All-American Show Just for the Collector
They are going to fill the Glendale Civic Auditorium with odd, old objects this weekend--dolls, teddy bears, tin signs and cash registers, ancient advertisements, store fixtures, games and carrousel animals.
Such items usually end up in the junk yard, but, as any collector will tell you, relative scarcity is what makes collectibles. And both collectors and collectibles will be in abundance at the All-American Collector’s Show from noon to 7 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in the 40,000-square-foot hall.
A $4 admission permits access to the exhibition, which is generally regarded as one of the best in the nation because of its range in antique toys, dolls and advertising--including old signs, store fixtures and packaging displays. Some of this year’s 245 exhibitors come from as far as England, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Japan. In recent years spectators have included singer Michael Jackson, actors Jessica Lange and Jonathan Winters.
Once inside the auditorium, spectators can be found examining rare dolls, which may sell for up to $30,000 or an unusual mechanical bank with a price tag of $25,000. At the other end of the scale, a recent political button or a vintage Oxydol soap box in good condition could go for only $5, said Toluca Lake collector Jeff Dukow, one of the show’s organizers. Prices are posted but some bartering takes place.
Collectors prowl the two-story auditorium in large numbers, Dukow said, and long, fast-moving lines are usually in evidence through much of the afternoon on Saturday. “It’s a madhouse,” he said. “We actually start selling tickets an hour before the show opens. We have two sellers and it takes until about 3 p.m. before the line subsides.”
‘Highly Competitive’
“The serious collector wants to get there right when the show opens,” said Tauni Brustin, a Venice collector who is the show’s co-organizer. “They feel highly competitive that someone is going to be there and get the item that they want. It’s like going to a first-run movie where everybody wants to get in and see it first.
“At the opening it’s extremely crowded. The two parking lots are filled to capacity. I think if people are put off by difficult parking and large crowds but they’re interested in the show, they would do just as well to come Sunday,” she added.
Last year, one person especially concerned about avoiding the crowds was singer Jackson. Exhibitors said he received a special invitation to visit the show early and arrived in disguise.
One viewer said Jackson wore a large wig, a big mustache and a dark coat. “I remember thinking, ‘Boy, you sure see some weird outfits,’ ” said Keith Kaonis of San Diego, the publisher of Collectors’ Showcase magazine, who did not recognize the singer at first.
At a show a year and a half ago Kaonis also saw Jessica Lange. “She collects the same thing I do, Schoenhut circus toys,” he said. The 7-inch circus figures are made out of jointed wood and are usually hand-carved.
Show Expanded
When Dukow took over the event 11 years ago, it was a one-day show exhibiting 75 dealers for five hours. In the last decade the number of exhibitors has more than tripled and the show has expanded to two days. Fifty more dealers are on a waiting list to rent space, Dukow said.
“There’s an anticipation that builds because they have this show only twice a year,” said North Hollywood real estate developer Peter Sidlow, an avid collector of old jars, signs and tin cans. “People come from all over with new merchandise each time and that makes it good. In the East, they’ve killed the market by having shows every other week.” Sidlow said dealers can’t replenish their good merchandise that fast.
“I’m not looking for anything specific, but things you never heard of always seem to surface,” he said.
To reach the auditorium, take the 134 Freeway to Glendale Avenue and go north. Take Glendale Avenue, which merges into Verdugo Road, to Mountain Street and turn left. The auditorium is at the corner of Verdugo Road and Mountain Street. There is a large metered parking lot on the right and a free parking lot on the left.
