Bits and Pieces

So the experiment with stopping the garage sale shopping hasn't exactly worked out. I think Bob was able to go 2 weekends without shopping, and both weekends were clearly torturous for him. Who am I to keep him from his bliss, then? The important thing is not to let his activities interfere with my own projects with the business - he has to be able to do the stuff that he's been handing off to me to take care of in order keep me smiling and complacent.

It's a bit of a struggle.

But, I've been able to work on my Expo 67 project, and it's coming along nicely. I have a nice little category started at the eCrater store devoted to the memorabilia from the world's fair. I do get a bit lost from time to time in doing my research bits - there are a few pages out there with audio files, and news archives from that year. I find that my fascination has not flagged - a true sign of a collector. Yet by putting these items into the store, I'm also releasing them from my closet, where they have been stored - and NOT been enjoyed, as they should be. At the very least, by photographing, researching and writing about all these souvenirs, I'm rediscovering my memories about that special year. But I'm also allowing others, for the first time, to share in my enjoyment of them.

My mom asked me whether I wasn't putting things up for sale that have sentimental value for me, and the answer is - everything that we have for sale has sentimental value. That's what makes them valuable. But sentiment is one thing, and a family heirloom is quite another. What thrills me in the selling process is seeing someone else identify the same qualities in an item that I have felt myself - the "I remember this!" moment, or "Look what I found!", or "I've been looking forever for this!"

I've realized that this antiques business is really a catch-and-release process. That we don't actually own any of these items forever. We capture them, we value them, enjoy them for a time - perhaps years - and then, we release them, on to their next home. The sentimental value for me is the recognition that someone else sees the same quality that I do in an object, and are as happy as I was when I "discovered" it.

The other thing that I have come to learn in these few short months of being an antiques and collectibles business owner is how easy it is to acquire more and different interesting objects. Over the course of the selling season, we found homes for some very special objects: a generously sized McCoy planter; an Alfred Meakin commemorative plate celebrating the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway; several lovely teacups and saucers; some glorious pieces of silver plate. Anyone could argue that these were sentimental pieces that we should have held on to because of their value, their beauty, their historical significance, or their desirability. Yet in each case, we were more than happy to send the item home with their new, thrilled owners. And, as Bob has shown in his weekly shopping sprees, there are treasures galore in the immediate area, just waiting to be discovered. More McCoy. Italian Murano glass ashtrays. Depression glass. Music boxes. Dolls. Wedgwood. Royal Winton. Clocks.

It really never ends, if you just keep looking. Sometimes, the treasures come to us, as when we were at the show on Treasure Island, and a customer approached us and we did a trade. Her box of things for a selection of things from our booth. It just goes on and on.

And isn't that wonderful?

Expo 67 Nostalgia

Wow, I have just begun to go through the collection of souvenirs and memorabilia from Expo 67. That would be the World's Fair from 1967, which was held in Montreal, Canada - my hometown. I found out some totally neat factoids from Wikipedia ((((wikipedia)))) about it, of which I'm inordinately proud:

• It was considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with over 50 million visitors and 62 nations participating.
  
• It also set the single-day attendance record for a world's fair with 569,000 visitors on its third day.
• Expo 67 was Canada's main celebration during its centennial year.
  
• The fair was originally intended to be held in Moscow, to help the Soviet Union celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution but, for various reasons, the Soviets decided to cancel, and Canada was awarded it in the fall of 1962.

Since our family lived in Montreal North, we made several excursions to the fair over the course of the summer. It felt like all our relatives came to see us that year (probably just the ones with cameras, because we have loads of photographs from that year). I was very young - I turned 5 years old at the end of the summer - yet I retain many vivid memories of the sights and smells; the crowds, the fantastic architecture and cultural exposure of those months. From Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome of the United States pavilion to the austere, sail-like roof of the Germany pavilion; to the stoic concrete pillar of the Great Britain pavilion, to the exotic tent structure of the Ethiopia pavilion - these and so much more made huge impressions on my very young mind.

I do recall that my oldest brother Stephen performed with the Montreal Youth Symphony, dapper in his red and white striped jacket and towering over the other teenagers with his bass cello.

I remember the great logos of that year - the stylized maple leaf commemorating Canada's centennial - the signing of the nation into confederacy. The theme of the fair was "Man And His World" - and the accompanying logo was a circle of stick-figure people with arms outstretched towards each other - that's the image in the photograph of the lighter.

Even music played its role that summer:

• The song that most Canadians associate with Expo was written by Bobby Gimby, a veteran commercial jingle writer who composed the popular Centennial tune "Ca-na-da", which went on to sell over 500,000 copies. Gimby earned the name the "Pied Piper of Canada".
  

A few years after Expo 67, Bobby Gimby was still doing his schtick as the Pied Piper of Canada. I was one of the rats (um I mean, amongst a group of children) he led through a downtown building concourse, singing the Ca-na-da Song while he led us with his jeweled cape and oversized horn.

So, I'm having a lot of fun in going through the bits and pieces that have found their way into my hands over the years. As I get the items photographed and put into the eCrater store, I'll continue to throw up some links here for come of the totally cool stuff.