Evenings at Ritchies auction house used to be sparkling affairs. David Ritchie conducted the auctions himself and told stories about the history of various interesting pieces or the background of the notable sellers. Fascinating people were always in attendance. The financier and former Ontario lieutenant-governor Hal Jackman was a regular, along with his wife, Maruja, and his sister, the senator Nancy Ruth. I used to spot Fred Eaton inspecting old portraits. Such prominent businessmen as Murray Frum and Peter Munk would nod knowingly to one another across the aisles. Adrienne Clarkson was a frequent visitor, too, peering deep into the cases of antique jewellery, as was the bubbly interior designer and television host Sarah Richardson.

I usually sat next to Cynthia Findlay, a dealer of silver, porcelain and jewellery, and she would advise me what to buy. If I hesitated, she would turn to me, urge me to bid and say, “Stevie, when you die, don’t you want people to come to your sale and say, ‘My, didn’t she leave a lovely estate?’ ”

In October 2004, Ritchies sold the estate of John Russell, the dean of Canadian antiques dealers. He helped choose a wedding present for Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer from the government of Canada. Russell had advised me on the estate of my grandmother, and his kindness was something I never forgot. At the auction, I bought a small silver tray as a memento.

This past June, Ritchies held the major sale that would turn out to be its last. Some 800 lots were up for auction, including pieces from the estate of Hamilton Southam, the scion of the family that had owned most of Canada’s daily newspapers until they were sold to Conrad Black in 1996. Southam was also a journalist, diplomat and the founder of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. His historic house, in Rockcliffe Park, contained valuable furniture, porcelain and silver collected over a lifetime as a connoisseur. Roughly $35,000 worth of his objects went to Ritchies after his death.

I had no inkling that Ritchies was in any trouble. I placed successful bids on three small pieces. In the weeks that followed the auction, I started hearing rumours that people who had consigned their furniture and art wouldn’t be paid. Then, on July 29, the company’s president, Stephen Ranger, quit, alleging that Ritchies’ high-flying owner, Ira Hopmeyer, had borrowed $1.3 million from the company, putting it deep into debt. The biggest blow came when Sotheby’s, the prestigious international auction house that had partnered with Ritchies for seasonal art sales, announced it had lost faith in the company and terminated their relationship. A month later, Ritchies collapsed.

Ira Hopmeyer is a tall man with curly black hair; he’s pleasant but shy, and never seemed quite comfortable with the small talk of auction previews. Hopmeyer had grown up in Montreal and gone to McGill University. His father and grandfather had owned Continental Salvage in Toronto, a company that sold everything from industrial equipment to cases of canned goods out of an old building on Front Street near the St. Lawrence Market. Before buying Ritchies from David and Marlene Ritchie in 1994, Hopmeyer ran a small auction house specializing in contemporary art with a partner, Gerry Jennings.