Jim Miller: One of a kind with a killer instinct
‘He had this ability to instantly win somebody over’
Jim Miller, late father of Miller & Miller Auctions owners Ethan and Justin Miller.
“When you did business with Jim you knew what to expect. He could be ruthless.”
Ed Locke has been in the antique business for over 50 years and he knew the late Jim Miller pretty well. They were friends with a shared interest. In some cases, Ed learned the hard way what Jim the businessman was like, but he also saw a side of him that was undeniably admirable – and fun.
Ed, who lives in Renfrew, Ontario, can’t pinpoint when he and Jim first met, but for many decades they both moved inside the world of antiques, crossing paths at shows that were also social events where friends were made and business was conducted. Ed and his wife Sheryl did more than 40 shows a year at one time. Specializing in nostalgia (with a particular love for tobacco tins) they never had a shop. “We were show dealers,” he says.
Ed recalls one year when they were doing the Atlantic City Antiques Show – “once the largest show in the world with 1,700 dealers”. He and Sheryl were staying at the Sheraton across the road. He was just returning to their room with some ice when the door directly across the hall opened and there stood Marlene Miller, Jim’s wife. They all happily agreed to meet later for dinner at a favourite Italian restaurant, but Ed also recalls reluctantly summoning the need to be on guard. As much as he and Sheryl enjoyed the dinner, they knew they had to be careful not to inadvertently give away any inside information that Jim might advantageously latch onto.
Jim Miller in his natural habitat.
“Socializing with Jim was sometimes difficult because you had to measure everything you’d say. He was aggressive and opportunistic. But hey, that’s the way business works,” concedes Ed. “A lot of antique people are not business people. Jim did it in a different way. There was a ruthlessness to him– but he was a really nice person too and he was able to separate business from his personal affairs.”
Ed recalls stopping by Jim’s house one day to show him a musical Teddy bear he’d just bought. It was an extraordinary bear that “sounded like a whole orchestra was playing”. Ed told Jim where he bought it and that he’d paid a lot. “Is it for sale?” Jim asked. Ed quoted a figure to which Jim replied, “that's a lot of money for a Teddy bear,” but as Ed was leaving he handed him an envelope of cash, paying the asking price. While at a show the next day Ed got a call from the dealer who originally sold him the Teddy bear. The dealer said Jim had just paid him a visit and told him “when you get things like this you don’t sell them to anybody but me”.
Ed tells this story without malice or bitterness. In fact, he tells it rather matter-of-factly, perhaps even with a hint of appreciation for the way Jim Miller did business.
A circa 1995 photo taken by Jim Miller of an assortment of toy bears similar to the one purchased from Ed Locke.
Jim was highly successful at what he did and he was known far and wide. He built his antiques and classic car business from the ground up and worked hard at it. He was driven. He was also “the ultimate salesman”, says his son Ethan, co-owner of Miller & Miller Auctions. “He had this ability to instantly win somebody over. He was able to get what he wanted – he was like the Pied Piper.” (There’s a story about some of Jim’s achievements on the Miller & Miller website.)
Ed laughs when he recalls an incident at the old Christie Antique Show, held at the Christie Conservation Area near Dundas, Ontario. “At one point it was the biggest and best show in Canada.” The dealers were allowed onto the field on Friday, but not allowed to set up until Saturday morning, opening day. Show promoter Jeff Gadsden, also a school teacher, was well known to dealers for running a tight ship. A bunch of the dealers, including Jim, got together Friday at Ed and Sheryl’s booth and were having some fun and barbecuing. Jeff Gadsden came by and was clearly annoyed about the goings on, at which point, recalls Ed, “Jim, at the top of his lungs shouts, ‘Jeff, school is f---ing out!’ Jim was probably the only one who could get away with that.”
Jim Miller uses his cluttered desk to photograph a Pairpoint lamp, circa 1995.
There are just so many stories. Ed remembers when collector and dealer Bill Hogan owned two cut glass advertising windows, an Allen’s Lung Balsam and a Perry Davis Painkiller – the first pair anyone had ever seen. Ed was desperate for them. So was Jim, who apparently hounded Hogan. But Hogan had promised if he ever sold them he’d give Ed first refusal. Well, that day came and Ed got the call. And he bought them.
Ed thought he should let Jim know so he called him. “Are they for sale?” Jim naturally asked. Ed named a price. “Wow, that’s a lot of money,” Jim said. By the end of the call Jim had passed, but also thanked Ed for calling. Two hours later Ed’s phone rang. Before Ed picked up the phone he turned to his wife Sheryl and said, “that’s Jim, he’s buying the windows”. Sure enough, it was Jim. He had changed his mind and wanted to buy the windows after all. Apparently he told Ed, “when something is offered that is rare and it’s something you really like, it’s better to pay too much for it than to kick yourself in the ass for the next 20 years for not buying it.” Another one of Jim’s mottos was, “I’d rather buy and lose than not buy and wonder”.
The same thought might have gone through Jim’s mind at Waddington’s auction of Bill Hogan’s advertising collection. The cover piece was a clock advertising Black Cat shoe polish in excellent condition, “still possibly the best piece of Canadian advertising out there,” according to Ed. When it hit the block Jim started bidding and didn’t stop until he owned it – at an astronomical price for the time. “No one remembers the underbidder,” Jim was also fond of saying.
A photo taken by Jim Miller. He purchased the example on the right at the 1982 Bill and Pauline Hogan Collection sale.
The catalogue from the 1982 Bill and Pauline Hogan Collection sale, showcasing the Black Cat clock that Jim purchased.
Sadly, Jim died on November 25, 2010. Hundreds of people came from all over Canada and the United States to attend his funeral where his favourite songs from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80’s were played. There was no one quite like him in the antique world and he left a gaping hole in the business and in so many people’s hearts.
Miller & Miller Auctions was launched by Jim’s sons Ethan and Justin six years later, building on his legacy to forge one of their own. “People continue to come to us and so often say, ‘it’s because I knew your Dad’,” says Ethan.
“He was a hard act for the boys to follow,” concedes Ed, “but they’ve done really, really well and I think Jim would be proud”.
Jim Miller gathering new acquisitions with second son, Ethan.
Jim Miller driving in the Baden Santa Claus Parade with third son, Justin.
By Diane Sewell
Diane Sewell has been a writer for more than 25 years, producing feature stories for some of the country’s top newspapers and consumer magazines, as well as client newsletters and commissioned books.
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