Jim Miller: Antique Dealer
‘Live with gusto, have no regrets’
Jim Miller, father of Miller & Miller Auctions owners Ethan and Justin Miller.
This story, written by Nancy Silcox, was originally published in her book Roads of the Heart - Fifty People Who Followed Their Passion (2002). From academy award winners to professional storytellers, Nancy tracked down leaders in her community who dared to be different. Jim Miller, the father of Ethan and Justin Miller, made her list and this is his story.
When he was eighteen Jim Miller’s world was shattered. His only sibling Marion, was killed in a tragic accident and he lost his first job. The juxtaposition of the two traumatic events altered the course of the young man’s life.
“My boss won a lottery and hastily closed his business. This loss coming so soon after my sister’s death made me feel like my life was spinning out of control. During this time I developed two key philosophies that have stayed with me through life. First, I decided that I would never again have a job where I was under another person’s control. Second, I pledged that I would live my life with gusto, to have no regrets. Life has no guarantees and I wanted to live it to the fullest.”
Jim with his Mom, Dad and sister Marion
Newspaper announcement of Marion’s tragic car accident
The time to make good on promises to himself soon came. Jim met an elderly man who would change his life forever. The gentleman had been in the business of collecting since 1920 and his massive inventory included furniture, automobiles, parts and assorted bric-a-brac. Noting Jim’s interest in his treasures, the collector offered him the entire lot. Jim accepted. Buying and selling seemed an interesting way to make a living and would certainly give him the independence he craved. He convinced his father to co-sign a loan and within weeks was the proud owner of three fifty-foot tractor-trailer loads of “stuff” including twelve antique vehicles. “Most people thought I was crazy, but I was in heaven,” Jim chuckles.
The original agreement between Jim’s dad and the Toronto Dominion Bank of Baden.
Charlie Munro, the elderly man from whom Jim bought three fifty-foot tractor-trailer loads of store contents and cars.
“I don’t think you can become an antique dealer. You can learn about the business by watching and listening, but a passion for antiques has to be inborn.”
Jim Miller’s idea of heaven had always been the world of “old things”. His uncle and father had been antique collectors and his grandfather owned race horses, passing on his risk-taking personality to his grandson. Jim firmly believes people were put on this earth “to do certain things,” and had no doubt that he was born to dabble in antiques. “I don’t think you can become an antique dealer,” he says. “You can learn about the business by watching and listening, but a passion for antiques has to be inborn.”
After his acquisition, Jim set out to let the world know he was in business. He travelled to area flea markets and antique shows, giving out his card and talking up his fledgling business to anyone who would listen. Jim’s inventory included a large stock of antique car parts, a rare commodity in the days before reproductions. Before long, collectors of vintage automobiles were flocking to his door.
Within three years, he was approached to sell the business. The price was right and he bit. By now Jim was firmly hooked on antiques and looked for new opportunities to carry on with the business. Male car buffs have been the biggest customers in the car part business, but Jim looked for a way to catch the fancy of women while their menfolk browsed. In 1974, Jim Miller, aged twenty-four, purchased Attics and Things Antiques from Harris Veitch, renowned antique dealer and owner of Baden’s famed manor, Castle Kilbride.
Jim purchased Harry Veitch’s ‘Attics & Things’ Antique shop in 1974.
Jim changed the store name to ‘J.C Miller Antiques’.
As a boy, Jim had helped Harris in the shop and had visited the legendary home frequently. Harris’ wife Laura Louise was the great-great granddaughter of industrialist James Livingston who had built the Italianate mansion in 1877, and all succeeding Livingston generations had occupied the home. For Jim Miller, Castle Kilbride was like “walking into a candy shop”.
“For me, an errand to the Castle was like going into the most wonderful museum imaginable.”
“This was a home where nothing had ever been thrown out. Three generations of Livingston collectings were everywhere, from the attic to the basement. For me, an errand to the Castle was like going into the most wonderful museum imaginable.”
Castle Kilbride, built by James Livingston in 1877 on Snyder’s Road in Baden, Ontario.
Jim said that when he made the decision to purchase the antique business, he was determined to be “the best he could be”. With high quality antiques and an honest, knowledgeable proprietor, the reputation of Miller Antiques steadily grew.
But the store was only part of Jim’s world. He continued to develop his inventory of classic automobiles by attending American car shows, making contacts and carving out his reputation. Jim calls his wealthy customers “no compromise individuals.” Jim knew that to compete with his colleagues south of the border he would have to present an exceptional package. Jim’s aim was to offer the finest product, presented with class and the unspoken guarantee of discretion.
For many buyers, the purchase of a vintage car is a connection with their past. Jim gives the example of one of his prized acquisitions, a 1957 harbour-blue Chevrolet Bel-Air convertible, a car he calls “the #1 collectible automobile in North America”. The car’s previous owner purchased the vehicle as a reminder of one he had owned in his youth and embarked on a mission to restore “his baby” to mint condition. His goal was to win “Chevy-fest,” the annual Chicago show-of-shows for classic 1955, ’56 and ’57 Bel Airs. Likening the collector to a big game hunter, Jim was informed that he had invested over $150,000 on restoration. After the car beat out 570 other vehicles to win Best in Show, the collector’s mission was at an end. He sold the car. Jim Miller bought it. Another one of Jim’s prized acquisitions, a rare 1932 Packard Dual Cowl Phaeton, is one of only six models in the world.
Jim had a passion for acquiring vintage collectible cars.
In 1988 Baden was a-buzz with the news that Castle Kilbride was up for sale. The upkeep of the mansion had become an unmanageable burden on Harris and Laura Louise. Both the home and its priceless belongings would be auctioned. Jim Miller greeted the news with a mixture of shock and sadness.
“I had developed much of my passion for antiques because of Kilbride and a portion of me was just not willing to give that up.”
“I knew every nook and cranny of the home and when they started to carry the furnishings out on the lawn for the sale, I was emotionally overcome. It was the end of an era. I had developed much of my passion for antiques because of Kilbride and a portion of me was just not willing to give that up.”
Jim was determined that he would purchase the furnishings that he felt were most historically significant.
“Buyers were arriving for the sale from all over the world. In my mind, what was going to happen was a battle. This was my backyard and I would be dammed if pieces that I wanted to stay here were going to go away forever.”
On Jim’s “must save” list were the prized Krug library ensemble, many of the classic toys of the famed Livingston collection, including a rare carousel, and the prized 1879 Homer Watson painting ‘The Doon Mill’. At the conclusion of the four-day sale, Jim’s goals had been achieved, while the rest of the Livingston legacy was scattered far and wide. In Jim’s wildest dreams he could never have predicted that five years later he would embark on a mission to return the treasures to their original home.
A snapshot from the 1988 auction at Castle Kilbride. Source.
Buyers came from all over the world for their chance to acquire a piece of the Kilbride. Source.
By 1993, Castle Kilbride had fallen on hard times. Several deals to buy the home had fallen through and it now sat vacant and vulnerable. After a small fire destroyed Kilbride’s coach house and minor vandalism occurred, citizens became concerned. Apprehensions turned to disbelief and relief, when on February 24, 1993 Wilmot Mayor Lynn Myers made the stunning announcement of the sale of Castle Kilbride to the Township of Wilmot. The mansion would be converted into a museum, with municipal offices built onto the rear of the home. While Mayor Myers remained at the forefront of plans, his old friend Jim Miller would play an integral role behind the scenes. Jim’s job was to co-ordinate the reacquisition of as many Livingston belongings as possible. In the Mayor’s mind, only Jim Miller had the savvy to accomplish the Herculean task.
Jim driving Mayor Lynn Myers in the Baden Santa Claus parade. Myers, an old friend of Jim’s, called on Jim to help restock Castle Kilbride with its original furnishings and antiquities.
“Lynn’s request was an honour, but it was also a heavy burden. If I took it on, it would consume my life for at least the next year. Could I afford abandoning my own livelihood? After much soul-searching, I said yes. It was the chance of a lifetime.”
“In the antique business ‘no’ doesn’t mean ‘never’, it means ‘not today’.”
Jim Miller’s task was to restock the Castle in eighteen months. He targeted the key pieces to be returned home, but with a limited budget he hoped to convince many buyers to donate their acquisitions back to the museum.
“In the antique business ‘no’ doesn’t mean ‘never’, it means ‘not today.’ At first people told me I was crazy, but I suggested how good they would feel to know they were helping out. As the publicity and enthusiasm for the restoration gradually gathered steam, the ‘no’s’ became ‘yes’. People wanted to feel a part of what was happening in Baden.”
Jim reveals that approximately a third of the Livingston furnishings were donated. On September 24, 1994, the gala opening of the restored castle, the spotlight shone brightly on Mayor Lynn Myers. In the background, Jim Miller heaved a mighty sigh of relief. He calls his work to re-acquire the Livingston furnishings “one of the most exciting periods of my life”.
Take a look at this short video for a glimpse inside Castle Kilbride.
Jim’s best memories of his business centre around people rather than objects. He recounts the story of an elderly lady who once visited him, pulling two fine pieces of pottery from her bag. Jim Miller made an offer - “50 for that piece and 75 for the other”.
“I would have loved to buy her treasures, but I just couldn’t. They were all she had left.”
“She hesitated for a moment and then said, ‘Yes, a dollar twenty-five would be fine’. I corrected her; that I meant $50 for one and $75 for the other. She was overwhelmed that I was talking in figures that large. Thank goodness it was me she approached. Others I know could have taken advantage of her.”
Two years later, Jim received a call that the same customer had more treasures to sell. Making a visit to a senior’s complex, Jim viewed all her worldly possessions before him, He questioned her desire to sell them.
“She had no family and wanted to tidy up the loose ends of her life. We talked for hours about the places she had travelled collecting the pieces. I would have loved to buy her treasures, but I just couldn’t. They were all she had left.”
Jim Miller calls his life a happy one. With his wife Marlene and three sons, he resides in his boyhood home of Baden, a place he describes as “the best on earth”. At one time, he considered a move to the U.S., but realized the importance of his roots.
Jim’s boyhood home in Baden, Ontario.
Jim with his grandfather and first-born son, Ryan.
Gathering new acquisitions with second son, Ethan.
Driving in the Baden Santa Claus Parade with third son, Justin.
“What more could I ask? I meet the world’s most interesting people - right here in Baden, Ontario. My family lives in a safe community where they can walk the streets at night. And like I promised myself when I was a young man, my life has been lived with no regrets, no second thoughts.”
By Nancy Silcox
Nancy Silcox, of New Hamburg, is a former teacher and university counsellor. She has written 14 books, most of them historical biographies.
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