MR SMILES (Glenn MacDonald) ESTATE AUCTION.
Tuesday, 7 - Monday, 13 March 2023

Mr Glenn Smiles: THE KING OF CURIOS. 470 lot auction online soon. Toys, tins, artefacts, Clarice mask, movie & magician posters & all manner of curios. Mr Smiles, King of Curios store opened to the curious in 1975. Glenn’s shop was one of the first off-beat businesses to pioneer the top end of Cuba Street. With its crazy maze mirror, a 1946 Wurlitzer jukebox, an early peep show machine showing what the butler saw, movie posters and shelves filled with tins, dolls, bottles, toys, badges, tiles, and early cameras. If you were looking for something that couldn’t be found anywhere else then Mr Smiles was the place to go. Ever creative, Glenn aimed to capture people’s imagination, always thinking about placement of objects; where they were most visually appealing, how they enhanced their neighbouring objects while leading the eye to the next cool item. He wanted people to see items from a new perspective - one that had not been seen before. Glenn was always ahead of his time. He had a particular passion for collecting decorative advertising, whether it be tin containers, antique bottles, movie posters or anything unusual that caught his eye. He leased props to film production companies, photographers, theatre groups, advertising agencies and stores. Glenn also had a background in movies with his first job as a dispatch clerk for 20th Century Fox films in Wellington. He then worked as a projectionist for the NZ film Censors Office. During the swinging 60’s of USA & Canada Glenn owned and operated several businesses - Keith of London -an avant-garde unisex beauty salon and clothes boutique. Wanting to pay tribute to his friend, Glen Hooker came up with an idea to celebrate the creativity and unique vision of Mr Glenn Smiles by creating a magical installation for those who remembered the store at Mr Smiles former emporium - 288 Cuba Street Wellington. Kiwi Art House Gallery has kindly allowed use of the front window for the installation, which is available to view from now until 18th March. This coincides with an Online Auction of some of Glenn’s collection at Cordy’s Auction House in Auckland, Thursday 9 -13th March. All enquiries email info@cordys.co.nz or phone (09) 5231049. If you have a question just ask. ALL PAYMENTS TO BE ONLINE ONLY AND COLLECTIONS BY APPOINTMENT. A buyer's premium applies to all Cordy's auctions of 17% + GST = 19.55% this is to be paid on top of any successful bid.