Date: Fri 07-May-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: LIZAM

Quick Words:

Atlantique-megafair-Schaut

Full Text:

Atlantique City: Who's Afraid Of The World Wide Wolf?

(with 57 cuts)

By Liza Montgomery

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- No clearer picture of the current antiques and

collectibles market exists than that offered by an Atlantique City Megafair.

If one is lucky enough to preview the event, whatever conversations one

overhears among more than 1,500 dealers from across the country can be nothing

less than a distillation of their concerns. At the spring version of

Atlantique City, conducted March 27-28 in the new Convention Center, the

object of discussion was the Internet, and its effects on the trade.

"The Internet will drive down the prices and shake out the boys from girls,"

predicted Steve Liebson of Three Generations Antiques, Woodbury, Conn.

Perhaps. Certainly online auctions and antiques websites -- coupled with

wildly popular appraisal programs on television -- serve to introduce the

"layman" to the identity and value his own possessions, and more importantly,

offer a new avenue where those objects can be easily (and often profitably)

bought and sold. An unspoken question thus hung in the air: Why go to shows?

Because the people do, and probably always will. Atlantique City spring

exhibitors must have expelled a collective sigh of relief as they enjoyed the

attentions of the largest crowds ever seen by the promoter.

"To give you an idea, there was still a line to get in three hours after

Sunday's opening -- even with eight ticket sellers," says Norm Schaut of

Brimfield Associates. "That's a first for us."

"We will be known as [the show] where Internet browsers go to spend serious

money," he continued. "I believe the `megashow' is where [the future] is

headed. The small, general events are going to show weakness. At a fair of

Atlantique City's magnitude, you're apt to find what you're looking for in

five or six booths."

The promoters are also using the Internet to their advantage. In 1998,

Brimfield recorded an astonishing 6,656 advance ticket sales from their Web

site. The majority of the early ticket buyers, according to Schaut, "have

never been to our show or any show before. Relatively few have even visited an

antiques shop."

Additionally, the show can also be previewed and followed on the

collectingchannel.com, with a video archive of taped segments of the event's

exhibits.

For Schaut, the number of dealers purchasing early entry tickets to shop the

event for inventory is another market indicator, and this spring, 23 percent

of that record crowd turned out to be members of the trade. Schaut made sure

that all those who arrived around 6:30 am were rewarded with a new

"marshalling area" in the second floor atrium, where they were ushered to

enjoy, among other things, coffee and croissants.

At 8:27 am, "We just opened the air wall and these people, like a tsunami,

moved out into the aisles," he chuckled.

And into a massive, marvelous conglomeration of offerings representing more

than 40 collecting areas. It is always difficult to "review" Atlantique City,

but many of this spring's displays and their dealers deserve special mention.

McCormack & Co., of Sarasota, Fla., for example, featured a delightful

assemblage of rare Pisgah Forest pottery, one up-and-coming category that

still offers a lot of choices in a wide price range.

A light show could not be missed in the booth of SMS Novelties, where more

than 40 motion lamps drew in buyers with their hypnotic glow. These reverse

painted glass creations typically feature cars, trucks, trains and waterfalls

-- the best subjects to demonstrate their clever use of lightbulb heat to turn

an inner sleeve, creating the illusion of motion. Exhibitors Sam and Anna

Samuelian have just authored A Collector's Guide to Motion Lamps , available

at Collector Books.

Vintage tin lithographed beach pails featuring Disney characters and other

scenes seemed abundant at the show this year, and East Chesterfield Antiques,

Sudbury, Mass., 15-year Atlantique City veterans, had a terrific grouping for

patrons. Down the aisle, Lehmann's Antique Advertising featured what contained

the spices, powders, pastes and potions of the past. The majority of these

tins were in mint condition, particularly a rare National Brewing Co. tip tray

priced at $595.

Looking for chintzware? Twenty-year Atlantique City exhibitors Jerome and Ida

Pfeffer set up a wonderful and well-rounded selection for buyers, offerings

which come to the couple straight from a contact in England. Ida also shared

her extensive knowledge of chintz, an area currently reaching stratospheric

popularity among collectors.

"Chintz is valuable not only for its appeal, but for the labor involved in

creating it." Pfeffer described the tedious transfer process undertaken by

"chintz girls," as the female factory workers were called, who, if responsible

for creating anything less than a perfect plate, cup or teapot, had to smash

their work and begin again.

An oasis of fabulous folk art could be found at With All Due Ceremony, where

dealer Kenneth Kohn was clearly enjoying himself as he relaxed after shopping

the show. While he and many other dealers reported weak dealer-to-dealer

buying this year, Kohn stressed that, in general, such activity is "wonderful.

You never know what you're going to find down here." The Elkins Park, Pa.

exhibitor recalled a particularly good piece he purchased from a Florida

dealer at Atlantique City and subsequently offered at Wilton; it ended up in

the hands of a major folk art collector.

Toy collectors, as always, had an incredible selection of items at the show

this spring, and king of the jungle in the Steiff category was an enormous

tiger perched on top of Charlene Upham's booth. The Mardela Springs, Md.

dealer had tagged her bounty at $3,400. Another Maryland toy maven, Russ

Harrington, of Baltimore, displayed a rare circa 1914 Marklin stove for

$2,400, and a tin lithograph Roadside Rest service station in fantastic

condition for a reasonable $1,800.

Moose Brand Antiques, of Lowville, N.Y., had the most distinctive presence at

Atlantique City, with an enormous, five-booth-wide exhibit of rustic antiques

and taxidermy. A monstrous moose was front and center in the display, and the

sight garnered much dealer admiration. "This is what people need to see!"

exclaimed one in the crowd.

Vintage accessories were well-represented in A Test of Time out of San Jose,

Calif., which featured exceptional circa 1910-20 hand-beaded purses priced

from $645 to $2,000. Another area which had remarkable representation was

vintage tiles in the booth of Antique Articles, Billerica, Mass. Wendy Harvey

and Sandie Fowler's offerings ran an incredible gamut; their selection of

Wedgwood tiles was unbeatable.

While collectors and dealers have long enjoyed the benefits of buying and

selling at this "mega" show, the city's casinos may finally begin to utilize

the crowds it attracts. The Hilton Casino and Resort made its presence known

as the first to rent a booth at the event, giving away 100 tickets and free

buffets to fair vendors, among other things.

"Given the nature of the antiques business and the personalities of serious

collectors, it seems a very real possibility that Atlantique City brings more

disposable cash onto Absecon Island than any other event since it rose from

the bottom of the North Atlantic," Schaut boasted to the local media.

Relax, Atlantique City dealers. With savvy promoters like Norm Schaut behind

you, who's afraid of the Internet?