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There's a sign at the Frame House that says: 'If we don't have it, you don't need it.'
Chances are you don't need it, even if they do have it. But you may suddenly discover you want a lot of things you never even knew you liked.
A stuffed leopard, maybe? Or a 1913 Chinese bond certificate (£20)? Or a luncheon plate on which the faces of Roosevelt and Churchill are stamped - with the label "Champions of Democracy"?

No more Room
The Frame House on Lisgar Street was opened about a year ago because an Ottawa collector's collection grew too big for his own home.
It began as a quaint, crowded shop in which books, jewelry, stuffed animals, paintings and a candy counter vied for the attention of anyone who cared to browse.
But in July, 1974, burglars set the place afire. When the smoke and ashes were cleared away, a new start was made - under the direction of manager Barbara Maingot, who opened the doors again this week. The interior decorator had a few ideas of her own about that clutter - it gave way to a more sophisticated arrangement of items from around the world. The shop's owner, who wants to remain anonymous, is a federal public servant whose collection has been acquired over many years of travel.

Ms. Maingot looked the place over, "saw its unique possibilities" and went to work. Now one wall of the shop is filled with old books - Charles Dickens, G. A. Henty, Zane Grey; Indiscreet Letters from Peking, Health and Longevity, (so lengthy you need a long life to finish it.)
Glass and china are neatly arranged along another wall - crystal champagne glasses ($25 each); two mugs bearing the inscription Edward VIII, Crowned May 12, 1937 ($20 each) - someone at the china company, like many Britons of the day, obviously didn't believe the story appearing elsewhere in this paper.
But it's upstairs where Ms. Maingot has really gone to town- the stuffed lizards and monkeys she found there a few months ago have been replaced by paintings and posters, price range $15 to $1500.
Both originals and reproductions are available in the nostalgia room where the bright red walls are hung with Vogue posters, 1920s calendars, Red Cross appeal posters, sheet music for The Good Ship Lollipop, complete with picture of the smiling, curly-headed girl who is today the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana.
The Frame House is a place to browse, says the manager, "It's the kind of place people come back to... We want them to relax and enjoy, away from the rat race."
Shops of this kind add a little more joy - a joie de vivre to the city", in Ms. Maingot's view. "Ottawa is a lovely city - it has so much potential. But very few people are willing to gamble (on this kind of adventure)."

Ottawa Citizen Friday February 28, 1975.