Halcyon Days...



It never ceases to amaze me what you can find at auctions. I buy a lot at auctions - it's sort of what I do - among other things. The word that drives the auction going fraternity into a frenzy is... ESTATE. Rifling through the treasures of the recently deceased is a rarified treat for the hardened auction goer & such auctions always draw the biggest crowds. Having worked in the industry for 10 years, I have a bit of an understanding why this happens; The average estate contains the contents of a family home that has been put together over a lifetime. So a dealer can buy a piece of furniture that has been 'out of the marketplace' for 50, 60 or even 70 years. Now, considering that the family in question may have inherited some of the items in the first place, an antique dealer could pick up a rare piece of furniture or art that has been out of the marketplace for over 100 years. A kind of timewarp situation.

Of course, there are other reasons. Most of us are curious, a few are just naturally driven nosey bastards. A chance to take a strangers life & for a few hours look at it under a microscope, warts & all, is just too appealling to pass up. Indeed, a lot of people ONLY attend estate sales - and usually buy very little, if anything, but spend hours meticulously sorting through the auction lots. Usually seniors & they tend to travel in packs - 'Deceased Estate on tuesday, you bring the sannie's & I'll bring a flask.' Now don't get me wrong, I'm in their with the rest of the bunch trying to find a treasure, but I will attend many auctions every week & am indiscriminate as to where the goods came from & the health status of the vendor.

It used to be that any personal belongings - letters, photo's, etc - were put to one side... and disposed of if no existing family member claimed them. Nowadays these items are put up for sale. Boxes of ephemera & suitcases full of old photo's are usually incorporated in with other lots as they are deemed to have no commercial value - NCV. I have always been fascinated with ephemera & buy related items when they come up at auction. I have found some unusual & entertaining things in among these box lots; A hand written note from a 19th Century Clergyman that was wrapped around a treasured fragment of the original stained glass windows of York Cathedral, C. 1300. A missionary in Africa & Asia, he carried this in his pocket as he went about his business.

Also, a collection of South African Laywers papers from the turn of the century. It included the correspondence between the firm & a family who's estate affairs they handled. The main letter writers were the father & the eldest son. The father was requesting his own allowance from the estate as his circumstances had forced him to live with his son & the son's family. According to his letters, he was being grossly mistreated & forced to sleep with the horses. The son's letters tell of his father's fondness for the bottle, how he had taken to walking around naked & how he refused to wash himself with anything but wine. He goes on to say he & his wife are at the end of their tether & can't put up with this behaviour much longer - unless they are granted an extra three guinea's a month... Charming.

The items that usually invoke some form of sadness or melancholy are photos. Take the photo above; once the initial amusement at the subject matter subsides, one can't help but wonder how such an extraordinary image ends up discarded with other paperwork & photos. Perhaps the end of the family dynasty? Surely any surviving relation would have loved such a photo? Now that the photographer, the child - I am assuming the photo would still be in their possession if they were still alive - & even the dog are no longer with us, the pedal car & tricycle have been consigned to the scrap heap - or restored beyond recognition & perhaps even the house itself has been bulldozed in the name of progress, the story behind this fragment from life will have to be imagined by the viewer. The cast & creator must remain anonymous but the imagery will surely still entertain as it did all those years ago.

maybe they're off to join the circus...