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- Editor’s
Note:
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- This
column is a regular feature in the Wayback Times in which my
husband takes interesting people out to lunch … and sends
me the bill.
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- (It's
a tough job, but someone has to do it!)
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- Send
us an e-mail if you have someone in mind for one of Peter Neilly's
interviews over lunch.
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- Peter Neilly is Out
to Lunch
- Breaking bread with
interesting people
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- Out to Lunch!
with Peter Neilly
- I am having lunch today with
Les Brittan, one of the most entertaining auctioneers in
the business. I first met Les 12 years ago at an auction he was
conducting. As I entered the auction hall, I could see Les holding
an oak toilet seat above his head, trying to auction it off and
describing it as a mother-in-law’s picture frame, while
trying to avoid the glaring looks from his wife, Linda. Les has
chosen The Grafton Village Inn in Grafton, Ontario, for lunch.
The Inn, originally opened in 1820 as John Grovers Tavern, is
today operated as a successful bed and breakfast inn, with an
excellent restaurant.
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- Photo - Les shares a moment with a penguin before the
annual architectural Conservancy of Ontario ( Port Hope Branch)
auction April 15. Items sold by Les at this auction were donated
to raise funds for the ACO. (Anyone want a penguin? Going, going...SOLD)
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- Peter: Les, you have been involved in the antique and
auctioneering business
for over 35 years. What got you started in this crazy field?
Les: My wife, Linda and I had just sold our house in Burlington
and were looking to buy in Northumberland because we liked the
area. We saw a general store in Roseneath that we both liked,
but it sold before we had a chance to make an offer.We ended
up buying a place that was being operated as The Maple Lodge.
It was owned by a lady who used to rent rooms to the men working
on the highway.We had the only home with numbers on the bedroom
doors and four bathrooms.We opened an antique store there and
started going to auctions to buy stock.We would bid on a piece
of furniture, bring it home, strip it, refinish it, polish it
and display it in the store for sale. If it didn't sell after
a while, we would take it back to the auction, where we would
usually get a little bit more for it. Eventually, a light went
on. The auctioneer would receive 25% from the original owner
for selling it to us, we would do all the refinishing work, send
it back to the auction, and the auctioneer would get
another 25% from us. Here is a guy who gets 50% and didn't even
own the piece. I liked the concept. I would always mimic the
auctioneer while driving back from the sale and eventually my
wife suggested that I become an auctioneer.
Peter: Did you take a course?
Les: I took a course at an auctioneering school in Mason
City, Iowa. It was originally started after the Second World
War as an auction training school for military personal returning
from the war without a vocation.
Peter: I know you have volunteered your services to many
fund raisers and charities over the years and you have received
many awards in recognition of your help.You also won The Auctioneer
of the Year award in 1977.
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- Les: I really have enjoyed the business and I have
met a lot of excellent people. My son, Shawn, is also an auctioneer.
When he was young he would work as a handler at my auctions.He
now operates Brittan’s Auction Hall in the London area.
He sells antiques as well, but specializes in vintage motorcycles.
He also does appraisals for customized bikes all over Ontario.
Peter: Over the years, you must have come across some
interesting items at your sales and been involved in a few weird
situations.
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- Les: I got call from a man in Cold Springs a few years
back asking if I would do an auction for him at his farm. I asked
what items he had to sell and he said just one, a horse. He was
owed money by the horse's owner for feed and boarding and was
legally allowed to sell the horse at auction to recoup his money.
I explained that it was his legal obligation to advertise the
auction first and that as long as I got a day’s pay, I would
be glad to conduct the auction. The sale time was 12 noon a few
weeks later, so I arrived about 11 to set up. By 11:30, nobody
had shown up and by 11:45, still nobody. Finally at 11:59, a
half-ton pickup pulls up the drive and a huge man steps out and
yells, "Is this the auction and where the hell's my horse?”
The seller
of the horse, who hired me, had disappeared. So I decide to start
the sale. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, welcome
to the sale." There is still only the one guy at the auction
and he's standing there staring at me. I'm thinking it was hardly
worth hooking up the speakers for this and I’m afraid to
ask him if he has a bidding number, although I guess his number
would be No. 1. I think the storage fees owed for the horse came
to just over $1,800, but the horse was probably worth about six
or seven thousand dollars. I read off the terms of the sale,
explaining the lawful reason why the horse was being sold, and
I try to start the bidding at $1,837.27 and there is absolute
silence. And who do you look at when there’s still only
this one 6-foot 6, 300-pound man staring at me and he's now holding
the horse. From out behind the barn, I hear this faint voice
saying "I bid $1,900.” It's the guy who is owed the
money. Anyway the horse eventually sold to the owner (bidder
No. 1) for $2,250.
Peter: There must be a lot of stories from all the auctions
you’ve done.You could probably write a book.
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- Les: When I had the auction hall just north of Cobourg
on Burnham Street, I got a call from a lady in town asking me
to come over and pick up a few things she wanted to sell at the
auction. She explained that she just lived down the street, but
that I must come to her house between 12 and 1 o’clock and
that I must be prompt. I showed up on time and she quickly ushered
me downstairs. She asked me to take a few small items and a pair
of ornate pressback chairs that had a unique pattern on them.
I took the chairs and the other items back to the auction hall
and one week later, I'm selling them. There's a guy at the back
of the hall who is determined to buy these chairs and he keeps
bidding until he owns them for around $300. After the sale, this
guy is still hanging around and he comes up to me and says, "You’re
not going to believe this, but I just live down the street and
I have been searching for years to find a pair of chairs to match
the ones I have in the basement and these are identical. Isn't
it amazing?” Luckily, I've never seen or heard from either
of them since.
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- Peter: Have you seen many changes in the auction business
since you started?
Les: I think it’s really interesting how much the
marketplace has changed and I’ve been around long enough
to be part of it. Prices have fluctuated; the demographics have
changed and will continue to change. I did an appraisal last
January for an
elderly lady who was going into a retirement home. When she called
she said that there weren’t many things because the kids
were going to take most of it, but asked if I would mind coming
over to look at what she had. When I arrived she took me into
the kitchen and showed me a nice oak table and chair set. The
table had claw and ball feet and was in good condition so I told
her the set should bring about $500 at an auction. "Five
hundred dollars?” she yelled. "I paid that for it 20
years ago and I bought it from you. I thought you could get me
a couple of thousand dollars for it." There were also some
press back chairs and I told her they were worth between $125
to $130 each because they were in good shape, not painted and
had matching patterns. "One hundred and twenty five?"
she yelled once more. "I paid $125 for them and I bought
those from you, too; and you told me that was a good deal back
then".
I explained that it was a good deal back then, but the market
changes. Prices and values fluctuate over time. Trends and tastes
change, although I'm not sure if MacTac or Roxitone paint will
ever make a comeback.
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- Peter: What's ahead for Les Brittan and family?
Les: I'm going to keep on auctioneering because I really
enjoy it, but we are seriously considering moving to Panama.
It would be a form of retirement, but we would probably still
come back here for the summers.
Peter: Thanks again for meeting with me Les. It has been
great seeing you again. Les’ philosophy is to enjoy life
to the fullest because, as he says, we only go around once. If
you ever get a chance to attend a Les Brittan auction, I can
guarantee you will be well entertained. He has a sharp wit, a
terrific sense of humour and his sales are great fun.
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- Les Brittan is available for auctions and can be
reached at 905-885-5650. Shawn Brittan can also be contacted
at 519-652-1377.
*Apparently Sandy (aka the Warden) had soup for lunch today.
I felt badly ... but I did
remember to hand her the bill for the great meal Les and I enjoyed
this afternoon.
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- Out to Lunch Archives:
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