Auction for collector a sign of things to come

Greg Edwards started collecting model steam engines when he was only 13 years old – now he has more than 200, one no bigger than the size of his thumb.

“The largest – a 1920s British Atkinson steam truck – I can sit on,” he explained. “The thumb size model is a miniature oscillating steam engine.”

Greg is now 64 and admits his collecting obsession is a “bit of a disease”. It branched from steam engines to old brass padlocks – sparked by his father (who worked for the Department of Customs) presenting Greg with a couple of old ones that he had retrieved from the Port Melbourne docks sheds.

Ever since those days, Greg just kept collecting, haunting the Camberwell Sunday market from the early 1970s and attending swap meets to see what he could pick up.

“Sometimes, you’d be lucky and arrive just after a vendor was opening the boot of his car,” he said. “At other times, you’d walk away with nothing.”

To be successful, most avid collectors establish lifelines with grassroot hoarders, people who appreciate old things and don’t want to see them end up on a scrap heap.

The arrival of the internet was a godsend – the development of eBay meaning he no longer had to travel many kilometres on the off chance of picking up a bargain.

Despite this, three years ago Greg and his wife spent 12 months travelling around Australia on the lookout for collectibles – only to conclude that the best place to do so was still Victoria.  

One of Greg’s major collecting efforts has been enamelled metal advertising signs from the 1920s and 1930s – and it is some 250 of these that he has entrusted to auctioneer Steve Graham to be sold at his next auction from 10am Sunday March 16 at 64 Urquhart Street, Woodend.

There are various other items as well, such as old grocers scales, theatre lamps and fully restored drive-in speakers that have been converted to handle modern music technology.

The signs are just the beginning, with the model steam engines earmarked for the next Steve Graham auction in a few weeks.

“At 64, it is time I moved these items on,” Greg said. “After all, we never really own these treasures – we are just keepers until the next collector comes along.”

Some of these signs are extremely rare, like the 1930s Agfa film advertisement and the sign proclaiming the benefits of Sternol Aero British motor oil used by the Royal Air Force.

The auction also contains old petrol bowsers and a large collection of Lego technic assembled vehicles.