Bill and Kristin in the main gallery of Roland Auctions
It’s 4:00pm and we are entering Roland Auctions at 80 East 11th Street in Downtown NYC. In spite of the fact that we have worked with Bill Roland for at least 10 years, this is our first time visiting his house. He’s not there yet. Having no love for technology, he keeps everything in his head, and thought our appointment was 5:00pm. No matter, he’s not far away, and this gives us an opportunity to meet some of the family in this family-owned business (lovely wife Beth and niece Danielle are here today) and have a browse before he arrives. We purposely choose to visit on an auction preview day, so we could feel the excitement and watch as potential buyers peruse the vast array of items that will be offered.
Bill arrives, literally rolling in on a scooter, and an already lively store becomes even more animated. A flurry of activity ensues. Greetings are made, updates requested, friendly banter with staff traded. The air is alive with transactions, and it’s not even that crowded yet.
Spiral staircase of the former St. Denis Hotel
We are ready for the tour and a little history. It must be mentioned that this building housed the St. Denis Hotel from 1853-1917 and was frequented by presidents, movie stars, and other luminaries. Notable among them is Alexander Graham Bell, who made his first presentation of the telephone here in May of 1877.
I used the phrase “vast array of items” earlier. That is a wholly inadequate description of the variety we encounter. We are led through a maze of galleries, basement tunnels, back rooms and a vault where we are treated to an insider’s view and a frenetic glimpse at history. His colleague Michael is sorting and cataloging an enormous collection from an estate inside Roland’s secured vault, preparing for
Inside the vault at Roland Auction
a future auction. With obvious delight, he gives us the background of each piece he pulls out. Bill chimes in to fill in more details and then takes it in a new direction. Listening to them is like being at a jazz concert. The players take turns tossing the melody back and forth for a while, and then everyone joins in for a group jam.
Throughout the tour, our host is meeting and greeting, stopping for a chat here, giving direction there. He is gracious, funny and makes everyone feel like family. We finally step into yet another room for a quiet chat. This room is packed with inventory from a current estate, and is still wrapped up and in boxes.
For the next 45 minutes, we are seated in comfy chairs chatting about past, present and future. Bill is a long-time auctioneer, appraiser, dealer and a master story teller. We turn on our video camera and just let it roll. You can catch some of the best moments on our Youtube channel coming soon.
We could have stayed all night trading stories, but of course it’s eventually time to go. Before we do, there is time for one last photo op and a congratulations from Bill and Beth for our 30th year in business!
More photo highlights from our visit:
