By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A TROVE of Bahamian history — the first public sale of private antiques from a single Bahamian home — will be auctioned next month at the Baker Estate, a preserved 1920s Colonial residence on William and Shirley Streets once owned by pioneering merchant Anthony Baker.

Set for December 5 and 6, the sale will feature coins dating back more than a century, first-edition Bahamian stamps, antique tools, vintage furniture, fine chinaware, collectible books, vinyl records, and rare pieces salvaged from the historic Windsor Hotel.

The event celebrates the legacy of Baker, a Lebanese immigrant who arrived in The Bahamas in the late 1800s and founded one of Nassau’s first great retail houses, A. Baker & Sons. Established in 1894, the store began as a small dry-goods shop on Bay Street and grew into a cornerstone of commerce, importing fine English goods and revolutionising local trade with large display showcases that drew crowds to Bay Street’s windows.

Born Thannous Michael Saadi in Hasroun, Mount Lebanon, in 1873, Baker left home at eleven to work in a soap factory in Egypt, then travelled across 45 American states and several Caribbean islands before landing in New Providence in the 1890s. Enchanted by the islands, he stayed, building a business empire and forging close ties with communities in Andros and Eleuthera, where residents affectionately called him “countryman.”

Organisers say the auction doubles as a heritage exhibition, offering a window into how one man’s determination helped shape Bahamian commerce and domestic life.

Calvin Dean, CEO of the Bahamas Liquidation and Auction Centre, said the Baker Estate auction will be the first public sale of private antiques from a single Bahamian home. “This estate — we have 1920 telephones, 1940s and 1950s SM radios, hundreds of albums from the 1930s straight up to the 1980s, actual furniture from the Windsor Hotel that was built in the 1940s on Bay Street, and a lot of handmade mahogany furniture from the 1950s and 60s,” Mr Dean said. “We have coins as early as 1843 and first-edition stamps from the 1930s, so all antique collectors, coin collectors, and stamp enthusiasts are invited.”

He said many of the pieces carry personal ties to Bahamian history, including handcrafted works by a former Member of Parliament who died in the 1960s. “We even have scrapbooks from the actual newspapers back then, starting from the 1930s,” he said, adding that more heritage auctions are planned.

A private viewing and early-bidding session will be held on December 5 from 1 to 5pm for registered guests at a $50 entry fee, followed by a public auction on December 6 from 10am to 5pm. The event will be entirely cashless, with card payments only and next-day delivery available for larger pieces. A digital catalogue will be available to registrants and accessible to the public via QR code.