 On Sunday Jan 3rd 2010, Dumpdiggers spent an engaging day with Abel DaSilva touring downtown Toronto and shopping for antiques at the Sunday Market. It was an adventure filled day with a wise man, that’s a remarkable innovator. Loved by many, hated by some, Abel has a strong personality.
The crowds were light inside the St Lawrence hall, but everyone took up twice as much space in their winter coats, so the aisles seemed crowded. The tables which are rented from a Toronto party rentals company are well stocked with merchandise of every description, and even the best Inventory Software would takes weeks to index everything.
The aroma of fresh cooked bacon and French fries filled the air, and I went looking for the source, leaving Abel milling about the dealers tables. His curious fingers touched three items a minute, and his mind processed hundreds of tiny details at the speed of light. When I looked back at him I could see he was smiling at the exercise.
 It wasn’t until after I returned with a bacon and egg sandwich on toasted brown bread (for which I paid $4.65) that I found Abel talking to Yank Azman. This friend and television producer is also an active blogger with properties GenuineVintage.com and VintageLuggage.com and my favourite, TorontoProps.com Yank is probably listed in every Toronto set decorator’s Rolodex and his genius for period piece clothing, props and set decorations is unparalleled. But far beyond his abilities as a collector, dealer and researcher, Yank has matured into a veteran antiques and collectibles television personality with appearances on BT and CityLine and a host of other daytime TV credits. 
The first item of the day was Abel's most expensive purchase. While I watched he bought a light grey plastic US Maritime naval sextent which is an instrument used to determine the Sun’s altitude at a given place. In other words it finds the angle which the line joining the observer and the sun makes with the horizontal. 
The object was contained in a fibre board box with capped metal corners and bosses. The relic is exceptionally well preserved and shows no signs of use. The item was no doubt stored aboard ship for decades. It was fashioned from plastic so it would float if dropped overboard or the vessel capsized. Because its made from plastic we can surmise that its not ancient, and probably made less than forty years ago.
 Abel paid $100 for the item, and at first I protested. There's no brand name or signature. It’s just a sextent. But then I came to realize that this artifact is valuable today because it can still be used by navigation nutbars and historians and recreationist to triangulate their party's position respective to the sun. This is exactly the kind of wierd thing that so many people seek – obscure antiques that are functional always have value.
 Next, Abel bought a vintage ribbed cobalt blue poison bottle, made in England and relatively common with no label or 'skull and crossbones'. I listened with interest as Abel persuaded the dealer down to $10 from $25 by simply revealing all that he knows about English poison bottles, and how worthless they are as collectibles. Of course, after Abel had bought and paid for the item, he changed his tune. ‘The ladies will always buy blue bottles’ and his trick is to spice up auction lots of multiple decorative bottles with one or two small blue bottles. The English poisons are good for that.
 A little further down the aisle Abel inspected metal toys and iron weathervanes and period advertising signs and plaques. He stopped in front of some metal toys and dolls. I thought he was looking at a fancy microscope behind the all clutter, but Abel was looking at something else. A Walt Disney artifact in the form of a small rectangular tin Donald Duck piggy bank, stencilled 2nd National Duck Bank was calling to him.
The item was missing the trapdoor on the bottom, but overall the artifact was in good condition, and although there were some obvious signs of use, there was no rust or damage. That fact that the item was missing a piece on the bottom gave Abel something to haggle over. He paid thirty dollars for the object and after the deal was done he said, “Can’t really go wrong with Disney collectibles’ he grunted, “and I can easily find the bottom online”.
 Around the corner, Abel spotted his last purchase of the day, also for $30 he bought a framed photo of CN Railroad directors in the 1920s. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to really inspect the prize before the dealer took it away to wrap it in newspaper. All Abel would say is that there’s always a strong market for railroad collectibles.
At the end of the day Abel was very confident that he had made some smart purchases. If he did this every weekend he would need to acquire Self Storage Ottawa resources just to contain his treasures. In total he spent $170. I'd love to know how much money he will make (or lose) flipping those antiques online. I think that would make a good TV show. It could be called Flea Market Millionaires.
“I pretty much always make money in here” Abel states, “The only time I don’t make money is when I don’t buy anything.’ 
|
