What's in a name? History, tradition and price are reflected by the auction firm of R. Maresch & Son, in downtown Toronto, Canada.

A conversation with William "Bill" Maresch is like immersing yourself in a story from the Masterpiece Theater Television Series, an enjoyable experience.

To understand the R. Maresch & Son staff's devotion to high philatelic principles, one must consider the road that Maresch & Son has traveled to get to where it is today.

The birth of this family enterprise began with the efforts of Dr. Richard A. R. Maresch of Vienna, Austria. In 1924, Maresch became associated with the Lauber stamp firm, one of the day's large European wholesalers (whose clients included H.E. Harris of Boston). Although trained as a lawyer, Maresch was attracted to philately because he'd been an avid collector since childhood.

As conditions in Europe became more troublesome before World War II, Maresch and his family immigrated to Canada where he taught at Pickering College. In 1942, Maresch opened a stamp shop in Toronto. While he accumulated business skills along the way, his enduring fascination was philately, not entrepreneurship. In 1974, Maresch died and the formal and symbolic leadership of the firm shifted to his son and current owner, Bill Maresch.

Bill Maresch's exposure to philately began at a young age and he is pleased to show visitors a small notebook dated 1904, which he received from his grandmother. In this old notebook, careful notations have been made of the stamps that comprised Dr. Maresch's first collection.

Bill's eyes twinkle as he recalls early stamp collection memories of his youth. Bill's first collection was Austrian postal history, which was studiously assembled. During the early year of his marriage, this collection was sold, and one can imagine the emotional distress in parting with it.

Bill noted: "I made it quite clear to the buyer that should the collection be again put on the market, I would like the opportunity to repurchase it." Years later, Bill noticed some Austrian postal items that were familiar (it was his first collection!) listed in a U.S. auction catalog.

He took a plane flight to New York City and repurchase the collection.

Auction action

In 1957, the stamp retail operations of R. Maresch & Son took a major shift as the first auction was held. This auction segment grew steadily into the vigorous business of today.

Philatelic genes, genius came from father

As Bill Maresch became a young man, it was obvious that he had inherited the philatelic genes of his father. For many, many years Bill has collected antique stamp boxes, postal scales, postal memorabilia, old perforation gauges, tiny envelope covers, and miniature inkwells (and interest of Rose-Marie’s, his wife), just a few of his family’s collecting pursuits.

A visit to Bill's private office is like a trip to Charles Dickens’ Old Curiosity Shop. Glass showcases display some of his collectibles. There's a story accompanying almost every item, for Maresch is not a collector of things, but rather a curator of historical treasurers.

But what of R. Maresch & Son's activities of today? The critical element of most successful businesses is the staff that meets the needs of the customer. In the world of stamp auction firms, customers comprise both consignors and bidders.

Maresch was joined by Rick Sheryer, his two sons (Tony and Peter), and Barbara Wattleworth. This Maresch and Son team hold four public auctions and two mail bid sales a year. The material for each public auction is consignor-owned and reserves are not placed on any of the lots. All of the mail auction items are owned by the firm.

In addition to auctioning philatelic properties and estates, the firm also offers private treaty option for sellers. The annual sales volume of R. Maresch & Son runs $2.5 to 3 million in Canadian dollars. A number of knowledgeable dealers have been heard to observe that it is easier to find good customers than it is to find good material.

Locating outstanding stamps and covers is a strong suit for this auction house. Over the years, many well-known rarities have passed through their auctions. Bill continually acts to make sure that the word-of-mouth marketing flourishes.

Display ads can be found in various philatelic society publications: Maples Leaves, BNA Topics, Collectors Club (NY), The Canadian Philatelist, International Exhibitions, etc. In addition to this print media, Bill is an active and well-known member of the American Philatelic Society, Royal Philatelic Society of Canada, Collectors Club of New York (52 years!), and the Canadian Stamp Dealers Associations (since 1949).

For the past 20 years, Bill has been a member of the International Association for Philatelic Experts and he is a recognized expert for Canadian Stamps.

Bill also was one of the original experts of the Vincent Graves Greene Expert Committee with more than 20 years of service. About 80 percent of the firm's consignments are the result of its reputation for integrity and its being a continuing source of desirable, high quality material which attracts spirited bidding. Local telephone Yellow Page listings and display ads account for the remaining consignments.

Bill and his staff use more than 900 philatelic reference books to accurately describe each auction lot. At public sales, usually one in spring and one in summer, and two in the fall, there are 75-100 floor bidders with a continuing flow of arrivals and departures as the action moves from one topic area to the next. In addition there are hundreds of mailed bids, many of which are successful. Bill and Rick Sheryer are the auctioneers, although Tony has called a portion of recent auctions.

The firm's consignors and bidders are mostly male and serious collectors, who possess a substantial degree of philatelic expertise.

"In today's world, philatelic mentors are a necessary ingredient in order to build a world-class collection," Bill said. Regrettably, today such mentors are in short supply and many evolving collectors are seeking certificates of authenticity for their more expensive purchases.

With the passing of many of former "greats" of the world of philately, the average age of Maresch's clients is beginning to fall slightly. Regardless of age, the typical client has significant discretionary income to spend on collecting.

About 80 percent of successful bidders pay by personal cheque, 10 percent send foreign bank drafts, and 10 percent use VISA or MasterCard to pay for their purchases. In unusual cases, short-term payment arrangements have been made for substantial buyers. The company has used the same accounting firm for the past 20 years and maintains a close oversight of cash flow.

Sheryer handles most of the daily operations.

"Our mailing lists of prospective bidders numbers over 7,500 individuals, with about 60 percent US residents, 30 percent Canadians, and 10 percent from other overseas locations," Sheryer said.

Much of the firm's operating activities have been automated under Rick's guidance. Various commercial (e.g. Ventura, Windows, etc.,) and in-house software programs help with the catalog preparation, mailing lists and invoicing.

R. Maresch & Son has a solid track record for responsive and complete payments by successful bidders. In an auction of about 1,200 lots, there will be fewer than four or five returns. Forty percent of accounts receivable are paid within three working days and another 25-30 percent are paid within three weeks. "There is little or no deadbeat problem when serving serious collectors," Sheryer said.

There are a couple of reasons why a high level of customer satisfaction is created by the firm.

First, the catalog descriptions are quite accurate and most items are photographed for the bidders. When I asked Bill about the criteria for producing a photograph for a particular item, he smiled slightly and said: "We take pictures to show how beautiful an item is or how bad an item is."

The firm also takes care in screening consignments. There's a focus on pre-1960's material.

However, all has not been roses for R. Maresch & Son. Both Bill and Rick cringe a bit when asked about Scott's major repricing initiative. They say the switch to retail price format is still having negative reverberations for stamp dealers and auction houses.

It is believed that many collectors reassessed their buying habits in light of the Scott catalog shift and adopted a far more conservative posture.

Neither Bill nor Rick believe that the imposition of Canada's 7 percent Good & Services Tax (GST) has any long-term effect on buyers. The military operations of Desert Storm in the Middle East acted to dampen the market during that particular year.

At present, the relatively weak Canadian dollar is making Canadian auction activities attractive to those in other countries where their currency is stronger from an exchange rate perspective.

Bill Maresch believes that the stamp market is at the end of its recent downswing and already sees signs of an upturn.

Another problem for dealers and auction houses is the reduction in size of the typical auction consignment. In past years, the average value of a consignment was in the neighborhood of $20,000 to $30,000, while present day consignment range from $5,000 to $10,000. This means an added workload to process material for a 1,200 lot auction.

In each auction catalog, there is usually a page of comments and observation written by Bill, ranging from assessments of auctions results to highlights.

One indicator of quality of auction material and the strength of its bidders is the percent of lots sold. Prices realized information for a '93 auction showed 1,026 of 1,027 lots sold (and Bill points out that the unsold lot was withdrawn due to a typographical error). The range of winning bids was $25 to $5,000 with median bid being $250.

In describing the most unusual collection he ever handled, Bill said "... a fabulous collection of Bosnia and Herzegovinia that had been prepared for exhibition in the 1940 International (a show commemorating the 100th anniversary of the postage stamp). The 100-volume collection was bound in Morocco leather binders and was a mix of 60 percent mint and 40 percent postally used material".

World War II caused the cancellation of the 1940 International and the exhibition of this outstanding collection never occurred. The collection was sold for around $50,000 in the late 1940s.

As Bill Maresch drafted the Code of Ethics for the Canadian Stamp Dealers Association, a question was raised about the extent to which a dealer should take steps to clean items before placing them on sale or in an auction.

From Bill's perspective, a light washing of the dirt and grime off a stamp is acceptable, but no further action should be taken. With respect to covers, very light erasure of the penciled price on a cover is permissible.

Bill related the story of an escapee from Poland who had taken with him a large number of covers that were franked with Poland #1. In order to "improve" the incomplete or faint cancellations of these covers, someone tried to strengthen each cancellation, thus destroying the value of the entire lot.

With many modern stamps, Bill cautioned that: "One must be very careful when encountering some unusual shades of color as exposure to certain gases can change an item's color significantly." Today's forgers are also well-versed in a wide range of printing techniques. "Continually increasing one's knowledge and dealing with reputable dealers and auction firms is the best collecting strategy." advises Bill.

Maresch believes that great collections are built with the assistance of one or more philatelic mentors and he fills this role for many collectors.

"Availability of certain types of material is the key when building a collection."

In one of his recent messages to his auction catalog recipients, Bill wrote about the auction bidding guidelines and concluded with: "First and foremost though, enjoy yourself. I have for 36 years as an auctioneer and as a collector since 1933, and this hobby is a lot of fun." When this writer asked Bill Maresch if he'd any thoughts of retiring from the stamp dealing scene, he replied: "Oh heavens no! The chase is the fun. Does the cat ever stop mousing? "