Remembering Garrick Coleman
by Frank Camaratta
When I first met Garrick in 1986, he was the proprietor of an antique furniture shop in London's Kensington district. It was my first trip to London. Hanon Russell and I had made the trip to view one of the many Karpov-Kasparov World Championship matches.
While looking over a few catalogues outside the tournament hall, I noticed an ad for an antique Ivory chess set. Interested, I called the number on the ad. Garrick answered. That was the beginning a long friendship that lasted until his passing on Monday, February 1.
My very first experience with Garrick was negotiating with him by phone from my home (across the pond, as he was fond of pointing out) over a really fine Club-Size Ivory chess set by The British Chess Company. During the rather lengthy negotiations that followed, we were interrupted by a customer who plunked down the full asking price and walked out with "my" chess set. That person was Grandmaster Raymond Keene! An auspicious beginning to my long business association and friendship with Garrick and our endless and often raucous negotiations.
Shortly after that, Garrick sold his antique furniture business to specialize in selling antique chess sets and paperweights. Not long after that, Garrick opened his now famous shop on Portobello Road, which hosted one of the largest gathering of antique dealers every Saturday. His shop attracted collectors and curious visitors alike from around the World. His shop was always bustling with lookers.
On one of my subsequent quarterly trips to London, I was introduced to Garrick's lovely wife, Rita, and their young son Benjamin (Benjie)at their second floor flat in Kensington. There, Garrick would show me his latest chess acquisitions and we would haggle over price, often continuing into to a local pub or restaurant.
This was Garrick's second marriage. Although the had children from that first marriage, I never had the pleasure of meeting them. We would often meet for dinner while I was visiting London. Garrick and Rita loved to take me to their local Indian restaurant.
Over the years, Garrick's knowledge of antique chess sets grew immensely. Without a doubt, he was the most knowledgeable dealer in Europe and I learned a great deal from him. I was always amazed at the uniqueness and quality of antiques chess sets he would manage to obtain.
He was a tireless worker and would read the trade journals religiously. Even the most remote auctions didn't escape his scrutiny in search of that rare prize. His reputation grew rapidly. He was the go-to person if you had a set you wanted to sell or a collection you wanted to liquidate. This is how he always managed to come across some amazing chess sets the rest of us could only dream of.
Around 15 years ago, Garrick was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a very serious form of bone cancer. He told me that he had found a clinic in Germany that was conducting experimental treatments for the disease (at least, that is my recollection). The treatments were not pleasant, but they were successful. They gave him an additional 15 years on the planet.
I doubt there will ever be another dealer as knowledgeable or respected in this field as Garrick. I will miss his friendship greatly.
(c) Frank Camaratta 2016
While looking over a few catalogues outside the tournament hall, I noticed an ad for an antique Ivory chess set. Interested, I called the number on the ad. Garrick answered. That was the beginning a long friendship that lasted until his passing on Monday, February 1.
My very first experience with Garrick was negotiating with him by phone from my home (across the pond, as he was fond of pointing out) over a really fine Club-Size Ivory chess set by The British Chess Company. During the rather lengthy negotiations that followed, we were interrupted by a customer who plunked down the full asking price and walked out with "my" chess set. That person was Grandmaster Raymond Keene! An auspicious beginning to my long business association and friendship with Garrick and our endless and often raucous negotiations.
Shortly after that, Garrick sold his antique furniture business to specialize in selling antique chess sets and paperweights. Not long after that, Garrick opened his now famous shop on Portobello Road, which hosted one of the largest gathering of antique dealers every Saturday. His shop attracted collectors and curious visitors alike from around the World. His shop was always bustling with lookers.
On one of my subsequent quarterly trips to London, I was introduced to Garrick's lovely wife, Rita, and their young son Benjamin (Benjie)at their second floor flat in Kensington. There, Garrick would show me his latest chess acquisitions and we would haggle over price, often continuing into to a local pub or restaurant.
This was Garrick's second marriage. Although the had children from that first marriage, I never had the pleasure of meeting them. We would often meet for dinner while I was visiting London. Garrick and Rita loved to take me to their local Indian restaurant.
Over the years, Garrick's knowledge of antique chess sets grew immensely. Without a doubt, he was the most knowledgeable dealer in Europe and I learned a great deal from him. I was always amazed at the uniqueness and quality of antiques chess sets he would manage to obtain.
He was a tireless worker and would read the trade journals religiously. Even the most remote auctions didn't escape his scrutiny in search of that rare prize. His reputation grew rapidly. He was the go-to person if you had a set you wanted to sell or a collection you wanted to liquidate. This is how he always managed to come across some amazing chess sets the rest of us could only dream of.
Around 15 years ago, Garrick was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a very serious form of bone cancer. He told me that he had found a clinic in Germany that was conducting experimental treatments for the disease (at least, that is my recollection). The treatments were not pleasant, but they were successful. They gave him an additional 15 years on the planet.
I doubt there will ever be another dealer as knowledgeable or respected in this field as Garrick. I will miss his friendship greatly.
(c) Frank Camaratta 2016
