By Mike Walsh
“Love, passion, and trust.”
That, according to auctioneer Peter Maresch, is the secret sauce to the company’s success as it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
It’s “the trust our customers give us,” which has seen three generations of Maresches build the Ontario-based company into Canada’s oldest philatelic auction business.
“One day a customer brought (into the office) two Canada 12-penny blacks for auction,” Peter recalls. “He was running late for an appointment and as fast as he handed them to me, he was heading out the door. He didn’t even have time to get the normal property receipt we hand out when consignors drop off their material.”
That is just one of many stories the third-generation Maresch thinks of as he reflects on the company’s 100-year history.
“There have been many great memories, from an early age of Dad bringing home large bags full of on-paper stamps to soak, dry, sort and bundle,” he says. “There’s visiting Dad at the Temperance (Street) office, the stamp conventions we were taken to at an early age, and coming home early from school to celebrate the 65th anniversary.”
Another fond memory, Peter adds, is “the 95th birthday party for my ‘Uncle Vinnie’” – philatelic patriarch Vincent Graves Greene.
Maresch joined the family business full-time at Capex 87 – the Canadian International Philatelic Exhibition held in Toronto. Held from June 13 to 21, it was the third time Canada hosted an international show. Capex 87 celebrated the 120th anniversary of Confederation and the centenary of the sponsoring organization, the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada.
“In 2004, my brother and I took over from my dad, Bill,” Peter explains. “In 2016, I bought my brother out and I became the sole owner, with my wife.”
The family business first took root when his grandfather, Dr. Richard A.R. Maresch, founded it on Feb. 28, 1924 in Vienna.
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