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Hudson auction a great way to spend a Sunday
In our own backyard feature
Kristina Edson
The Gazette
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Gary Peterson in his auction house in Hudson. KRISTINA EDSON/The Gazette
Kristina Edson
Special to The Gazette
While there are many things to see and do in faraway places, but the best can sometimes be found right in our own backyard. With that in mind, The Gazette’s West Island section will explore attractions in our corner of the world.
The arrival of spring often coincides with seasonal cleaning binges and some redecorating. Such ventures can include scouting out “new” items at garage sales, estate sales and the like. And while garage sale season is probably a while off – if mounds of yet-unmelted snow are any indication – conditions are always dry and pleasant at Gary Peterson’s indoor auction house.
Hudson Auctions opened in 1999 after Peterson and his wife, Deborah Goldsmith, decided to slow down from a fast paced life in industrial auctions where, for example, in 1992, Peterson presided over the sale of Molson’s O’Keefe brewery and $55 million in inventory.
Fast forward to 2008, where Peterson and Goldsmith host Sunday auctions 26 times a year at their low-key auction house. As many as 300 items – from antique furniture, dishes, toys and jewelry, to new items, cars and furniture reproductions – go on the block on any given Sunday. The average price for items is between $100 and $300.
On April 27, Peterson will hold an auction where close to 300 pieces, including a container full of reproductions modeled after furniture in the late 1800s, will be sold. Also available will be paintings by Montreal artists John Little.
“A lot of people are intimidated. They think if they scratch their ass or their nose they’ve place a bid,” Peterson laughed.
People are allowed to visit the auction house the day before an event in order to view lots and ask questions. The staff guides customers on pricing and answers questions. On the day of the event, participants register for free and are given a numbered bidding card. To keep things moving along – more than 100 items an hour are sold – the auctioneer does the auction chant. Those who don’t understand can simply stop the process, Peterson said, and ask where the bidding is.
Sunday auctions are a time honoured way to spend the day, said Peterson.
“I’ve got people who come to my sale every Sunday and never open their mouth, but they tell me they have a hell of a time.”
Hudson Auctions, 76 Cameron St., Hudson, 450-458-5766.