BEYOND PORTOBELLO ROAD

• Published in: The New York times
• Main Authors: Netherlands., Donald Goddard, DONALD GODDARD, a writer who lives in London, has completed a book about the Amsterdam diamond market and the Nazi invasion of the
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, N.Y New York Times Company 23.06.1985
• Edition: Late Edition (East Coast)
• Subjects: FLEA MARKETS; GODDARD, DONALD; TRAVEL AND VACATIONS; LONDON (ENG); GREAT BRITAIN
• ISSN: 0362-4331

On the other hand, one man's playground is another man's minefield. There are few better places than a flea market for unscrupulous traders to unload their reproduction brasswares, cold-cast resin ''ivories,'' brand-new ''Art Nouveau'' silver photo frames or authentic plastic scrimshaws, so caution is advisable. In general, the best plan is to stick to the better known markets and arrive early, when the dealers do their shopping. There is not much junk or repro about in Bermondsey, for instance, at 5 o'clock on Friday mornings, but by 9 o'clock, when the tourists have had their breakfast and start arriving by the busload, ''the trade'' has long gone with the day's bargains and probably most of what was worth having. Strung out along the length of Portobello Road, with a considerable stretch of fruit and vegetables to negotiate between the better quality goods at the Notting Hill Gate end and the junk stalls of the Ladbroke Grove end, the market today is a slightly uneasy blend of full-time dealers, mainly in furniture, operating five or six days a week from proper shops; part-time dealers in ''smalls'' trading on a Saturdays-only basis in arcade shops, kiosks and street stalls, and vendors of funny hats.