holstcollection
#1As we all know, the story behind many acquisitions is as important as the acquisitions themselves.
On this very day in 2012, ten years ago, I visited Bamberg in northern part of the district of Bayern, Germany.
First, there is a background to the visit. Just a few days before, the former Belgian collector and author, JM Robin, and I had made a trade. I had traded in a set of Mühlenfeld handcuffs on a five link chain for a number of better US handcuffs. I was very happy to add these rare handcuffs to the collection but I was still browsing internet for local auctions and possible findings.
When searching for handcuffs in German I suddenly almost fell of my chair. Right before my very eyes there was a Mühlenfeld combination up for auction in just five days. This was the first time I saw real set but I knew they existed from the advertising sheet.
This small local auction house didn’t allow online bidding, only bidding on site and by phone.
Therefore, I decided to go there and bid in person.
It’s quite a distance to Bamberg from where I live in Sweden, about 1200 km. My fiancée is not very keen on travelling by car but I managed to persuade her to come along.
We arrived to the auction site early and I registered as a bidder. I asked when this lot is supposed to be auctioned. They told me it will not come up before 6 o’clock in the evening. We spent many hours to explore this beautiful medival city. I especially can recommend a local specialty; “Rauchbier” which is smoked beer. The stay in Bamberg went slowly and I was at least say excited before the auction.
Finally it was time for the lot. It was almost 7 o’clock in evening and there were about 40 people in the auction room. I looked around and got a strong feeling I hade plenty of competitors.
Even before we left I hade to make up my mind how high to bid. I decided my limit had to be 6.000 euro plus fees. We had bought a house two years before and my assets were limited.
As soon the lot was up for auction, I quickly raised my sign, numbered 5. Then my head got blank and the auctioneer sounded like “ein, zwei,zum bom. I realized nobody in the auction room was bidding against me but I still didn’t realize what my winning bid was. It turned out I had won the lot for 200 euro plus fees. A bargain to what I expected.
On the way back to Sweden we planned to visit our favorite town Berlin that we have visited several times. I sent my friend Michael Busch a text message with the photo. He responded immediately and asked us to come to see him in his house in Greven. We went there and had a good time as always.
To me the story behind an acquisition is as important as the object itself. I think it's the hunt that drives us collectors. I also consider myself being a trustee. We collectors have a responsibility to manage our artifacts for collectors after us. This also applies to our knowledge. To keep the history living.
First, there is a background to the visit. Just a few days before, the former Belgian collector and author, JM Robin, and I had made a trade. I had traded in a set of Mühlenfeld handcuffs on a five link chain for a number of better US handcuffs. I was very happy to add these rare handcuffs to the collection but I was still browsing internet for local auctions and possible findings.
When searching for handcuffs in German I suddenly almost fell of my chair. Right before my very eyes there was a Mühlenfeld combination up for auction in just five days. This was the first time I saw real set but I knew they existed from the advertising sheet.
This small local auction house didn’t allow online bidding, only bidding on site and by phone.
Therefore, I decided to go there and bid in person.
It’s quite a distance to Bamberg from where I live in Sweden, about 1200 km. My fiancée is not very keen on travelling by car but I managed to persuade her to come along.
We arrived to the auction site early and I registered as a bidder. I asked when this lot is supposed to be auctioned. They told me it will not come up before 6 o’clock in the evening. We spent many hours to explore this beautiful medival city. I especially can recommend a local specialty; “Rauchbier” which is smoked beer. The stay in Bamberg went slowly and I was at least say excited before the auction.
Finally it was time for the lot. It was almost 7 o’clock in evening and there were about 40 people in the auction room. I looked around and got a strong feeling I hade plenty of competitors.
Even before we left I hade to make up my mind how high to bid. I decided my limit had to be 6.000 euro plus fees. We had bought a house two years before and my assets were limited.
As soon the lot was up for auction, I quickly raised my sign, numbered 5. Then my head got blank and the auctioneer sounded like “ein, zwei,zum bom. I realized nobody in the auction room was bidding against me but I still didn’t realize what my winning bid was. It turned out I had won the lot for 200 euro plus fees. A bargain to what I expected.
On the way back to Sweden we planned to visit our favorite town Berlin that we have visited several times. I sent my friend Michael Busch a text message with the photo. He responded immediately and asked us to come to see him in his house in Greven. We went there and had a good time as always.
To me the story behind an acquisition is as important as the object itself. I think it's the hunt that drives us collectors. I also consider myself being a trustee. We collectors have a responsibility to manage our artifacts for collectors after us. This also applies to our knowledge. To keep the history living.