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October, 1999
Trip: Christies Auction, Holger's House, Melbourne Camera Show
October in Melbourne is a wonderful time of year. When Mike McCaw mentioned that the Melbourne show would take place on the 18th of October, I made a fast decision to go down under for a visit. Actually it was easy to make my mind up because Australia is such a great place to visit, especially since the rates Mike charges me for room, board and transport are so reasonable!
The Singapore Airlines flight was uneventful, and I arrived at 5:30AM, on the Sunday a week before the show. Soon after finishing with the customs and immigration ritual, Mike was there to pick me up. We immediately went off to find an early morning boot sale (Flea Market to all you North Americans) . Despite the light rain, there were people set up at Camberwell and I was tempted by a Kodak sign, but it would have never fit into my bag for the return to Hong Kong. As it was, we found the exact same sign in an antique mall later in the week, but by then the price had gone up ten Australian Dollars.
The overall first impression I had was one of very mediocre merchandise, dusty, dirty, in poor condition and certainly not exotic. Nothing like what I've seen in London by Christies. On closer inspection, not only were many of the cameras in poor condition, but some seemed to have been made from left over parts from different cameras. Perhaps the most disappointing observation was that the first few items in the catalog were misidentified. It seems that Christies were informed the day before, during the viewing hours, that some of what they had listed as "Daguerreotypes" were actually Ambrotypes. From what I could see it was obvious someone had not done their homework. Even more disconcerting was the fact that no erratum was distributed nor any announcement made before the sale began concerning the wrong descriptions. I felt very bad for the telephone bidders..... It was certainly not what I was used to in terms of Christies Quality.
I did have a chance, however, to meet John Keesing and Adrian Elshout. During the bidding, Adrian got his hand up before me a couple of times for some box lots of very cheap photographic debris. Thanks Adrian, my back couldn't have taken the added strain for the return trip if I had gotten anything at the auction other than the catalog! Mike, John and I left after the still photographic items were sold and enjoyed a pizza lunch at a nearby restaurant. John showed me his monograph on Contax lenses, which is truly a labor of love, and is the most complete such work I have ever laid eyes on. I'll look forward to it being published someday.
As happened most of the time while I was in Australia, the conversation turned to eBay, and the impact of the internet in general on collectors. I was learning that Australian collectors, perhaps because of their geographic isolation, perhaps by their rapid unquestioning acceptance of new technology, were keen on using all the advantages that being connected offered. Whether using the communications aspect of email to enhance their participation in forums like IDCC, or auctions like eBay to gain access to new markets for both buying and selling, Australian collectors, with minor exception, are already "True Believers."
We left Geelong after a lunch of Fish and Chips, but on the way out we stopped at a very interesting book shop. My passion for books would not let me escape spending money, especially since I found a copy of the second volume of the "Rise of Photography, 1850 - 1880" by Helmut Gernsheim.
Tuesday Mike drove me to Holger Schult's house on the other side of Melbourne where we had been invited to a BBQ. On the way we stopped off and picked-up Mike's new Phenix DC1999 "Gold" Slr, which had been delivered to a friend's house a few days earlier.
Arriving at Holger's house we were greeted by Master Photographer Schult himself, and "The
Professor." (During my week of talking and visiting camera collectors in Australia "The Professor"
was one of the few not yet online, but even he was making noises about getting the necessary gear
to get connected.)
Holger and a few friends had recently bought out an entire collection and his garage was filled with boxes of camera gear in various states. Most of what they had bought had already been sorted and parted off to interested collectors. What remained was destined for the coming Show, of would be offered for auction on eBay by Holger. That's right, yet another Australian who uses the Internet to his advantage in supporting his collecting habit.
The BBQ in the Schult's back yard was a typical Aussie gathering. Lots of meat and Beer and good conversation. David Farmer and wife and daughter arrived and added to the festivities. David is also an IDCC member and an active participant on eBay. The conversation turned to Internet, and my Australian host made some interesting observations concerning doing business "Down Under." It seems that eBay is trying to start-up an Australian specific auction site, but it seems doomed for failure, at least as far as the camera collecting fraternity is concerned. Australia is just too closed a market. The International eBay site allows a much broader exposure in terms of selling and a much wider choice of items in terms of buying.
After dinner we toured Holger's Collection which is
housed in a dedicated room with built-in display cases and plenty of lighting. Holger has something
for every interest in his collection. Wood and Brass is represented along with Stereo,
subminiature, Black and Chrome 1960's Slrs, and even some modern collectibles such as the solar
powered Canon camera, (the first of its kind in the world) the Olympus Ecru camera and the Minolta
Corréges Disk camera. I was surprised at the amount of colored cameras Holger had managed to
acquire. Canon Demi's in four variations, four different Kodak Petites. Other cameras which stand
out in my mind's eye were the rare and valuable "Photak" the bizarre
"French Fry " camera and a lovely
Foth Derby Luxus. In the morning I had 4 hours to photograph as much of his collection as
possible for www.camprice.com. After seeing it up close I knew it was going to be hard to decide
what to photograph because I certainly wouldn't have time to do everything.
IDCC members Andrew and Jo arrived
after dinner, and while Andrew was outside in the dark going through the boxes in the garage, Jo
joined the camera conversation in Holger's lounge. She and her husband had brought a couple of very
interesting cameras for us to look at. One was the Kookie camera. The other was a rocket camera
which uses a circular cut film to make an image as it descends.
The evening ended with the promise to get together at the show on Sunday. I went to sleep thinking about how I was going to take pictures of all those cameras in Holger's collection. In the Morning Mike made a phone call, and was able to arrange things so that we could stay at Holger's until later in the afternoon. This was a lifesaver because when we finally finished about 6 hours later, I had taken over 600 Black and white pictures and an additional 90 Digital pictures in color. Holger and Anke his wife deserve a warm thanks for their hospitality, good company and fine food, but more than this, they deserve an additional pat on the back for allowing me to take all those pictures of cameras in their collection to use on www.camprice.com.
Thursday, and Friday passed quickly. Mike took me to visit a friend at Rockland's in the Grampians. We had a great time eating yabbies (fresh water crayfish) and target shooting. It was a non camera couple of days with plenty of fine wine (Thank's Mike) and a bit of "male bonding." My scars are just about healed from a tumble I took trying to drink wine and move a log closer to the campfire at the same time. It was two days of great scenery and interesting conversation.
Saturday there was an auction planned by the Melbourne 8mm collectors club, but after looking over the catalog listing, we decided to relax and do a couple of antique shops and a yard sale or two near Mikes house in Creeswick and Clunes. We didn't find much photographic worth having, but Mike got a neat record cleaner, and I got a 1904 book about Tibet.
The Big Day, Sunday the 17th we were up at 5AM. The car was packed from the night before so we made a fast get-a-way. The roads were clear, and the sunrise was spectacular. I still am amazed at the flocks of sulfur crested cockatoos mustered beside the road, having an early morning feed. Many Australians consider them pests, particularly farmers, whose crops can be devastated when a flock of cockatoos arrives.
We arrived at the Show venue just before 7AM. The doors were scheduled to open at 7:30. There were so few cars there that we were able to take a parking space right in front of the building. The waiting line was short, and the committee members who were responsible for setting up the show were busy at various administrative tasks. I couldn't help comparing this show to the New York show I once ran for the American Photographic Historical Society. The committee in Melbourne had lots more active helpers than I ever had, but the congestion at the door once dealers were invited in was the same. The mob scene during the first hour of any show is identical no matter what show I have visited. As I have remarked before, 90% of the most interesting cameras change hands in the first hour. The other 10% are either brought in by the visiting public, or bought and sold at the end of the day as dealers try to make up for lost sales or hurry to spend the money that they made earlier.
I shared a table with Mike McCaw. Right next door was David Farmer, Holger Schult
and Steve Givens. Lyle Kerr was at our back, and John Keesing was lost somewhere in the crowd. At
the end of the show when I talked with Allen King, the man in charge, I found out that there were a
total of 93 tables, and about 1200 people, (including dealers and helpers) attended. This figure
was down from previous shows. All the dealers I talked to rated the show as "poor" or slow.
Certainly not up to the standards of past shows as far as they were concerned. Allen did remark
that there were more people through the door in the first hour and a half than ever before. Later
in the morning the numbers just dwindled. The fine weather may have had something to do with it. It
was a really great Spring day outside. Not the sort of day a Photographer would want to stay
inside. By early afternoon the show was really dead. No people, no
sales nothing. Allen suggested that maybe next year the show would begin a bit earlier, and end
earlier in the afternoon. Probably not a bad idea, in my opinion.
From speaking with people I discovered that the Melbourne Show was a "user" show above all else. Adelaide was more of a collector's fair. And Sidney, well, no one was even willing to talk about Sidney.
From the cameras available, and the things that I saw sold, I'd have to agree. Melbourne is really a "user" show. During the course of the day, lots of photographic students came through, looking for an extra camera body (Mike sold two Nikon cameras) or another lens. The 500mm Practicar Pentacon Six mount lens that I had on the table attracted lots of interest. People were stopping all day and looking at it. I had it priced at AU$500 (US$300), but no one even made me an offer. (I'll put it on eBay next week, I think kit's worth at least US$350) I saw a 500 Pentax screw mount lens in poorer condition for a bit less money, and was surprised that it didn't sell either.
I had the cheapest Russian Fake Leicas around, and there was lots of interest, but no sales. (I must admit that I did sell one to Holger while at his house, and he did find me a customer at the end of the show. By which time I was looking to lighten my bags for the flight home.) One fellow was trying to double his money on a "Gold" fake that I had sole him on my last trip down under. The camera was still on his table as I left the show. Mike's Emil Wünsche stereo (with both stereo and mono lens boards with lenses!) attracted interested collectors, but no one forked over the AU$1100 (US$750?) asking price.
John Morehouse of Matilda Books was there, but I didn't see many books! (I've known John and Ted Bedggood since my first visit to Australia way back in 1988.)
My visit ended later Sunday afternoon with a short trip to the Melbourne Market for a cool drink. The market looked like the kind of place I could spend the day taking pictures. (merely a suggestion for my next visit Mike...) The biggest downer of the whole trip was when we went to get back into Mike's Discovery and he warned me not to step on the empty syringes some addicts had thrown into the gutter. Now I understood why there were "safe" disposal boxes in the men's room at the airport.
I'd like thank: Mike, his wife Sam and their offspring for taking such good care of me; Holger
and Anke Schult for their hospitality and good food, and especially for letting me take so many
pictures; Lyle Kerr for the free film holder and the photos he loaned
me to scan; John and Naomi V. for sharing their piece of paradise; John Keesing, Andrew and Jo,
David Farmer and family, Steve Givens; Ted Bedggood and all the
Organizers at the Melbourne Show. I'll be back!
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