Notting Hill is the neighborhood and the street is Portobello Road, a narrow old London street hardly wide enough for two cars to pass. It is historic, as most of the city is, and lined with charming old buildings. It is a place where people live, and as city life goes, it is quiet and easy to get about, with bus stops on the corners and subway entrances at the ends.

For 52 Saturdays, however, Portobello Road is the self-proclaimed “world’s largest antiques market” and, without doubt, among the best known. For only three short blocks, the buildings become antiques stalls and the street parking fills with vendors’ carts, tents and canopies. Dealers set up with valuable jewelry and simple costume jewelry; there is Imperial Russian silver, plate and old Sheffield plate hollowware and flatware; Eighteenth Century Staffordshire and Twentieth Century Fiesta ware; furniture, textiles, antique Persian rugs and art. Hundreds of exhibiting dealers are there with their collections; exactly how many is anyone’s guess, especially when counting those who share spaces.

There are so many customers crowding the street, it is comparable to subways in rush hour. Movement is slow, and often during the middle of the day, a short wait is required to get close enough to a particular table or display to carefully inspect the dealer’s merchandise.

On a recent Saturday, the activity began at 4:30 am when only the hardiest dealers had arrived. They knew where the coffee was ready, for at that time of the morning, only coffee would do; tea was definitely not strong enough. Some people were unloading; others were just opening some buildings for their stall holders. A few were discussing their acquisitions since the last time they had met one another. It was a slow and easy start to the early predawn of the day.

Setting up early, lost in the thought of the morning.

At 7 am, it was still dark at ground level and the sky hadthe early morning blue with a few stars still twinkling. Nobodynoticed, however, for by then they were into the morning rush tomake their nine-hour sale ready for the public. Carts wereeverywhere, porters carried boxes, and “‘scuse me, mum” or “comin’through, chaps” were the passwords for the time. And there were theearly refrains of “What’s ma best far it?” and “Take 5 quid?”

The market had begun.

There were the two ladies from a nearby neighborhood who had pushed wheeled baskets from home with their small antiques and display cabinets. Set out on rental tables, Diane Norman and Dawn Kaunat were offering silver for the dining table, heirloom jewelry and a large selection of miniature paintings on ivory. Of particular note was a painting of a soldier, circa 1780, with a small cutting of his hair in the frame and with a price of 125 “quid” – slang for pound, which when converted came to $215.

Just down the way a bit was Bridget Burridge, also of London, with her extensive collection of doll house furniture. Trude Weaver has a shop on the street open most days but not on Sunday. In the window was a child’s horse carved from pine with front wheels controlled by the turning head. Weaver said it was Swedish, that was where it was purchased, and the asking price was $600.

The many buildings on the street were at one time used for something other than antiques stalls, but today many of them are used only on Saturdays, with dealers coming in the morning for the setup and sale. The Good Fairy is one such site. Dealers rent a space about 5 feet wide and deep, separated from the next with a wire mesh and containing a table that the dealer ducks under in order to enter. Some do not even stand in the back, choosing instead to fill the space with tables and shelves for their collections. Dealers in this shop offered jewelry – both antique and estate – vintage clothing; silver hollowware and flatware; and some had small boxes, including tea caddies and humidors, even vintage sporting gear and clocks.

Dolphin Arcade offers larger spaces to its dealers, but these are still not very large. Exhibits were spacious enough to have a variety of larger antiques, including art on the walls and a small amount of furniture. These stalls were for some fairly high-value antiques, including brass and early porcelain.

The Admiral Vernon Art Market.

In the Admiral Vernon Antiques Center, spaces seemed to bethe largest. Here dealers were on two floors and spread out inspaces that were as big as 6 by 10 feet. Peter Harris, a clockdealer had at least 100 early clocks in his lower floor stall,including two long case clocks. One from Birmingham was made by C.Nicholas in 1805 and priced at $14,600 and the other was by BrianLoomes for $5,000.

Panton Gallery was a shop independent of the others, with three small rooms filled with Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century dishes, Chinese export, English porcelain, French faïence and even some pottery from the Mediterranean.

One couple immigrated to London 35 years ago from Greece with a 90-day visa; they did so well and liked the work, they became permanent residents and dealers. Their specialty is silver and they were making deals on this particular Saturday too quickly to carefully spell their name.

Portobello is not a show; it is a happening that takes place every Saturday, even though there are many shops on the street open during the week. Dealers and shopkeepers have formed an association with a mission to keep the dealings reputable and fun. Their guide can be obtained at the shops. For more information about the activities and dealers, www.portobelloroad.co.uk.