Long before the internet, and well before online buying and selling, Don Pero was quietly, but determinedly putting together his collection of Canadiana – a collection as diverse as it was impressive. Along the way he built life-long friendships, constantly feeding his passion for antiques and picking the brains of those who knew more than he did.

Don worked at London Life for 40 years and died in Elora, Ontario in February 2018. His extraordinary collection is now slated to be sold, without reserve, at Miller & Miller’s Canadiana, Pottery & Folk Art Auction on February 8, 2020.

“Don built one of the most impressive collections of historically significant furniture I’ve ever seen,” says auction house co-owner Ethan Miller. “That’s mainly because he was a lifelong customer of the legendary Ron O’Hara, one of Canada’s most renowned dealers. Decade after decade Don quietly absorbed some of Canada’s rarest historic objects.”

According to Mike O’Hara, the grandson of Ron O’Hara (who died in 2004), Don’s collection was built at a time when relationships between buyers and sellers were central to the deal. “People would sit around and talk and visit,” recalls Mike, who worked with both his grandfather and his father in what became a three-generation antique business. Located in St. Marys, Ontario, the shop first opened in the late 1940s, eventually closing more than 60 years later. “It was about the goods, but it was also about the social interaction,” says Mike. “Collections were put together in a different way back then. You became friends – and lifetime friends. That was the old-school way.”

Mike recalls the days when his grandfather was making regular buying trips to Quebec during the 1960s. He’d usually get home late at night with a truckload of antiques and there would be Don waiting, anxiously hoping to get the pick of the load, which he often did.

Some of the highlights of the upcoming auction include a Waterloo County painted corner cupboard which has a letter of provenance from Ron O’Hara himself, stating, “corner cupboard plate no. 977 Heritage of Upper Canadian Furniture, by Howard Pain. Corner cupboard from Feick family originally from New Hamburg. Purchased from Clara Feick of Hamilton, now residing in Galt. Made in Preston, second half 19th century”. (Lot 519 )

There’s also a cherry Waterloo County inlaid lady’s work table. The top is inset with an eight-point star and string borders. It has cabriole legs with shaped stretchers holding a basket, and a single drawer fitted for sewing accoutrements. (Lot 375)

Other highlights include a red painted postmaster’s kneehole desk with a hinged slant top. The upper section has 24 pigeon holes. (Lot 463) There’s also a Fred Hoffman chip carved tramp art box, signed on the bottom ‘Lucinda Albrecht, Tavistock, Ontario. (Lot 415).

An exceptional burled bowl is also on the block. (Lot 173) It bears an old label which says ‘burl bowl made by Indians was purchased by M. Larmon’s father from a Harry Manning – circ. 1820’. (The late Marjorie Larmon was an old-time dealer of high-quality goods whose interest first took root during her childhood while antiquing and selling maple syrup door to door with her father. She eventually opened her Burgessville-area shop in the 1960s under the name of Pig & Plow.)

“Everything in Don’s collection is authentic and important,” says Ethan. “Everything he bought has flair.”

“Don was a great collector who never shoehorned himself into one category,” points out Mike O’Hara. “He also had fabulous smalls, great art, textiles and pottery. Whatever he liked he bought, but it was always high quality. And he was inquisitive, always wanting to learn more. When someone expressed interest, most dealers would educate them. That was Don. But to us, he wasn’t just a customer, he was also a great friend.”

2 | JOHN WINE

Passing along a lifetime collection of early Ontario pottery

John Wine has been called a ‘pioneer collector’. It’s a label rightly earned when you’ve been collecting for roughly 60 years.

A retired psychologist with a passion for early pottery, John made a point of spending much of his spare time beginning in the 1960s visiting farms and attending country auctions – really anywhere he thought he might find something rare and unusual.

“I was everywhere where pottery was sold. Sometimes you’d find things unexpectedly and the previous owners didn’t always know what they had or where it came from,” he says, while modestly playing down his stature as a pioneer. “I guess you could say I was one of the early collectors, but there were a few others that started around the same time.”

John’s vast and impressive collection is now being sold at Miller & Miller Auctions at its Canadiana, Pottery & Folk Art sale on Saturday, February 8, 2020. Many of the pieces retain his original hand-written labels underneath, something John liked to add so he would remember (and so future owners would know too) where the pieces were found.

When two major Canadian books were published on pottery during the ‘70s, John was even further motivated to scour the province in search of rare finds, inspired by a wealth of information previously unavailable. Early Canadian Pottery (1971), by Donald Webster, and Early Ontario Potters (1979), by David Newlands, became ‘bibles’ to pottery collectors like John.

Some serious collectors could be found scouring former pottery sites for shards that might help attribute pieces to specific makers. Clues might include the colours of the glaze or slip, colour of the clay, the decoration and overall form. In rare cases the pottery was signed or had a major distinguishing mark, like the William Eby ‘cherry’ motif. According to an article written by David Newlands for the Royal Ontario Museum, there were more than 50 “country workshops” of pottery in the 1800s. By the beginning of the 20th century, most of those were gone and the pottery industry in Ontario became dominated by a small number of factory potteries.

Some of the highlights of John’s lifetime collection include lot 528; a decorated Eby cup and saucer; lot 250, a stoneware spaniel doorstop (noted “found ‘tween Markham & Stouffville”); lot 549, a sugar jar stamped ‘J.C. Beer’ in the upper quarter (noted “1857-8 directory Richard Beer, London, Kleinburg Collection”); lot 72, an earthenware bowl decorated with pecking fowl attributed to Adam Biernstihl, Bridgeport; as well as lot 384, a Davies Toronto redware crock, stamped ‘DAVIES 5c ON-RETURN”.

3 | JIM FLEMING

Twelve years a politician, 50 years a collector

Not everyone can say their first antique collection was inspired by a mayor of Toronto, but that’s exactly what happened with Jim Fleming.

The Ontario-based former reporter, turned broadcaster, turned federal cabinet minister, has been collecting fine Canadiana and Americana for over 50 years, but it all started with walking sticks in the 1960s. Jim was covering city hall for Toronto’s CFRB radio, which brought him into frequent contact with the late Philip Givens, who was mayor of the city at the time (1963 to 1966) and an avid collector of walking sticks. The fascination was highly contagious and Jim soon had the bug himself.

Over the years, Jim expanded his areas of interest to include general country furniture and folk art, both Canadian and American, and he was serious about it. “Jim and his wife were at every major show for decades,” says Jim’s friend Ben Lennox, who is also Miller & Miller’s consulting expert on folk art. “He was always in line early. He was very focused and had a deep appreciation for folk art. He built a world-class collection.”

Now, some of that collection is being sold at Miller & Miller’s Canadiana, Pottery & Folk Art Auction on February 8, 2020.

Jim, who was a Member of Parliament from 1972 to 1984 and Minister of State for Multiculturalism from 1980 to 1983 in Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s Liberal cabinet, eventually retired from politics. It was then that he turned his attention to not only buying antiques, but selling them too. He did many of the big shows, including Christie, Bowmanville, the New York Pier Antique Show, Farmington and Adirondack. Jim always suspected dealers were picking the shows before the general public got in and he wanted part of the action. Plus, he says, it multiplied his chances of upgrading his own collection. At one time, he also had a shop in his former century home near Kitchener, Ontario, which he named Three Peaks Farm.

A few of the highlights in the sale include a folk art board game he bought 20 years ago at the Adirondack Museum Antique Show, which he believes was made in New England in the 1930s. (Lot 50)

There’s also an unsigned two-sided folk art painting showing a child with a dog on one side and a woman with a child on the other. (Lot 399)

A hooked rug of a fat man, dated 1916, is also on the auction block. According to Jim, Canadian antique textile expert and dealer Carol Telfer told him “it’s the best rug she’s ever seen.” (Lot 362)

A Lincoln cane featuring a carved head of former U.S. president Abraham Lincoln will also be sold. Similar to a cane featured in American Folk Sculpture, by Robert Bishop, Jim believes the cane was likely carved by a black man as a tribute to Lincoln, who opposed slavery. (Lot 102)

As for why Jim is divesting himself of some of these treasured antiques? Simple. He needs the space. “The walls are full, so all I have left are the ceilings,” he jokes.