A Bit of Everything
September 18th, 2016
Springfield Extravaganza, Springfield, Ohio
Apparently, Elvis had left the building.
Late on the first day of the Springfield Extravaganza, held September 16-18 at the Clark County Fairgrounds in central Ohio, The King was gone. His image had been there Friday morning at the start of the show—the rock-and-roll legend on black velvet. But nine hours later that piece of schlock art had disappeared, no doubt tucked into a used plastic shopping bag and sent to a new home. It was that kind of day.
It wasn’t surprising that Elvis could be found at the Extravaganza. A broad range of antiques and collectibles are always available at the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market, held monthly on the fairgrounds. Normally a Saturday and Sunday show, the event blossoms to a third day during the Extravaganza twice a year—May and September. In the process, the dealer count jumps significantly.
For September, promoter Jon Jenkins placed the number of sellers somewhere between 2000 and 2100, an increase of 85 to 100 compared to the previous September. As usual, Extravaganza buyers turned out in droves. While the offerings are primarily antiques and collectibles, from painted furniture to art glass, there’s also a mix of flea market material. In the election battleground state of Ohio, that material included Donald Trump yard signs at ten bucks a pop. There were also buckeyes priced at ten for a dollar, wind chimes made of kitchen utensils, and a selection of peaches and apples.
Feather edge: tureen, $785; platters, 14¼" wide and 16" wide, $225 each; ladle, $865, all from Easter Hill Antiques of Sharon, Connecticut.
“The Finding of Moses” ABC plate, $145 from Ron Eastman of Mt. Victory, Ohio.
If variety is the spice of life, then the Extravaganza is a simmering pot of goulash, ready to be sampled.
Jenkins has a favorite story about the mix of merchandise. Years ago, a bonnet-top highboy in tiger maple turned up, priced at $8000 when similar pieces were bringing about $30,000, he noted. It sold at the show, then sold again before it had been moved from the original spot. The adjacent booth was selling gourmet mustard. Spice of life, indeed.
“That’s the whole point of this place,” said Jenkins. “It’s supposed to be something for everybody.”
That an Elvis collector might snag a piece of black-velvet art is just part of a normal day at the Extravaganza.
Victor II phonograph, $1500; Victor V phonograph, $2500 from Lynn Bilton of Randolph, Ohio.
Cast-iron toys: Kenton fire pumper, $450; Hubley steam roller in an unusual army-green paint and with nickel plating still on the wheels, $495 from Gene Raab of Thornville, Ohio.
The first day of the September show was one for big sales of inexpensive items. Among the merchandise that was clearly moving were chicken feeders, primarily the long, rectangular metal type. Shortly before noon, Lanette Roberts of Three Rivers, Michigan, had already gone through a considerable stack. “It’s amazing,” she said. “I’ve sold over sixty of them.” She was getting $15 apiece. Other sales of chicken feeders across the fairgrounds were notable, from a porter pulling a cart loaded with dozens of the objects, to two couples grabbing rectangular and cylindrical examples in back-to-back sales from the same dealer.
Roberts said buyers are likely using the rectangular feeders on kitchen tables, possibly to hold votive candles or seasonal decorations. While not the sort of objects that might be found at higher-end antiques shows, the feeders clearly represented a design trend that Extravaganza shoppers were glad to follow.
Red tin pail with a paper label for blackberry jam made by W.D. Huffman Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, $75 from a collector who was selling a personal collection.
Miniature piano in golden oak, 1890-1920, $850; Quaker State clock, $180; Cat’s Paw double-bubble clock, $250 from T. Stump of West Union, West Virginia.
There was no mistaking that many sales across the grounds were of a decorative nature. Nowhere was that more obvious than at the center of the show, where 110 dealers set up as part of the Vintage Marketplace, which leans heavily toward repurposed material.
For buyers wanting traditional antiques, the Extravaganza generally doesn’t disappoint. Interested in painted furniture? Steve Jenkins of Shelbyville, Indiana, offered a mule chest in blue priced at $2200. Like early toys? Gene Raab of Thornville, Ohio, offered a Hubley steam roller tagged $495. Want glassware or lighting? Brandon Riggans of Byesville, Ohio, had a Pittsburgh owl lamp from the 1880’s, electrified, at $1050. How about music? Lynn Bilton of Randolph, Ohio, showed a Regina floor-model music box marked $6500.
Sales were obvious throughout the day, as evidenced by the number of people carrying bags and those pulling wire carts and children’s wagons loaded with merchandise of all ages and descriptions. Midway through the Friday session, one woman was overhead on her cell phone: “Hey, we’re getting some good deals up here.”
That’s the point. With its large number of dealers and tremendous variety, the Extravaganza has a bit of everything, from genuine antiques to Elvis on velvet.
For more information, phone (937) 325-0053 or visit (www.springfieldantiqueshow.com).
Stained-glass window from a house in Ohio, 29" x 46", $750 from Nancy Dunlap and Kurt Heintz of Urbana, Ohio.
Steiff penguin, 19" high, $220 from Sally and Marty Smith of Buckeye Antiques, Castalia, Ohio.
Originally published in the December 2016 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2016 Maine Antique Digest
