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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   Antiques and Collectibles Articles   Follow the arrows to other stories In The Hunt Estate Items Fuel Antique Market in Victoria B.C.   By Yvonne Butorac Victoria, British Columbia - Think about it for a minute. Where better to find treasures from the past than in the retirement capital of Canada? All those retirees who move to Victoria, British Columbia, seeking tulips in February, bring with them their most prized possessions. Eventually, when estates are settled, some of the goodies go back into circulation in local antique shops.   Heather Graham-Dickson of Faith Grant The Connoisseurs Shop at 1156 Fort St., said as far as she knows, all of the shops buy locally instead of importing. Although much of the furniture is English in origin, it has arrived in Victoria one piece at a time, not in a container of pickings from overseas.   As well, various waves of immigrants – Americans who came during the Vietnam War, those from Hong Kong who left before the British connection was severed – have all contributed to the antique scene. You'll even see the odd piece of Quebec pine that has moved across the country.   Graham-Dickson and her brother, Forrest Graham, operate Faith Grant out of one of Victoria's oldest homes. Their grandparents began the business in this 1862 house in 1940. In one of the 14 rooms, the box room, traveling cases, cutlery boxes and tea caddies cover every available surface. In another, silver shines and crystal sparkles complementing the handsome pieces of furniture.   (Photo 1: Victoria Soldier – A Scottish soldier in Staffordshire pottery at Faith Grant the Connoisseurs Shop)   This shop is a must visit. Do not be deterred by the walk up the hill. Fort Street runs perpendicular to Government, Douglas and Blanchard and the blocks east from Blanchard are designated Antique Row.   Ron Forbes of Applewood Antiques at 1028 Fort, said there are only about half the number of antique stores here compared to 10 years ago. Still, it is a good concentration of shops. And they are all listed in a small brochure, Victoria's Antique Row & Downtown, A Guide to Antique & Collectible Merchants.   Admittedly, I am an avid walker, but I found it easy to walk from the area of the Empress Hotel to all of the shops in the downtown area. Like Faith Grant, Forbes' shop and Charles Baird Antiques at 1044A Fort St. offer wonderful pieces of furniture and some glass, crystal and silver. Baird also carries clocks.   In contrast to these and a number of other single-owner stores, Recollections Antique and Collectible Mall at 817A Fort, and Vanity Fair Antique & Collectibles Mall at 1044 Fort St., are multi-dealer shops. Recollections claims 75 dealers; Vanity Fair advertises 40 dealers.   At Vanity Fair, I passed up the only skating collectible I found – a Peggy Fleming doll produced by Franklin Mint in 1988 and priced at $150. Both malls open on Sundays, whereas many of the individual shops keep Monday to Saturday, 10 to 5, hours.   It is only logical that the disposition of estates results in an abundant supply of unwanted china and silver, and two shops on Antique Row target this replacement market. J. R. Antiques & Discontinued China at 706 Fort carries hundreds of different English china patterns that they are prepared to ship worldwide. I liked the spaciousness of the store that allows you to move around freely without endangering the merchandise.   (Photo 2 -Victoria Eagle – Applewood Antiques prices this carved eagle lectern from the Church of England in Vancouver c 1900 at $6500)   A little further east, at 826 Fort, Classic Silverware specializes in discontinued silverplate and sterling flatware. Linens, some china and glass and antique buttons round out the stock here.   After you've exhausted Fort Street, head towards the harbour to Command Post of Militaria & Antiques at 1306 Government Street (between Yates and Johnson). This funky little shop is crammed to the rafters with everything military, and some that's not.   Owner Brent Fletcher's sister was minding the shop the day I visited and she recalled, "When we were kids, we thought he was nuts collecting this military stuff." There are helmets and hats, tunics and swords, stripes and insignia. If it's RCMP, police, Canadian World War I or World War II, hat badges, china with crests, or canteens, you may just find it here.   "He's such a master at gathering stuff," said his sister, Wendy.   Check it out even if military is not your focus. You will find jewelry, china and collectibles too.   (Photo 3 - Victoria Military - Pick your uniform at Command Post of Militaria & Antiques)   Next, continue north on Government or Wharf towards the Upper Harbour. Where the Johnson St. bridge separates the Inner Harbour from the Upper Harbour, take Store Street. Stop in at the Swan Suites Hotel & Brewpub on the corner of Store and Pandora. The hotel has an extensive collection of Canadian art with many pieces displayed in the public areas of the hotel and pub. And the food is good too.   Look for a massive Tudor-like building at 1900 Store Street. This is Capital Iron and although it may look like a hardware store from the goods displayed outside, it is more than that. It started as a scrap business in 1934, salvaging ships and reselling the bits and pieces. Eventually, regular hardware was added to the inventory and today it is one of Victoria's largest hardware stores.   But in the basement, nautical and not-so-nautical antiques and collectibles hang out. I noted ships' lamps, bits of naval uniforms, a ship's wheel, and nautical art, as well as a baby buggy from Sweden, a pump organ, a diving suit and many old portable sewing machines. It's an eclectic collection.   Victoria offers many possibilities for the visitor who wants to combine looking for antiques with staying in one. The grand old lady of hotels, the Fairmont Empress, is as majestic as when the CPR built her in 1908, almost 100 years ago. For something a little less regal, check out the many Victorian mansions that have been converted to inns or B& Bs There is the Craigmyle B & B Inn at 1037 Craigdarroch Rd. I haven't stayed there in years, but its proximity to Craigdarroch Castle is what originally drew me to it.   (Photo 4 - Victoria Capital Iron – The nautical antiques in the basement of Capital Iron remind visitors of the store's original purpose as a ship salvage operation.)   Others B&Bs to consider could be the Rosewood Victoria Inn at 595 Michigan St., which advertises 17 suites furnished with antiques, or Fairholme Manor at 638 Rockland Pl., which is a newly restored 110-year-old Italianate Victorian mansion with an ocean view.   For info on Victoria, visit www.victoriabc.com   Antiquing in Victoria is a wonderful reminder that we don't really own antiques we just have stewardship of them for a while.   Other articles by Yvonne Butorac   Maud Lewis house Canadian Antiques Roadshow     Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2007 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster