Heavy metal has long been an attraction of mine. Here I am speaking of accessories not rock music. The distinction applies to gold and silver jewellery as well as artwork and other casual ornamentation. For example, I have a bronze crab, the centre of which services as a magnifying glass. I keep it handy on the right side of my desk whence I regularly grasp it to afford myself a closer look at some detail. It was a gift to me by Jill C. Halliday, an artist from Toronto who now lives in Almonte. We met many years ago at a private dinner party in town and have been friends ever since. There is no decipherable marking on the piece to indicate where or by whom it was made. It is very well made in my opinion and I count it among my most favourite possessions. I have attempted to polish it on occasion but to my dismay I discovered I have left hidden dried traces of the cleaner in cracks beneath the top and bottom elements. I must try to improve my cleansing on the next occasion. Perhaps I’ll use a toothbrush and some hot water.
The Alliance Coin & Banknote shop in Almonte is likely the place of my most recent metallic purchase. When I say recently I mean at least 25 years ago. I cannot now recall what first inspired me to go into the store but I am convinced it was not to buy a 20 OZ TR 999 sterling silver bar embossed by Johnson Matthey & Mallory Ltd (Assay Office Canada). When I saw the article it gripped me. I bought it and have used it as an ornamental paperweight. Occasionally I polish it to revive its lustre. But it is that cleansing preoccupation (and necessity) which persuaded me to get rid of a number of brass candlesticks which I formerly kept by the fireplace. This piece however is solid and small enough to be endurable in that respect.
In the drawing room is piece I have never touched. I leave the dusting of it to our housekeeper. The item of which I speak is a limited edition 22/25 bronze bust of a native North American Indian in full headdress (perhaps Chief Sitting Eagle aka John Hunter) labelled “Irhe Wapta” by Don Begg signed and dated 1989. I bought it from an art gallery on Sussex Drive. Once again I suspect my original intention was not to buy a bronze bust. But it spoke to me. My mother was of profound French Canadian ancestry and I always tan well in the summer. The bloodlines of the original frontier tradesmen from France and the native Canadian population are very likely commingled and may as a result even form part of my DNA. Whatever the reason I have an affinity with Canada’s native population and I exemplify this harmony in the bust.
A gentleman named Louis de la Chesnaye Audette QC OC was an acquaintance of mine. When he died I inherited from his estate a brass paperweight with his initials. For reasons unknown I commissioned Don Downey of R & S Tool & Die Co from Pakenham to make a similar paperweight for me. I then asked Anthony St. Dennis (formerly of the British America Bank Note Co) to engrave my initial on it. Coincidentally both Don and Tony are brethren of mine from the local Masonic lodge.
My Birks carriage clock is most notably a time piece but it is housed in a heavy brass casing made in Germany. I am never certain whether it is the weight of the brass or the brightness of the white enamel face inscribed Henry Birks & Sons which attracts me most. It keeps great time too. I had bought it for my mother as a gift and I expropriated it when she died. Prior to mother’s death I had purchased a carriage clock from Tiffany & Co on Bloor St W in Toronto. Surprisingly I never liked it much so it has since disappeared.
Similarly off-topic as strictly heavy metal are the various lamps we have, almost all of which are brass. And even more abstruse from the character of metal weight is my collection of walking sticks one of which has a solid brass handle, another a silver dog head.
The other features of heavy metal are my remnants of jewellery, most of which I wear but some of which I simply store as a reminder of the past. Apart from a money clip, silver brooches and a silver key chain, this includes watches which now are almost redundant since the appearance of the Apple Watch which has become a must have along with the iPhone. It makes me think of snuff boxes and whatever else one formerly had to enliven the habit of smoking cigarettes, pipes and cigars. There is also a brass sailing piece I bought at a maritime hardware store in Sarasota, Florida. I haven’t any idea what it is for but I thought of using it as key chain. It is merely its weight and constitution which speaks to me.