"I bumped into him in Kensington antique market, " she says.

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In those days, the great shopping highlight was haggling at the old antique market at Panjiayuan or browsing the stalls on Yabao Road, jostling with Russian traders who came south on the Trans-Siberian Express to buy clothes by the bulk load.

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And the area as a whole still relishes its ethnic, multicultural, bohemian, seedy-chic image a hotch potch of quaint antique shops, market stalls and vibrant street life.

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Latterly, Mr Cummings moved into the market for antique weapons.

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Despite the general squishiness of its central character, the book abounds with colorful personalities in supporting roles, such as W. Graham Arader III, the bombastic map dealer who pretty much created today's hot market in antique-map collecting.

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They can also plan private yacht or helicopter rides along the Seine River, book Paris market or antique tours or for 75 euros an hour will run errands and purchase gifts for those guests who'd rather spend their Parisian hours being tourists.

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It's a mix of odds and ends a high-end flea market with books piled on antique-looking tables, retro windup toys and hand-carved wooden kitchen utensils from Japan.

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In the early 1980s, when Mattis and Hochberg first began their acquisitions, the market for fine-art photographs (as opposed to old photos you might find in an antique store) was barely a decade old.

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