THE SYNDICATE WAS FIRST LOCATED AT 1240 WEST BROADWAY, VANCOUVER BC, CANADA
Many Vancouverites remember a mysterious little shop on Broadway that stood for years, packed full of odds and ends and never open. Czink passed by the location regularly, and one day noticed a note on the window offering the shop and its contents for sale. Since he had been so curious about what was inside, he tracked down the owner, and shortly thereafter, he bought the shop and named it The Syndicate. He painted Primus In Urbe (“first in the city”) on the new sign, as he was the first among many to go through the treasures that the shop contained. The shop out-grew this location and moved in 1990.
THE NEW 1500 SQUARE FOOT SHOP OPENED AT 438 WEST PENDER IN 1990
The Syndicate quickly became well known for specializing in the most eclectic memorabilia, which included the rarest collectable toys, unusual vintage house wares from the 1920s to the 1970s, pin-up art, old-school advertising, film and television props, antique curiosities and fine quality antique military artefacts.
IN THE CENTRE OF DOWNTOWN - THE SYNDICATE AT 438 WEST PENDER STREET
Just before the advent of online trading, The Syndicate sat in the heart of Vancouver’s downtown core – a district full of antique shops and antiquarian book sellers. Locals, searching for treasures, would spend their weekends scouring this neighbourhood, which today, no longer caters to collectors and antique hunters.
VINTAGE AND ICONIC CANADIANA WAS A BIG PART OF THE SYNDICATE
International customers snapped up anything to do with our famous Mountie. From early North-West Mounted Police uniforms to vintage RCMP cookie tins – The Syndicate even supplied the film industry with “red serge.”
THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO! FANDERSON IS GO!
Where else could you snap up a complete set of 1960s 12” Thunderbirds figures? These were prizes given away at Vancouver’s PNE during that decade – a quantity of them was found in the basement of an old toy wholesaler.
NORTH AMERICA’S MEMORY LANE IS PEPPERED WITH ADVERTISING
The stranger the better – The Syndicate dealt in popular 20th Century advertising and promotional memorabilia, however, odd and obscure cultural icons, long defunct, were a whimsical favourite of owner Peter Czink.
HOT SHOPPING: VANCOUVER
Playboy magazine gave The Syndicate a nod in May of 1992, reviewing "a collection of hip new shops in Vancouver, British Columbia." They recommend their readers catch up on their kitsch with items such as vintage lighters and sixties-era GI Joe dolls.