David C. Brown selling 40 years of treasures he has collected

David C. Brown, who has been known around Belleville for 42 years as a funeral director, now is becoming known for being willing to sell his collection of treasures in private sales.
Brown has taken over the building he owns that used to hold his wife Martha’s gift shop at 668 E. Huron River Drive in Belleville. He said he has been collecting things for 30 to 40 years and has decided he doesn’t want Martha to have to deal with it all after he dies.
But, he isn’t ill and hopefully has a long time to live so he is having fun presiding over sales of his treasures.
He said Dave’s Treasure Trove has about 200 guns, which are hunting shotguns and rifles, no automatic weapons. There also are 30 old military weapons.
He said volunteers helped him unpack all the guns, clean and oil them, and look them up to get the proper information on each because he wanted to be fair. Some had to go to a gunsmith to get re-glued.
“It’s odd I collect guns and own a funeral home,” Brown mused. “But, I don’t shoot people.”
He has a collection of Zippo lighters and marble knives. Hunting and fishing equipment is displayed, along with bows and other archery equipment.
And, there’s a lot of Ducks Unlimited items, which Brown said are very popular.
There are what he calls “garage tools,” electric drill, hand tools, a little of this and a little of that, but pretty much “guy stuff.”
Brown said ladies come in and tell him they hunt, so the stuff is not just for guys.
There are sports memorabilia, cameras, clocks, telescopes, hunting blinds, lots of fishing stuff, Lionel trains.
He said when he and Martha used to go to Florida, he would go to flea markets. He has a large number of door knobs from one of those ventures.
It took more than a year for everything to be readied for display.
Tracey York, who had worked at Martha’s gift shop, stayed on with the Browns when the gift shop closed. She helped David unpack, clean, and price his treasures.
Brown said the hauling and unpacking of boxes was kind of fun.
He said seeing the stuff he bought years ago was great.
“I couldn’t enjoy it then because I was working,” he said, with York adding that she had to keep reminding him to stay on task as he admired and handled his treasures.
He said his friend Larry Gallo asked to bring his sports treasures to sell, so a corner of the shop carries Gallos’ extensive collection, which includes an autographed baseball collection.
Brown said since these are private sales, he accepts only cash or checks, no plastic. And, he offers gift certificates.
The shop normally is open from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. If you want to make sure they are there, call (734) 699-4438.