Jack Delaine Harris, 1933-2007

The house on Sullivan St. was the final residence for many of Jack’s treasures. The auction was held there Saturday July 12th, 2008. The following images are in chronological order, so it’s a fair document of how the day unfolded.

At the end of the day, it’s impressive that one man can accumulate such a vast and diverse collection of stuff. It’s also a little frightening. This book is only a small representation of Jack’s auction.

Similarly, the auction is an even smaller representation of Jack’s eye for attending auctions and garage sales. Growing up, the kitchen table, living room, and a five foot perimeter around his desk had the highest piles of stuff. And the garage was completely overtaken with a precision to the packing that was almost an art form itself. Then, there was the “barn”, a two story structure in the backyard. It was big enough to cause a neighbor to try and stop it’s construction. And there was the “mini-barn”. After conceding that he did, indeed, have too much stuff, he declared that he needed more room to enable more efficient sorting. The mini-barn was full within a year. Finally, there was the storage unit business that Jack owned. He rented out 10’x10’, 10’x20’, and outdoor storage. At one time, he had two 10’x20’ and at least one 10’x10’, with some old autos and scrap metal outside.

With Jack’s passing, truly goes an end of an era.