BESIDE THE WINDERMERE HOUSE WASH BASIN. AND, THEY'RE NOT FOR SALE EITHER. BY THE WAY, THE MAYFLOWER PATTERN, WAS ANOTHER POPULAR RESORT STYLE HOTELWARE, AND WAS USED AT RESORTS LIKE WIGWASSAN LODGE, ON LAKE ROSSEAU'S TOBIN'S ISLAND.
THERE IS A STORY, WHICH MAY BE AN ANTIQUE DEALER'S URBAN LEGEND, THAT A CRESTED CHAMBER POT, FROM WINDERMERE HOUSE, THAT WOULD HAVE BELONGED TO A SIMILAR SET, AS THE BASIN, WAS SOLD IN THE PAST TWO YEARS FOR UPWARDS OF $800. ALL BECAUSE OF A TINY CREST. A CHAMBER POT, WITH LID, IF YOU CAN SELL IT ALONE, IN A SHOP LIKE OURS, WOULDN'T FETCH MORE THAN TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS. SO THE BULK OF THE VALUE, APPARENTLY, IS THE EMBLEM. THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY FOR A CREST. BUT HONESTLY, WE DIDN'T BUY THE BASIN SO WE COULD FLIP IT FOR AN ENORMOUS PROFIT. IT WAS ACQUIRED TO AUGMENT OUR COLLECTION OF WINDERMERE AND MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES, WHICH WE HAVE ON PERMANENT DISPLAY AT OUR ANTIQUE SHOP. ANY ONE WHO HAS VISITED US IN THE PAST, WOULD RECOGNIZE THIS IS WHAT WE DO AS TRADITION. NOT THE EXCEPTION. WE COULD HAVE SOLD IT YESTERDAY FOR QUITE A NICE PROFIT, BUT THE WAY WE RUN OUR BUSINESS, YOU SEE, WE CAN PROFIT IN A THOUSAND OTHER WAYS, VERSUS THE CONTINUING SPECULATION OF LOCAL HEIRLOOMS. WE HAVE DONE THIS IN THE PAST, MOSTLY WITH FOUND PIECES, THAT HAVE HAD NO FAMILY CONNECTION. UNFORTUNATELY, THE AGGRESSIVE COMPETITION BETWEEN THOSE HUSTLING MUSKOKA PIECES, BOTH FOR PERSONAL REASONS AND FINANCIAL GAIN, HAS MADE IT UNCOMFORTABLE FOR US, STUCK PRECARIOUSLY IN THE MIDDLE.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE HAD SOME UNIQUE MEMORABILIA TO OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS, IT WAS ALWAYS HANDLED IN THE SAME WAY WE HANDLED ALL OUR INVENTORY ARRIVALS. NO ONE RECEIVED PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT. PARTICULARLY BACK IN THE EARLY 1990'S, WHEN AUDREY JUDD, FROM THE FOUNDING FAMILY OF THE WELL KNOWN, JUDDHAVEN RESORT, IN THE VILLAGE OF MINETT (LAKE ROSSEAU), CONSIGNED MANY SHIPPING DOCUMENTS FROM THE MUSKOKA NAVIGATION COMPANY HEYDAY; BOY OH BOY DID WE MAKE SOME ENEMIES WITH THE DISPERSAL. WE PUT THEM IN OUR SHOWCASE, IN THE BRACEBRIDGE SHOP, AND IT WAS LITERALLY FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE. WE DIDN'T START PHONING PEOPLE, TO TELL THEM OF OUR NEWLY ARRIVED ARCHIVE MATERIAL. WE JUST PRICED THEM ACCORDINGLY, (I HAVE DONE MUSEUM APPRAISALS OF MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES), AND AWAITED CUSTOMERS INTERESTED IN SUCH PIECES. WE DIDN'T WANT TO BE ACCUSED OF FAVORITISM, FOR PHONING ONE OR TWO, OVER THE DOZENS WHO WANTED MUSKOKA HERITAGE ITEMS. THE FIRST COLLECTOR THROUGH THE DOOR, BOUGHT THE WHOLE LOT, AND THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE END OF THE STORY. WE PAID MISS JUDD, AND MADE A COLLECTOR VERY HAPPY. EXCEPT FOR THE FACT, WE START HEARING FROM OTHERS, ABOUT THE SALE OF THE COLLECTION, AND OF COURSE, JEALOUSY IS NEVER A PRETTY SIGHT. THE PROBLEM IS, THAT DEALERS AND COLLECTORS TALK ABOUT THESE TRANSACTIONS, AND BUYING COUPS, AS IF THEY ARE MILESTONE EVENTS, IN THE LOCAL ANTIQUE COLLECTING CHRONICLE. SOMETIMES YOU HEAR STORIES SPUN, ABOUT HOW THE SUBJECT ANTIQUE DEALER, WAS OUT-MUSTERED BY THE CLEVER MANIPULATIONS OF A SAVVY COLLECTOR. IT'S ALWAYS A SELF-SERVING OVERVIEW, OF A BUYER'S CLEVERNESS. SOME DEALERS WILL DO THE SAME. BRAGGING HOW THEY BEAT A CUSTOMER, MAKING A HUGE PROFIT. I HAVE BIOGRAPHIES OF ANTIQUE DEALERS GOING BACK TO THE 1800'S, AND THIS IS ONE COMMONPLACE THAT HAS SPANNED THE CHASM OF THE DECADES.
APPARENTLY, ESPECIALLY FROM OUR ROLE IN THE EXPANDING MUSKOKA COLLECTING ENTERPRISE, WE WERE KNOWN ONCE AS THE "GO TO" DEALERS WHEN IT CAME TO REPRESENTING THE REGION. I WAS TOLD THIS, TWO YEARS AGO, WHEN WE RAN INTO SEVERAL LOCAL COLLECTOR / DEALERS, WHO, WHEN INTRODUCED TO ME, LOOKED AS IF THEY'D SEEN A GHOST. "WE KNOW ALL ABOUT YOU MR. CURRIE. YOU'RE A LEGEND WHEN IT COMES TO MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES." WELL, IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS. MY CHIN WAS ON MY CHEST TOO, BECAUSE NO ONE OTHER THAN MY WIFE HAS EVER CALLED ME A LEGEND. AND THAT WAS A BAD REFERENCE. APPARENTLY, THE LEGENDARY PART, WAS THAT AS A MUSKOKA HISTORIAN, AS WELL, WE WERE WELL KNOWN IN THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE COMMUNITY, AS A FAMILY THAT LIVES AND BREATHES, ALL AVENUES OF MUSKOKA'S HERITAGE. WELL THAT'S TRUE. BUT NO ONE HAD EVER CALLED ME THIS BEFORE, AND THEN SHOOK MY HAND OUT OF RESPECT. AS I'VE NOTED EARLIER, THE MOST I USED TO GET, WAS AN ANGRY RETORT FROM A COLLECTOR, PISSED-OFF ABOUT THE FACT I HAD SOLD-OFF A VINTAGE MUSKOKA PHOTO ALBUM, WITHOUT CALLING THEM FIRST. WITH RABID FOLKS LIKE THIS, HONESTLY, THERE'S NO WAY OF SATISFYING ALL OF THEM, ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE IS ONLY A TRICKLE OF UNIQUE AND RARE PIECES COMING ON TO THE MARKET.
WE DON'T EXHIBIT ALL OF THE MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES WE ACQUIRE, AND IT'S NECESSARY, AS DEALERS, TO SELL SOME OF THESE ITEMS FOR PROFIT. A CASE IN POINT, IS A GOOD CONDITION COPY OF "MUSKOKA MEMORIES," WE HAVE IN THE SHOWCASE, AT THE PRESENT. IT'S FOR SALE. AND IT'S A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF "CAPTURED-IN-INK" MUSKOKA HISTORY. BUT SOME PIECES, THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO US, AND OUR FAMILY, ARE JUST NOT UP FOR GRABS AT THE MOMENT. BUT WE DO, MOST AFFECTIONATELY, WANT THEM TO SHARE WITH OTHERS; OUR CUSTOMERS, WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN THESE RELICS, OF A BYGONE ERA IN MUSKOKA. AND WE, AFTERALL, HAVE A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL BACKGROUND IN MUSEUM EXHIBITS, DATING BACK TO OUR YEARS WITH WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM IN BRACEBRIDGE, THE MUSKOKA LAKES MUSEUM IN PORT CARLING, AND THE BRACEBRIDGE SPORTS HALL OF FAME EXHIBIT SHOWCASES, AT THE BRACEBRIDGE ARENA. SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE JUST STARTED THINKING OF OURSELVES AS CURATORS, AND DECIDED TO OPEN UP OUR OWN MUSEUM. IN FACT, IT IS ONLY A SMALL DEDICATION OF SHOWCASE SPACE, BECAUSE AFTERALL, WE ARE A RETAIL ENTERPRISE, FIRST AND FOREMOST. WE COULDN'T HAVE A PERMANENT DISPLAY ALLOCATION, IF WE DIDN'T OCCASIONALLY SELL SOMETHING TO JUSTIFY BEING HERE, IN THE FIRST PLACE, AT OUR MAIN STREET GRAVENHURST STOREFRONT. AND IT'S NOT JUST THE CASE, THAT WE ISOLATE SOME SIGNIFICANT MUSKOKA PIECES FOR OUR DISPLAYS. IN THE CASE OF THE MATERIAL WE ACQUIRED, MOST RECENTLY, HIGHLIGHTING THE MILITARY CAREER OF CAPTAIN SHIRLEY MONTAGUE TUKE, WE FEEL, IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO SHARE THIS WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, THAN SPLITTING IT UP FOR SALE, AS MANY IN OUR PROFESSION, UNDER SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES, WOULD DO TO MAKE ENDS MEET. I SUPPOSE, IN THIS REGARD, WE ARE NOT AMONGST THE TOP ANTIQUE DEALERS IN OUR PROFESSION, AND I FEAR, WE MAY BE CLOSER TO THE BOTTOM WHEN IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO SUCH APPRAISAL. YET WE ARE MOST CONCERNED, AS A FAMILY BUSINESS, THAT OUR PERSONAL VALUES PLAY A ROLE, HOWEVER MINOR, IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ENTERPRISE; AND IF WE WERE RADICALS IN THIS REGARD, I SUPPOSE THAT MIGHT PROVE SERIOUSLY DETRIMENTAL. WE ARE PRETTY CONSERVATIVE FOLKS, AND AS FAR AS HERITAGE PRESERVATION GOES, WE PAINT BETWEEN THE LINES. WE'RE NOT VERY EXCITING IN THIS WAY, BUT WE CAN LIVE WITH OUR DECISIONS, AND AT TIMES, IT HAS COST US A MARGIN OF PROFIT. SEEING AS WE DON'T HAVE A SUMMER COTTAGE, OR FOUR CARS IN THE DRIVEWAY, OR ANY RECREATIONAL VEHICLES TOWED BEHIND OUR VAN, AND HAVE ONLY HAD TWO VACATIONS IN TEN YEARS, FORGIVE US IF WE OPT TO HANG ONTO A FEW RELICS OF OUR DISTRICT PAST, THAT FOR THE MOMENT, WE JUST WANT TO SHARE WITH OUR PATRONS. DULL STUFF. RIGHT? IF WE COULD ONLY CONVINCE OUR MOST DEDICATED MUSKOKA COLLECTORS TO LIGHTEN-UP A TAD, AND ACCEPT FOR ONCE, "IT'S NOT FOR SALE, ANY ANY PRICE!" "ANY PRICE," YOU ASK. YOU'D BE SHOCKED AT THE AMOUNTS WE HAVE TURNED DOWN IN THE PAST.
IN THE WORDS OF OLD FEZZIWIG, A CHARACTER IN "A CHRISTMAS CAROL," WRITTEN BY CHARLES DICKENS, "THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN MONEY;" AND THAT "WORK" AND "BUSINESS" CAN NEVER BE JUST ABOUT PROFIT; INSTEAD, IT'S ABOUT A WAY OF LIFE, TO BE ENJOYED AND CELEBRATED. WELL, THAT'S A PRETTY PROFOUND WAY TO END THIS COLUMN, AS RELATES TO LITTLE FOLKS LIKE US, RUNNING A TINY ANTIQUE SHOP IN A SMALL TOWN, HERE IN THE HINTERLAND OF ONTARIO; BUT I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER, ALL ENCOMPASSING OVERVIEW, THAN THIS. I AM AT ONE WITH OLD FEZZIWIG, I MUST CONFESS. SO, (AND THIS IS THE BOTTOM LINE), IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUR TRIBUTE TO MUSKOKA, YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO VISIT OUR GRAVENHURST SHOP.
A LOOK BACK AT THE WORK OF A CANADIAN ART PATRON - DOUGLAS DUNCAN
EACH GENERATION HAS HAD A CHAMPION OF THE ARTS
ANTIQUE AND OLD BOOK DEALERS ARE HOBBY, AND SOMETIMES, FULL HISTORIANS, UNDER THAT CASUAL, NONCHALANT SHOP DEMEANOUR. THE FIRST STORY THEY WOULD HAVE READ THIS MORNING, IN THE DAILY PRESS, WAS THE REVELATION THAT AN EXCAVATION BELOW A PARKING LOT, IN ENGLAND, CONTAINED THE LAST REMAINS OF A COURAGEOUS WARRIOR, FROM THE LEGENDARY I5TH CENTURY WAR OF THE ROSES. IT HAS BEEN PROVEN, BY RESEARCHERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER, THAT THE SKELETAL REMAINS, FOUND IN THIS RATHER COMMON, URBAN LOCATION, WERE THOSE OF KING RICHARD III; WHICH, ACCORDING TO A REPORT IN TODAY'S TORONTO STAR, (FEB. 4, 2013, PAGE 8), WAS "THE LAST ENGLISH MONARCH TO DIE IN COMBAT." THE NEWS ARTICLE IDENTIFIES AS WELL, THAT DNA TESTING OF THE BONES, WAS ASSISTED BY CANADIAN RELATIVES OF RICHARD'S SISTER, "ANNE OF YORK," WHO ACCORDING TO THE NEWS TODAY, WAS A POSITIVE MATCH. WHAT A GREAT HERITAGE DISCOVERY. AND BELIEVE ME, IT FUELS US HOBBY ARCHAEOLOGISTS, WHO WOULD HAVE GIVEN ANYTHING TO BE ON THE LIP OF THAT EXCAVATION, WATCHING HISTORY UNEARTHED. WHILE IT PROBABLY APPEARS, WE ANTIQUE TYPES ARE BEST SUITED FOR INDOOR STUDIES, MOST OF US STARTED IN THE FIELD, HUSTLING FOR OUR DINNER. SO EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, THE URGE ARRIVES TO GET BACK TO HOW IT ALL BEGAN……AND THAT'S ALWAYS A CASE OF, WELL, A SINCERE, HONEST LOVE FOR HISTORY. IT'S ALWAYS AN EXCITING DAY WHEN HISTORY COMES OUT ON TOP FOR A CHANGE.
REVELATION AND CONTEMPLATION ABOUT BEING A PATRON OF THE ARTS
I AM A TRIED AND FAILED ARTIST. MY WIFE DENIES THIS, WHEN AT TIMES I SKETCH SOMETHING INTERESTING, ON A BLANK PIECE OF PAPER, WHILE I'M TALKING ON THE PHONE. SUZANNE HAS SEEN SOME OF MY WATERCOLOR LANDSCAPES, AND KEEPS ASKING ME TO PAINT MORE. I'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO READ MY WIFE, IN THIS REGARD, BECAUSE IF ALL OF A SUDDEN I QUIT EVERYTHING ELSE, TO BECOME AN ARTIST, SHE'D LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS……AND THEN, UPON AWAKENING WITH A START, COMMENCE TO BEAT ME OVER THE HEAD WITH ONE OF MY ABSTRACTS, THAT I GUARANTEE, SHE WON'T UNDERSTAND. MY LANDSCAPES, BY THE WAY, LOOK LIKE ABSTRACTS. I GUESS SHE IS REALLY JUST ENCOURAGING ME TO DOODLE FOR THE FAMILY ALBUMS.
SOME OF MY CONTEMPORARIES THINK I AM A FAILED WRITER. THERE ARE MANY WHO WISH THAT I WOULD TAKE UP ART INSTEAD, AND LEAVE WRITING ALONE. SUZANNE TELLS ME TO CARRY ON, AND LIKE THE BLINKERS THEY PUT ON RACE HORSES, THAT I SHOULD FOCUS ON THE TASK AT HAND. THAT I WATCH INSTEAD, FOR THE FIRST SIGNS OF THE FINISH LINE; AND PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE PEOPLE GIVING ME THE FINGER FROM THE GRANDSTAND. IF ANYTHING I RECEIVED FROM MY UNITED EMPIRE LOYALIST ANCESTORS, IT WAS A DEEP SEEDED STUBBORN CHARACTER THAT DOESN'T THWART EASILY. AS I HAVE ADMITTED MANY TIMES IN MY LIFE, IF I CAN'T PAINT, THEN I SHALL WRITE AS A SECOND CHOICE. THE COMPROMISE HAS BEEN MY DESIRE TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH ART AND ARTISTS, AND TO WRITE OF THEIR EXPLOITS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. I AM ENVIOUS WHICH, IN THIS CASE, I HOPE IS AN ATTRIBUTE, UNLESS OF COURSE, I WAS TO BECOME SICKLY SWEET WITH MY REVIEWS, AND PROMOTE SOMETHING THAT IS OF A MUCH LESSER QUALITY…..JUST BECAUSE OF AN INFATUATION WITH ARTIST-TYPES.
AT UNIVERSITY, IN TORONTO, I USED TO SIT AND WATCH MY ARTIST MATES, WORK AT THEIR PAINT BOARDS, IN A VARIETY OF ARTISTIC ATTEMPTS, AND ON EACH OCCASION, AT BED TIME, THEY HAD TO ASK ME TO GO HOME…..AND CEASE AND DESIST BOTHERING THEM. I WOULD BE BACK THE NEXT DAY AND THE DAY AFTER THAT, AND IF THE PAINT BOARD HAPPENED TO BE A STUDY, OR A PRELIMINARY WORK, I'D ASK IF I COULD HAVE IT TO DECORATE MY ROOM. WHEN I GRADUATED, THE HARDEST PART OF THE MOVE BACK HOME TO BRACEBRIDGE, WAS ACCOMMODATING THE FIFTY OR SO PIECES OF ART I HAD BEEN GIVEN BY MY ARTIST FRIENDS. I'M THAT KIND OF ART HOARDER EVEN TODAY, BECAUSE OF MY UNCEASING RESPECT FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNAFRAID OF USING A PAINT PANEL, AS I WOULD THIS COMPUTER SCREEN, TO AIR OPINIONS OF THE WORLD THEY SEE…..
I AM ALWAYS ENCOURAGED WHEN I READ OR QUOTE FROM THE MEMORIAL BIOGRAPHY, OF LEGENDARY CANADIAN ART PATRON, DOUGLAS DUNCAN. LET'S RETURN TO THAT WONDERFUL LITTLE BOOK, AS WE LOOKED AT IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG. NOW HERE WAS AN INTELLIGENT, FAIR, AND ENCOURAGING PATRON OF THE ARTS IN CANADA. FEW WOULD DENY, WE NEED MANY MORE LIKE DOUGLAS DUNCAN, TO BOLSTER AND INSPIRE THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
"The opening page of Evelyn Waugh's 'The Loved One,' introduces an Englishman, exiled in California, who is trying to make sense of an article in 'Horizon,' on Scottie Wilson. Scottie Wilson was, of course, one of that very large group of painters whose careers owed much of their success to a friendly push from Douglas Duncan, at a crucial stage. The 'Horizon' article speaks of Douglas Duncan as a 'refined and charming man.' The author of the article obviously did not know him, and the phrase is oddly out of keeping with the general tone of the article. It looks as though the phrase had been supplied by Scottie Wilson himself, or perhaps that he had insisted on some such phrase being inserted," wrote revered Canadian author, Northrop Frye, as published in the text of the short memorial biography, entitled "Douglas Duncan - A Memorial Tribute," edited by Alan Jarvis, 1974, University of Toronto Press.
Frye adds, "If this is true, as it may well not be, it would be a good example of the way in which those who were fond of, or grateful to Douglas, might struggle for phrases to describe him, only to have the right one elude them. Of course he was a refined and charming man, but so have a lot of other people been, who never got anywhere near being Douglas Duncan. The phrase suggests something of a dilettante, which he was far from being. My own association with him professionally, was through Victoria College, where my wife was for years chairman of the Art Committee. The year's activity usually began by getting hold of Douglas. When suggestions for exhibitions did not come from him, they almost always referred to painters he knew about and had done something to help. Whenever he spoke, his encyclopedic knowledge came out in a context of complete simplicity and candor. He seemed to be a still centre in the swirling egotisms and aggressions and intrigues which characterizes the art world in all cities, and his critical judgements had the kind of impartiality that only a genuine sympathy can produce.
"We all tend to like what is like ourselves; if we try to be objective, we may eventually come to like, what is like our best self. Canadian history and politics have always been polarized between two tendencies; one aggressive, exploratory, and romantic; the other reflective, observant, and pastoral. The same polarization occurs in Canadian literature and painting. In painting, the aggressive and romantic tendency is represented by (Tom) Thomson, the Group of Seven, and Emily Carr; in the second group I think particularly of David Milne and LeMoine Ftizgerald. Tolerant and catholic as Douglas' tastes were, he had a strong temperamental affinity with the second group, and he had an extraordinary genius for discovering painters of crisp, delicate, and precise drawing and coloring, whose work was close to a kind of pictorial calligraphy," writes Northrop Fry. "I never go into Alumni Hall, in Victoria College, where he had arranged so many exhibitions, without thinking of him, in the centre of a great mass of paintings, with his little pieces of green felt for twisting the screws, hanging the pictures, arranging them, disregarding the very considerable pain that his disc trouble often gave him. It is a picture of extraordinary selflessness; hard, conscientious, and almost anonymous work done so that the artist would have another exhibition to chalk up on his record, and Victoria students would have pictures to look at. Paradoxically, the memory of him is far more vivid than the memory of even the finest of the pictures."
"In 1936 the Picture Loan Society was founded, with Douglas at first one of a committee and then, after awhile, solely responsible," notes his friend Norman Endicott. "This soon redirected practically all special book buying into picture buying (he was a trained book binder, and avid book collector), and gradually his own profession (book binding art) was put aside for the time consuming activities of a gallery and exhibitions. He bound no books after 1944. His own aims as a collector were expressed in a brief statement, based on an interview, in 'Canadian Art,' May-June, 1961. One sentence runs, 'I have no mission. I have merely assembled a large collection of oils, water colors, drawings, and prints that I have liked and that I continue to enjoy.' Save for a few pictures sold, without profit, to the National Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario. I think he never resold pictures he had himself bought, so that, as his collection grew, so did the storage problems. Until his father's death head had lived in the large family home, where, as the family and its activities dwindled, he had taken over more and more rooms (the billiard room being especially useful). When the house was sold in 1964, he moved into two adjoining apartments, but soon overflowed into a third, all three naturally equipped with hardly necessary kitchens, save that one could be used as a dark room for photography. He made an attempt to house the framed pictures neatly in racks, the unframed ones on shelves or in wooden boxes. He intended to buy more bookcases for his books. But at the time of his death two of the apartments still presented an engulfing scene of shelves, stacks, trunks, boxes, and cartons - primarily of books, pictures, and gramophone records, but also of correspondence, old programs. Christmas cards going back to childhood, and various objects accumulated over a long time."
Endicott notes that, "For many years, in all weathers and in at least three of the four seasons, Douglas spent quite a few weekends, and in the summer longer periods when he could, in Muskoka. There were also expeditions to the handsomer shores of Georgian Bay. With the pride of an amateur, he took a full and competent share in building his own cabin, carefully planned, and even painted a gallery gray inside. But as usual making no distinction between himself and others as victims of procrastination, the pipes to bring water to his sink were still not connected twenty years later, despite the necessity of carrying pails of water after more than once suffering from a slipped disc."
He writes of Duncan, "Not in any scientific sense a naturalist, he was nevertheless very observant and knowledgeable about wild flowers and ferns, some of which he brought back to chosen locations in his own woods - and in his searches for these he came to know the maple and beech valleys, and the cedar swamps of at least a few miles of Muskoka, in topographical detail, as well as with a most accurate eye for every effect of shape and texture, especially, perhaps, the more delicate; lichen on old logs, maidenhair spleenwort in a crevice of rock, the shades of color in a hillside of hepaticas in early spring. The photographs he made of veined rocks and whaleback islets in Georgian Bay, stumps and roots in the water in Algonquin Park, patterns of lines and shadows in winter woods etc., or, at close range, of his colony of round-leaved orchids in full but delicate bloom, are very good standards. Naturally (artist) David Milne's feeling, for the same effects and landscape was a link between them, but Douglas also liked Milne's comments on his Hepaticas; 'Do you like flowers? So do I. But I never paint them. I didn't see the Hepaticas. I saw, instead, an arrangement of the lines, spaces, hues, values, and relations that I habitually use. That is, I saw one of my own pictures.' Unlike the Group of Seven, Milne did not reach epic rhythms or alien harshness and grandeur, but painted like an intimate and old inhabitant of the scene, and this, without making any invidious comparisons, appealed I think, to Douglas. But Milne also painted from whatever might be in front of him, from paper bags as willingly as from Hepaticas, and Douglas did not buy pictures for their sentimental associations."
Endicott concludes, "Most of what I have been recalling is in some ways related to Douglas as a collector and bibliophile. A collector with admirable taste and judgement, an ardent bibliophile, may be a bore, or a man of little personal feeling, or attractiveness of character. Those who knew Douglas did not think of him first as the owner of pictures or books or other objects. His best books are now available in public libraries, his pictures a part of galleries across Canada. Douglas' friends remember the imaginative awareness of people as individuals, the sense of humor and the sense of the absurd which made him good company as well as a good friend."
There is a lot more to explore, in the life and times of Douglas Duncan, Canadian Patron of the Arts. Please join me again tomorrow, for a continuation of this brief biography, of a man I deeply admired……and who greatly influenced my love of books and art. Thanks so much for visiting today. I always appreciate your company for these stories about collecting, conserving and respecting antiques, books, art and heritage relics. Farewell for now. See you again soon.
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