Indianapolis Antique Advertising Show

by Don Johnson

Across 38th Street from the main entrance to the Indiana State Fairgrounds, part of a building sits in a rubble pile of smashed concrete, bent steel, and broken glass. The crane and wrecking ball have come to rest for the weekend, standing silently at the edge of the gaping wound in the half-demolished building. There's not a trace of the Hardee's that once sat next door. Now the closest neighbor is an empty office building, its undecorated windows fixed in a blank stare.

A large wooden sign near the sidewalk paints a picture of the new building to be erected there, a round barn that will become an extension of the fairgrounds. The crane, rubble, and empty office complex are reminders that, in today's age, anything deemed not useful is quickly cast aside.

It's the landfill mentality of our affluent society that makes the Indianapolis Antique Advertising Show so amazing. Walk along the aisles of the show, and you're surprised not that the signs, trays, and store displays are in such excellent condition, but that they have survived at all.

The spring edition of this event was held on March 21-22 in the fairground's South Pavilion, roughly a stone's throw from the demolition site across the street. Had the shattered building been a general store, only then would the irony have been greater.

Maybe it's the need to reach into the past and pull out a reminder of some faraway day that makes antique advertising so attractive to collectors. Possibly it's the desire to relive a time of nickel soda pops and penny candy, when cowboy heroes were pictured on bread wrappers, and all seemed right with the world.

Whatever the reason, people can't get enough of those good old days. According to Mary Kokles, who promotes the show with her husband, Kim, the antique advertising market has been healthy from top to bottom since late 1996. "It seems like every collecting field is getting stronger," she said.

Taking a brief break in a wooden folding chair at the entrance to one of her dealers' booths, Kokles verbalizes the mental list running through her head: soda pop is strong; apothecary; farm implement signs dealers are doing well; gas and oil is good; and there's more activity in beer. "I can't think of anything that's slacking off," she said with a shrug of her shoulders, then flagged down two passing dealers to ask their opinions. They agreed, business is good all around.

Kokles credits the strong economy, suggesting that collectors are better off today than in years past. People have the extra income to put into things that do little more than provide some feel-good quality for their owners.

For the most part, that's about all antique advertising can do, unless it's being purchased solely as an investment, which is seldom the case. A Victorian paneled walnut desk for the den or a Windsor comb-back armchair for the kitchen are both utilitarian objects. They are bought with a purpose in mind, as a place to work on the family budget or as an extra seat for holiday dinners. The same can't be said for a tin-lithographed brewing company sign or a Coca-Cola tray, which, like most collectibles, serve as little more than a way to spruce up the appearance of a room.

At the March installment of the ad show, 117 dealers brought along the usual assortment of advertising, country store, and Americana items in eye-popping condition. The variety ranged from an early Ever-Ready Safety Razor clock at $3000 from Bear Trap Antiques to a John Hauck Brewing Co. lithographed tin oval beer sign at $5500 from Tom and Vic Hug. Four-figure prices are commonplace at this show, and five-figure prices aren't unheard of. Yet, even those collectibles at the bottom of the market, a $10 spice tin or a $100 tip tray, can still be found here. And more times than not, both will be in like-new condition.

Advertising isn't the only thing that brings people through the door at $5 a head. The ad show continues to offer an interesting mix of Americana, everything from Little Orphan Annie radio premiums to circus sideshow banners. It's here that trends can often be spotted in their infancy. Several years ago a growing number of dealers were carrying souvenir china. Early this year Collector Books published Collector's Guide to Souvenir China: Keepsakes of a Golden Era by Laurence W. Williams.

Peter Sidlow believes he's running ahead of the crowd in offering a selection of road maps. One entire end of his booth was dedicated to the paper giveaways, which were first printed about 1910. Sidlow notes, however, the real push for road maps came in 1914 with Gulf. Twenty dollars will still buy a road map or two from Sidlow, but nothing that will have a collector bragging. "You can't buy a good map today for less than a hundred bucks," he said.

Graphics and age, which are ultimately linked, largely determine the value of vintage road maps. An example from an obscure oil company can also bring a top asking price. Among the best maps offered by Sidlow was a 1928 Texaco map at $350.

Another area of paper ephemera with a strong presence at the March show involved patent designs. Roger Jones offered hundreds of original lithographs from the Congressional Seal Set of Patent Designs. According to Jones, the U.S. Patent Office relied on patent designs rather than models for evaluating new inventions beginning in the early 1870's. All the patents approved in 1871 were published in a limited set of not more than 50 copies the following year. Jones believes the set he purchased from Ohio University is the only one in public hands.

Although the set originally contained about 6200 patents, Jones purchased it in order to obtain two desirable designs: the second and third cast-iron mechanical banks to be patented in the United States. The earlier of the two was John Hall's Race Course Toy Bank; that lithograph was tagged $6500. The design for James Fallows's Improvement in Toy Toads was priced at $5000.

Most of the lithographs, however, are modestly priced. What's more, they're intriguing for the contraptions they represent. Where else can a person find a patent drawing for J.W.H. Doubler's swivel rocking chair ($15) or A.S. Pennington's improvement in combined pocket knife and envelope opener ($25)?

Just for the record, what was the most popular invention of the early 1870's? Jones estimates that about 20% of the patents dealt with washing machines. Doesn't that just figure! More than 120 years ago, inventors were already thinking of ways to promote cleaner, brighter clothes. How appropriate for an advertising show.

That's the thing about this show; you never know what will surface here. Several areas that received little attention in the past made a stronger showing across the floor. Among them were stonewares and panoramic photographs.

Stonewares and pottery have never been big items at the ad show. Although dealers have featured a number of pieces of folk art over the years, much of the folk pottery has been limited to items like the Albany slip frog mug with a scratched verse about an early Cincinnati settler, offered by the Kokleses. Traditional cobalt-decorated stoneware with a folkish flare just never made a dent in the show, and it still doesn't.

Noticeable on the floor in March were more advertising-related pieces, ranging from a Wisconsin creamware beater jar to a one-gallon Louisville scratch jug. There were also more miniature jugs promoting liquor, vinegar, and retailers.

Early photos can usually be found at the show on a hit-and-miss basis, though no one specializes solely in photography. Tony Bussineau usually has at least one early major-league baseball team photo in his booth of professional sports memorabilia and advertising. But more dealers now seem to be grabbing on to good yard-long photos when they can find them. Among the variety spread across the floor was a 1954 team photo of the New York Giants and an early picture of the Mid Texas Refining Co., showing a man standing beside a truck in front of the facility.

It's amazing what has survived over the years. Anyone who stepped out the side doors of the South Pavilion and looked across the street would have to think the same, seeing the wrecking crane sitting motionless until the new work week.

The Indianapolis Antique Advertising Show remains the best event of its type anywhere. Held three times a year, the show returns to the Indiana State Fairgrounds on June 20-21 and September 26-27. For more information, phone Kim and Mary Kokles at (972) 240-1987.