Piece Of London Bridge Goes To Auction Attention.

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Maynards has all sorts of exotic antiques for sale in its two-day antique auction, starting tonight.
A rare Irish salver (serving tray) dating to 1736 has brought international interest from Ireland, the U.K. and the United States, and is expected to sell for $50,000 to $70,000.
A beautiful 19th-century Chilkat blanket by the great Fort Rupert artist Mary Ebbetts Hunt has a pre-auction estimate of $30,000 to $40,000.
But the most exotic -- and oddest -- item for sale must be an elm pile from the original medieval London Bridge, which burned in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
The listing for the pile, a tapered pole one metre high and 45 centimetres in diameter, which looks like a giant wooden tooth, says "it was driven in A.D. 1176 in centre #1 abutment of London Bridge."
How do they know? When it was lifted out of the muck in the River Thames in 1937, it was presented to B.C. legend H.R. MacMillan, founder of forest giant MacMillan Bloedel.
"When they were working on the new wharf in London Bridge, they found this in the mud," said Hugh Bulmer of Maynards. "Presumably MacMillan was supplying the timber for the new wharf, so it was a present."
MacMillan kept it in his office for years. When he died in 1976, it was sold in an estate sale by Maynards. The winning bid was $1,500, and the winning bidder was another B.C. legend, Robert Bonner, who went from being B.C. attorney-general under W.A.C. Bennett to CEO of MacMillan Bloedel and chair of B.C. Hydro.
Bonner died last year, so the London Bridge pile is for sale again. The estimate is $1,000 to $1,500, but Bulmer says it's anyone's guess what it will bring.
"We sold it once for $1,500, so there must have been more than one person who wanted it," he says.
"It's a conversation piece. You can imagine it in someone in the timber industry's office. It's a wonderful conversation opener for anyone who walks in."
It definitely caught the attention of some of the people previewing the auction -- which begins at 6 p.m. tonight -- although they had mixed opinions on its merit.
"Even if they gave it to me, I wouldn't take it," Jim McMaster said with a laugh. "We don't have enough room."
"No, it's phenomenal," said his wife Jacqueline. "It looks like a very decayed tooth or something. From a walrus, maybe."
The pile does look quite decayed.
"It's been pickled in London sewage for many generations," said Bulmer.
To the collector, this may add to its allure. It's probably a thousand years old, and looks it.
"It's a great historical piece," said rare book dealer Don Stewart of MacLeod's Books, who figures its provence makes it a natural for a forest company executive.
Bulmer said the 641 lots in the sale should bring in about $500,000.
There are 19th-century swords from Europe and Turkey (estimate $200), a collection of 17th- and 18th-century marrow scoops (est. $1,000 to $2,000) and a pair of red chairs from the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Carnarvon Castle in 1969 (est. $200 to $300).
One of the hottest items is an elegant 18th-century Italian commode made of kingwood with marquetry inlay and Sienna marble. Bulmer has fielded several calls from Europe about the piece.
"It comes from an estate in Maple Ridge," he said. "The Italians will be fighting over it. It is probably going to make $20,000 to $30,000."

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