St. Charles, Illinois

The Antique-Collectible Toy & Doll World Show

by Danielle Arnet

Three times a year, the booming Chicago suburb of St. Charles, Illinois, becomes the center of the toy world. The why is a no-brainer.

The place becomes a mecca for kids of all ages because there is something fun for everyone when the giant Antique-Collectible Toy & Doll World Show with 600 to over 1000 dealers sets up in multiple buildings at the Kane County Fairgrounds. In the 27 years since it started, show Sundays have become a national and international draw. Popularly known as the Chicago toy and doll show, the event was scheduled this year for April, June, and October.

The June 25th version saw more avid young collectors dragging parents up and down aisles than I've seen at a collecting show in a long while. The kids were savvy, and they knew what they wanted. By all indications, the future of collectible toys looks good; the next generation of collectors is certainly out there.

Twenty-seven years ago, when Valerie and Dale Kelly, Diana Tabin, and Jack Regan started the event, the show amounted to one building with about 100 dealers. Now it spills into seven buildings and six long open-sided covered sheds, optimistically called pavilions. The doll dealers, who prefer cover, are housed in three enclosed buildings, and an air-conditioned main building houses antique toys.

Though represented, truly antique toys are in the minority. Ruling the day are astounding numbers of pedal cars and character toys. There's so much small stuff at this show, one has to be sharp not to miss McDonald's and Cracker Jack toys, marbles, tiny windups, and cap guns. Of course there are PEZ dispensers, Beanie Babies, banks, and space toys. You name it, it's there. We even spotted Maine auctioneer Randy Inman set up with a booth showing his sales.

According to Tabin, the show hasn't lost steam in recent years. "We're as big as we've ever been, with preregistered dealers," she told us. "Very few just show up on the day of the show." The larger spring and fall shows log dealers from 40 states and 20 foreign countries. To our eye, the majority of dealers at the June show hailed from the Midwest.

Come summer, the lack of air conditioning takes a toll. June's show was down to about 600 sellers. Still, it amounts to a powerful lot of merchandise to slog through on a hot midwestern summer day.

The one cloud in Tabin's sky on June 25 was the "ITCA Toy Road Show" put on by the International Toy Collectors Association (ITCA). Shaking her head, Tabin told us, "They make it a point to set up whenever we have a show. That is not right." As profiled by David Hewett in a July 1999 article in this publication, ITCA uses an Antiques Roadshow format to appraise and buy toys brought in by the public. Some say the ITCA buys toys at way under market prices.

Meanwhile, few at the toy show seemed to mind, or note, the heat or the ITCA. A general good mood was the order of the day. Acknowledging the numbers of enthusiastic kids looking and buying, Tabin joked, "Don't think those kids are going home and banging toys around! They're saving boxes too."

The next Chicago toy and doll show is October 29. Next year's dates are April 22, June 24, and October 28, 2001. For more information, call (847) 526-1645, or check the Web site (www.chicagotoyshow.com).