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The Original Indy Antique Advertising Show

by Don Johnson

I'm not sure how to begin. It shouldn't be this hard. After all, I've covered The Original Indianapolis Antique Advertising Show for 15 years. I've bought at the show, made friends at the show, and watched as the show has changed owners twice. I've spent enough hours walking the aisles here that I should have earned a minor in antique advertising.

Maybe that's what makes this story so difficult—knowing what I know and forming opinions that solidify like concrete in my mind. At the September 22 and 23 show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, I walked away with one thought: something's different.

This isn't the show it used to be.

That isn't to say this is a bad show. It's not. It is still the best antique advertising show in the nation. Great things turn up here, but there's something different about the show these days.

Others disagree. "This is the best show they've had," said Illinois dealer Dave Hirsch, who politely interrupts my interview with Doug Moore, one of the show's new owners. Moore agrees that good things happen here, pointing across the aisle to a dealer who is having his best sales ever.

Still, in hushed tones around the floor, some dealers speak of another side of the fall show. One dealer simply described sales as "soft." Another seemed perturbed when questioned about the show an hour and a half after the gates opened. "Why?" he asked, his voice punctuated by irritation and sarcasm. "Is it over?"

Sixty minutes after the first wave of buyers surges into this show, in many ways it is over—at least the bulk of the buying is often done. Forget the fact that this show is a two-day event. Dealers who don't do well from the beginning usually don't do well at all. This typically isn't a show where you have time to debate whether to buy something exceptional, because the next guy to come along will gladly snatch away the item in your moment of hesitation.

This is a show where people run down the aisles to get to their favorite dealer. These days it seems that not as many people are lined up for that race. When I arrived an hour after the gates opened on Saturday morning, the crowd seemed sparse. Moore shrugged off any suggestion that the number of buyers had thinned or that the show had lost a bit of its polish.

"We feel the market is still pretty strong, and we're getting a lot of dealer response," he said. "Sales seem to be very good."

Those sales came from 110 dealers, down about 15 dealers from the same event a year ago. A number of no-shows were eastern dealers who decided not to make the journey to Indiana, some in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Even with a slightly scaled-back look, there were still good things here, from a $42,000 Dr. Pepper dispenser to a $2800 Spalding baseball sign. This show has always been known for bringing out the best advertising to be found anywhere in the nation. It also serves up a slice of Americana as juicy as a home-baked apple pie, including the likes of Disneyana and country store displays.

In this writer's humble opinion, the top end seemed a little less hearty this time around, while the items at the bottom of the market appeared frighteningly plentiful. In a show where it has always been a challenge to buy anything for less than $10, shoppers could pick and choose from several booths offering new old store stock—cheap stuff from nickel-and-dime stores.

At times the juxtaposition seemed wrong, exemplified by an $8500 Oliver Chilled Plow Works sign hanging over a table with Mr. T and Fall Guy air fresheners. Where was the consistency of quality? Has the current economic climate led dealers to sell whatever they can in order to make a dollar, without regard to caliber or merit?

One well-developed trend seen across the hall was the abundance of vintage photographs—cabinet cards, yard-longs, and mounted albumen photos. Some showed advertising on general store shelves, while others pictured pool halls and storefronts. Many were of a more nondescript nature. They were everywhere.

There also remains at this show a fair amount of other Americana, from vintage toys to carnival games to country store fixtures.

Despite changes to the marketplace, most dealers expressed optimism. "A show like this will keep successful as long as they keep it at this level," said Kentucky dealer Phil Perdue. Robert "Skip" Spong of Indiana concurred, saying, "I'm sure there's some caution in the air somewhere, but this show always draws the best merchandise and dealers."

The show's former owners, Kim and Mary Kokles of Garland, Texas, who sold the event in June to Vern and Sharron Atkins and Doug and Sandra Moore, also expressed optimism about the event's future. "We felt that the new owners, because they live in this area, could do things we couldn't," said Kim Kokles. He compared the show to an old car that needed a good tune-up. The Kokles attracted new dealers and improved the quality of the merchandise. When the show changed locations, moving across the Indiana State Fairgrounds to a nicer facility, the Kokles felt their job was finished. "This building was the final thing. Then we could turn over the keys to someone else," Kim said. "We gave them a good show, but they can make it better."

The Kokles remain as dealers at the show. "This is what I want to continue," Kim said. "Instead of a seventy-thousand-square-foot building, I want to be in charge of a ten-by-twenty-one-foot booth."

Like the Kokles, Doug Moore sees an advantage to the new owners practically living in the show's backyard. While the event's name was slightly abbreviated (it's now known as The Original Indy Antique Advertising Show) and a new logo was designed, the emphasis remains the same. "It's still limited to quality antique advertising, toys, paper, anything to do with antique advertising and the country store scene," he said.

Moore does admit, however, that it's not as easy to find good advertising as it used to be. "The good stuff gets bought up immediately and goes into collections," he said. Items are less likely to pass from dealer to dealer before a collector pulls them off the market. "Years ago you might see a piece at this show change hands five times. Now it changes hands once."

Maybe that's the difference. Maybe it's just that some of the good stuff got snapped up that first hour, or possibly even before the show began. Maybe I'm just wishing for times past, but I still can't help but think this isn't the show it used to be, even though it's still a show worth visiting.

Moore and his partners will bring a bit of intrigue to the event next year when they add a collectors' section to the June show. A carefully selected number of collectors and part-time dealers will be given a chance to sell at this market, which has traditionally been limited to full-time professional dealers. Who knows what kind of untapped merchandise will be offered then?

For more information on the show, held each March, June, and September, call A & M Promotions at (317) 877-1740.