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News & Events Mid-America News Show Calendar State Event Calendars Regular Features The Antique Detective Antique Detective Q&A Common Sense Antiques Refurnished Thoughts Traveling with Ken Good Eye Books for Collectors Directories & Classifieds The Finder: Unique Shops Lodgings Directory Museum Directory Aviation Museums Wineries in the Heartland Classifieds Web Links Archived Features Antiquing in Colorado Dealer Profile Archive Editor's Notebook Heirloom Recipes Helpful Hints for Collectors Is This An Antique? Past Cover Features Reflecting History 2005 Best Of Winners *Destinations 2006*	Discover Mid-America — April 2004 The Game Is the Name Are you a collector? Goodness knows there are collectors of just about anything that there is more than one of. I recall a man who came into a shop in Houston, Texas, and when asked if he was looking for something in particular said he wanted to know if there were any out houses in the shop. So, that goes to show that people will collect just about anything. Another collected Lions Club memorabilia, and another collected anything to do with funerals. Some collections are of very unique things, others common. There are some folks that collect things with their hometown on it. If you’re from a very large, long-time settled city, there will be lots of things that can be found, especially in the area of advertising. Most companies want their logos, name and address imprinted on giveaways so the collector will come back and spend, spend, spend. But the smaller the town or village, the more difficult it will be to find nice items. In the last few years, a foreign nation that does a lot of glasswork figured that there was some money to be made by producing memorabilia with the names of small towns, using old molds. I found a ruby-flashed cup with “El Dorado, Kansas” on it, and purchased it only to find out later that it was new. So now I am very wary of small town glass memorabilia. I may have passed up the real thing, but once stung, always wary. There is a large field of town-labeled things. If you or your parents came from a small town that had some active businesses, chances are that they would be happy to get a thermometer with the old feed store ad on it. Especially charming are the pieces that have very small phone numbers on them. I have an ice pick from McAllen, Texas, with Phone Number 2 on the wooden handle. My grand children ask why the small number and find it hard to believe that there might have been only ten businesses that had phones at that time. Folding fans were favorite giveaways for funeral homes, churches and dry goods stores. There were also ashtrays, plates with events featured, plates with churches and feed store aprons. We found an estate sale once that had bow ties with the local dairy name on them that the deliverymen had to wear when leaving the milk on the doorstep. Talk about good ole days! The milk bottles that many collect today have the names of the dairies as well. Among the more expensive named pieces are what is called in the trade “souvenir china.” These pieces, usually plates, but bowls, ashtrays, cups and saucers as well, have a local building of interest partially printed, partially hand-tinted on them. I have two of these small plates with an Elizabeth Street scene from Brownsville, Texas. My mother told us stories of how she and her girl cousins would flirt with the boys when they walked on Elizabeth in downtown Brownsville. There are very serious collectors of these pieces and a few dealers that deal in only souvenir china. It is a specialized field. There are items that are a bit more perishable. The old pocket-sized town map used by those new to the town or by the traveling salesman really got a lot of wear. These salesmen would hit the road for a week at a time bringing samples of their company’s wares to the hardware stores, the shoe departments of the dry goods stores and many other places. In those days there were not many trips to market. Finding an old trunk that the traveling salesman had used might be a treasure trove of named collectibles. If the pocket map is still intact, that is a real treasure. We all love the new technologies but cannot forget the romantic notion that the good ole days had a more personal touch. Finding a container, a dip pen, or anything that we no longer use with the name of grandma’s hometown gives a thrill to those of us who play the game of find the name. > Is This An Antique? Archive — past columns	{rightside ad cell}
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News & Events

Mid-America News
Show Calendar
State Event Calendars

Regular Features

The Antique Detective
Antique Detective Q&A
Common Sense Antiques
Refurnished Thoughts
Traveling with Ken
Good Eye
Books for Collectors

Directories & Classifieds

The Finder: Unique Shops
Lodgings Directory
Museum Directory
Aviation Museums
Wineries in the Heartland

Classifieds
Web Links

Archived Features

Antiquing in Colorado
Dealer Profile Archive
Editor's Notebook
Heirloom Recipes
Helpful Hints
for Collectors
Is This An Antique?
Past Cover Features
Reflecting History

2005 Best Of Winners
Destinations 2006

Discover Mid-America — April 2004

The Game Is the Name

Are you a collector? Goodness knows there are collectors of just about anything that there is more than one of. I recall a man who came into a shop in Houston, Texas, and when asked if he was looking for something in particular said he wanted to know if there were any out houses in the shop. So, that goes to show that people will collect just about anything. Another collected Lions Club memorabilia, and another collected anything to do with funerals. Some collections are of very unique things, others common.

There are some folks that collect things with their hometown on it. If you’re from a very large, long-time settled city, there will be lots of things that can be found, especially in the area of advertising. Most companies want their logos, name and address imprinted on giveaways so the collector will come back and spend, spend, spend.

But the smaller the town or village, the more difficult it will be to find nice items. In the last few years, a foreign nation that does a lot of glasswork figured that there was some money to be made by producing memorabilia with the names of small towns, using old molds. I found a ruby-flashed cup with “El Dorado, Kansas” on it, and purchased it only to find out later that it was new. So now I am very wary of small town glass memorabilia. I may have passed up the real thing, but once stung, always wary.

There is a large field of town-labeled things. If you or your parents came from a small town that had some active businesses, chances are that they would be happy to get a thermometer with the old feed store ad on it. Especially charming are the pieces that have very small phone numbers on them. I have an ice pick from McAllen, Texas, with Phone Number 2 on the wooden handle. My grand children ask why the small number and find it hard to believe that there might have been only ten businesses that had phones at that time.

Folding fans were favorite giveaways for funeral homes, churches and dry goods stores. There were also ashtrays, plates with events featured, plates with churches and feed store aprons. We found an estate sale once that had bow ties with the local dairy name on them that the deliverymen had to wear when leaving the milk on the doorstep. Talk about good ole days! The milk bottles that many collect today have the names of the dairies as well.

Among the more expensive named pieces are what is called in the trade “souvenir china.” These pieces, usually plates, but bowls, ashtrays, cups and saucers as well, have a local building of interest partially printed, partially hand-tinted on them. I have two of these small plates with an Elizabeth Street scene from Brownsville, Texas. My mother told us stories of how she and her girl cousins would flirt with the boys when they walked on Elizabeth in downtown Brownsville. There are very serious collectors of these pieces and a few dealers that deal in only souvenir china. It is a specialized field.

There are items that are a bit more perishable. The old pocket-sized town map used by those new to the town or by the traveling salesman really got a lot of wear. These salesmen would hit the road for a week at a time bringing samples of their company’s wares to the hardware stores, the shoe departments of the dry goods stores and many other places. In those days there were not many trips to market. Finding an old trunk that the traveling salesman had used might be a treasure trove of named collectibles. If the pocket map is still intact, that is a real treasure. We all love the new technologies but cannot forget the romantic notion that the good ole days had a more personal touch. Finding a container, a dip pen, or anything that we no longer use with the name of grandma’s hometown gives a thrill to those of us who play the game of find the name.

> Is This An Antique? Archive — past columns

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