Say you’re walking around on the street and you just so happen to stumble into a shop that has a couple of 100 year old stuffed boar heads, an 1860s embalming table and some ancient Asian pieces of pottery that have been sitting at the bottom of the ocean for some 500 years and when you step inside you say to yourself “WOW, now this is neat!” If that’s you, well then you’ll certainly love our little shop.

Although we like to think of ourselves (and our collection of oddities) as a little out there and unique, we have to admit we are not the first to enjoy collecting things that might be considered, shall we say a little left of center, a little unnerving, a little odd and a whole lot thought provoking. Back in the 17^th and 18^th century there was a trend of collecting odd, unusual, surprising and exotic items and cramming them into cramped areas with no rhyme or reason to their arrangement. These collections became known as wunderkammern (or “wonder chambers”) or also known in the West as Cabinets of Curiosity. Just how relevant were these off the wall little shops? Many claim they were the precursor to modern day museums. And while we do have a few (what we like to consider) museum quality pieces, there’s nothing highbrow or stuffy about our little shop – that is of course with the exception of our  two stuffed boars (which by the way can be pet for free but we do ask that you not feed them).

As sellers of antiques let’s face it, we like to move stuff; after all shops simply don’t survive if they don’t make money. And while admittedly we do get a rush out of selling our antiques to the highest bidder, the greatest pleasure is in knowing that the items we sell go to a good home. A perfect example: a set of super rare antique tricycles from the 1860s that rolled their way out of our doors only days after we had purchased them. The buyer? A fellow by the name of Roger Tupper, who just so happens to be The Captain (President) of the Canadian Chapter of The Wheelmen. The Wheelmen are a national, non-profit organization dedicated to keeping alive the heritage of North American cycling, promoting the restoration and riding of early cycles manufactured prior to 1918, and encouraging cycling as part of modern living. For more information on the Wheelmen you can contact Roger directly at r.tupper@shaw.ca or check out their webpage at http://www.thewheelmen.org/

If street signs could talk imagine the tale this relic might have to spin. Circa 1800s, this Pinchin Street sign may well have bore witness to one of the bloodiest and most horrific crimes of the 19th century; a crime committed by none other then the notorious Jack the Ripper. Known for his involvement in savage attacks on female prostitutes, the legendary serial killer prowled the impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London. One of his most gruesome murders took place on September 10, 1889.