"Antique City" Fun Fair
April 13th, 2013
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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 crowd was still wrapped around the large fieldhouse building two hours after the show opened.
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.
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.
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. |
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
In its second year at Lehigh University’s Rauch Fieldhouse in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the “Antique City” Fun Fair run by Norman Schaut had huge crowds during the Saturday and Sunday event held April 13 and 14. There was an 8 a.m. preview for early buyers, but the vast number of attendees came at 10 a.m. for the regular opening. At noon the line still wrapped around the mammoth fieldhouse building.
Complaints from exhibiting dealers and attendees were heard because the facility had only one ticket window. “We started with one ticket seller, and that was our fault, but we added a second ticket seller due to the crowds, which were beyond expectation,” explained Norm Schaut following the show.
Preselling tickets to those in line could have helped, but the staff was spread thin. Promoter Schaut did have a new express entry system for advance ticket buyers to preorder through his Web site or his toll-free number. The system works and is a nice service, and many people took advantage of it, but not enough to alleviate the long line. “Close to a thousand people did use the new entry system and walked right in,” said Schaut. “To say we had a surge in attendance would be an understatement. The increase in attendance over last year was 63.3%. That is a surge beyond imagination. They ran out of food and beverages. The line reached an eighth of a mile. We tried our best.”
Once inside the building, customers had to rely on their memory and individual dealers’ business cards for follow-up, since no show map or brochure was printed. Business was spread out; many of the toy specialists reported having decent shows. Everyone was surprised by the gate, and most were pleased with the level of business.
A wide variety of material was showcased by the 246 exhibitors. Billed as Pennsylvania’s largest indoor show, the Fun Fair is likely the most diverse as well. It was strong in toys and advertising, with an array of tin and cast-iron material. A number of the dealers are longtime collectors. There was a broad selection of jewelry, dolls, silver, games, books, prints, posters, comics, sports cards, purses, vintage clothing, Disney collectibles, and many types of glass and ceramics from various time periods. There were entire booths dedicated to Art Deco, games, art glass, lighting, postcards, posters, black Americana, and holiday antiques and collectibles.
According to Schaut, a convention center that is in the planning stages for construction in Bethlehem near the Sands Casino Resort could possibly serve as a future show location.
“I’ve had the largest number of reregistered dealers since we were in Atlantic City. I think that is important,” said Schaut.
The Fun Fair is slated to return to the Rauch Fieldhouse at Lehigh University on April 12 and 13, 2014. Contact Norman Schaut at Seaview Show Management Inc., Ocean City, New Jersey, at (800) 822-4119; Web site (www.antiquecityshow.com).
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Walter Donahue of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, asked $195 for the Philadelphia lantern and $75 for the wooden-handled basket.
Dave Irons of Northampton, Pennsylvania, asked $32,000 for the elaborate tramp art desk dated 1897.
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.
These two prints from a 1923 German calendar were $75 each from Susan Berman.Originally published in the July 2013 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2013 Maine Antique Digest
