Photo: Pieter de Ras
and easier than any other city in the world. “I can leave home
(which is surrounded by Herbert Baker Randlord mansions
crowding the Parktown ridge) and be at the shop in twenty
minutes. The sense of freedom a good highway and road
infrastructure allows is vital to me” says Geoff. “Besides,” he
adds, “we are so central here. If the business was located
anywhere else, I wouldn't be able to get all my work done in a
day- I would be stuck in traffic forever.” And he's not wrong.
This is a man constantly on the move. He is usually at
Collectors Treasury before most people are awake,
processing internet orders. He leaves the shop around 7am
to start his rounds, which take him to all four compass points
around Johannesburg. He has been known to cover several
hundred kilometers around the city before returning to share
lunch with brother Jonathan at around 1 pm.
is gregarious, and if you've time to kill, waste it with him. Just
ask him about the differences between Woodie Guthrie and
Pete Seeger. Really, ask him. And if he likes you, and you
don't try and be clever, he may even demonstrate on one or
two of the hundreds of stringed instruments in his private
collection. Hell, he even has two base banjos which are
somewhat like a double bass, but a banjo version thereof.
What does being a South African mean to Geoff? “I am an
equal opportunity victim.”
MILAN RENAUD IN
CONVERSATION
WITH……..
His brain is an encyclopedia. One of his myriad interests is
South African history, especially that of old Jo'burg. He talks
about people and places, shops, restaurants and auction
houses long gone, preserved only in the minds of those who
were there. He started collecting young, and at 13 was
allowed to “fly solo” at Curries Auctions and triumphed
against several dealers on a Ridgeway Japan-pattern jug
which he still has today. If you want an abject lesson in our
history, printed, photographic, ceramic, silvered or
otherwise, put yourself in Geoff's hands for an afternoon.
You will be surprised at what you didn't know, you and your
master's degree in history.
Despite his qualifications and the fact he deals with people
all day, seven days a week, he is rather quiet. Shy, actually.
Not so Jonathan, the younger of the two siblings. Jonathan
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Milan Renaud