MAINE ANTIQUE DIGEST - Antique City Fun Fair

- SHOW Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
“Antique City” Fun Fair
by Karl H. Pass
I
The Fun Fair is the only show that German dealer Uwe Heintze does in
the U.S. He specializes in German antique toys and trains dating from
1880 to 1955. This circa 1910 German clockwork papier-mâché lion
family was made for a department store in New York. It was $4900.
Dealers Mary Ann and Ossie Davis of Allentown, Pennsylvania, had this
19-piece Lineol prewar marching band marked $200.
n its second year at Lehigh University’s Rauch cards for follow-up, since no show map or broFieldhouse in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the chure was printed. Business was spread out; many
“Antique City” Fun Fair run by Norman Schaut of the toy specialists reported having decent shows.
had huge crowds during the Saturday and Sunday Everyone was surprised by the gate, and most were
event held April 13 and 14. There was an 8 a.m. pleased with the level of business.
preview for early buyers, but the
A wide variety of material was
vast number of attendees came at
showcased by the 246 exhibitors.
10 a.m. for the regular opening. “To say we had a Billed as Pennsylvania’s largAt noon the line still wrapped surge
in atten- est indoor show, the Fun Fair is
around the mammoth fieldhouse dance would be an likely the most diverse as well. It
building.
was strong in toys and advertisComplaints from exhibiting understatement.” ing, with an array of tin and castdealers and attendees were heard
iron material. A number of the
because the facility had only one ticket window. dealers are longtime collectors. There was a broad
“We started with one ticket seller, and that was selection of jewelry, dolls, silver, games, books,
our fault, but we added a second ticket seller due prints, posters, comics, sports cards, purses, vinto the crowds, which were beyond expectation,” tage clothing, Disney collectibles, and many types
explained Norm Schaut following the show.
of glass and ceramics from various time periods.
Preselling tickets to those in line could have There were entire booths dedicated to Art Deco,
helped, but the staff was spread thin. Promoter games, art glass, lighting, postcards, posters, black
Schaut did have a new express entry system for Americana, and holiday antiques and collectibles.
advance ticket buyers to preorder through his Web
According to Schaut, a convention center that is
site or his toll-free number. The system works and in the planning stages for construction in Bethleis a nice service, and many people took advantage hem near the Sands Casino Resort could possibly
of it, but not enough to alleviate the long line. serve as a future show location.
“Close to a thousand people did use the new entry
“I’ve had the largest number of reregistered
system and walked right in,” said Schaut. “To say dealers since we were in Atlantic City. I think that
we had a surge in attendance would be an under- is important,” said Schaut.
statement. The increase in attendance over last
The Fun Fair is slated to return to the Rauch
year was 63.3%. That is a surge beyond imagina- Fieldhouse at Lehigh University on April 12 and
tion. They ran out of food and beverages. The line 13, 2014. Contact Norman Schaut at Seaview
reached an eighth of a mile. We tried our best.”
Show Management Inc., Ocean City, New Jersey,
Once inside the building, customers had to rely at (800) 822-4119; Web site (www.antiquecity
on their memory and individual dealers’ business show.com).
Paul McCobb of Lake Placid, New York, specializes in lighting from
roughly 1850 to 1930.
Don and Betty Jo Heim of Jersey Shore,
Pennsylvania, asked $3900 for the Ingersoll
Watches sign.
David Haversat Magic, Oxford, Connecticut, priced the
framed print depicting Harry Houdini’s well-known
“milk can escape” at $50,000. There are four known copies of this one-sheet lithograph dated 1908. The Tower
handcuffs used by Houdini were $4000. Tower was the
manufacturer. Houdini died in 1926.
Lynda and Bob Yingling of Abbottstown,
Pennsylvania, priced the black doll at $125.
The top drum was $95, and the one underneath, $295. The Fleck’s egg dyes advertising
book was $115.
30-C Maine Antique Digest, July 2013
Walter Donahue of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, asked $195 for the
Philadelphia lantern and $75 for the wooden-handled basket.
Dennis Moyer of The Pennsylvania Farmer, Zionsville, Pennsylvania, offered this penny rug reading “Home Sweet Home” for $275.
- SHOW -
This Ideal Fire Department horse-drawn ladder wagon was $1800 from Russ Harrington
Antique Toys, Baltimore, Maryland.
Collector and author Loy Harrell Jr. of Hawks
Nest Antiques and Decoys, Hinesburg, Vermont,
specializes in carvings, especially decoys. This redtailed hawk by present-day carver Frank Finney
was $5800.
This Marv-Art replica of a Coca-Cola
dispenser was made around 1970. It is
missing its spigot. Roughly 250 were
made, according to Gus Brown of WOW
Antiques, Piney Flats, Tennessee. Brown
specializes in country store material
including old soda-related items such
as syrup dispensers. The original of
this dispenser was made in 1896 by the
Wheeling Pottery Company, Wheeling,
West Virginia.
These candy box labels were ready
for framing and were $75 from Susan
Berman.
Gus and Lynne Constantine of Hudson Falls,
New York, sell a range of art and antiques
from various periods. Gus makes these robots
and planes from found objects such as scrap
aluminum, period Bakelite, and various mechanisms. They are priced from $200 to $2000.
Gus’s robots have been featured in Bergdorf
Goodman Christmas catalogs, according to
Constantine.
Jim Palacios and Liz Gears of Flemington, New
Jersey, asked $150 for this early Henry Mercer
ceramic tile from the Moravian Pottery and Tile
Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is from
the 1905 “Nuremberg” series. There are ten in
this series, and this particular tile, which Palacios framed in a wooden box, is known as “The
Devil of Nuremberg.” Gears stated that it was a
good show and reported sales in unusual country store material and advertising. Palacios, who
was sharing the booth with Gears, specializes in
Mission-style antiques and also had a good show.
George Hahn of Doorway to Glass,
Pottsville,
Pennsylvania,
asked
$1450 for this Quezal compote bowl.
These two prints from a 1923 German
calendar were $75 each from Susan
Berman.
Marsh & Ackerman, Swansea, Massachusetts, priced this circa 1940
Georg Jensen sterling silver fourpiece coffee set at $11,000.
The World War I era Mission-style
cantilever lamp with excellent joinery and original amber slag glass
was $650 from Jim Palacios. It sold.
Dave Irons of Northampton, Pennsylvania,
asked $32,000 for the elaborate tramp art desk
dated 1897.
The Philip Rauch Fieldhouse is located on the
Lehigh University campus near the athletic
fields and facilities. It is outside the town of
Bethlehem and convenient to major interstate
highways. The university is roughly 80 miles
outside of New York City and 70 miles outside
of Philadelphia.
The Mt.
Washington Glass
Royal
Flemish
lamp was
$1000
from
George
Hahn.
These three circa 1930 French hand-painted fabric
designs were $85 each from Allentown, Pennsylvania,
dealer Susan Berman, who specializes in Art Deco
material. In 2002 the Schiffer Publishing Company
printed her book Affordable Art Deco Graphics.
The crowd was still wrapped around the large
fieldhouse building two hours after the show
opened.
Maine Antique Digest, July 2013 31-C