Background
Joseph Ades, the youngest of seven children, was born in Manchester, England, where his father worked in the textile industry.
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Joe Ades
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Career
Leaving school at 15, he became an office boy before becoming intrigued by the local markets that would spring-up in the World World War II–devastated landscapes of Northern England. He started out hawking comic books before selling linens, textiles, jewelry, and toys directly on the streets. The family moved to in 1969 as Ten Pound Poms, where they settled in Sydney, where Ades tried to set up markets in the parking lots of drive-in movies.
Eventually he sold goods at street fairs off of the back of a large truck.
Ades modeled himself on what Mayhew called "the patterers," most of whom liked to ape the dress and mannerisms of the gentleman. From 1993 onward, Ades sold $5 Swiss-made metal potato peelers.
Known for his engaging sales patter and demonstrations in places such as Union Square Greenmarket, while wearing $1,000 Chester Barrie suits and shirts from Turnbull & Asser. Ades never bothered with a license, meaning that he was often moved on by the Police Department.
His pitches and lifestyle eventually meant that he became so famous that he was the subject of a Vanity Fair article series.
Ades died on February 1, 2009, only a day after being informed that he had been granted American citizenship.
