How Sir John A. Macdonald launched Little Britain’s Corneil Auctions As a child, Don Corneil would pretend to auction off fence posts and mailboxes as he walked to school. The bug never really left him, and 12 years into his career at General Motors, he and his wife Sheila decided to play a hunch and enter the auction business for real. It was 1975, and the Corneils felt an oppord l tunity existed to help people who needed to ona Macd . A dispose of estates. They held their first auction n oh Sir J in the village of Columbus in Durham Region, a sale that featured books signed by Sir John A. Macdonald. In the 45 years since, two generations have seen changes in both the content and format of auctions. Don has since died while Sheila has remained involved in the business. Their son Greg runs the day-to-day operations of the auction.
GEOFF COLEMAN
Bob’s
Auction Advice With more than 30 years in the antique business locally, Fenelon Falls antique dealer Bob Carruth has some advice for people interested in feeling the adrenaline rush that comes with raising a bidding card for the first time. 1. Examine everything care fully prior to the sale for structural issues, but expect dents or scratches in some thing that is 100 years old. 2. Attend a few auctions before the one you want to buy at. This gets you used to how things work, and provides the chance to recognize any pricing patterns that establish the current value of items. 3. Have a cost limit in your head for your item so there’s no buyer’s remorse.
Greg Corneil
PHOTO: SIENNA FROST
Carruth says you don’t have to be an antique expert, just good at recognizing value. He adds that a quickly-growing segment of auction attendees is young people who are just establishing their homes. They see the dollar value in solid wood furnishings, PHOTO: and theSIENNA addedFROST environmental value in reusing items.
