: More than 150 exhibitors offered up an amazing variety of
ephemera and related materials at the 46th annual Papermania
antiques show over the weekend of August 28- 29. Dealers from
around the country participated in the show at the Hartford Civic
Center with sales reported as good throughout the weekend.
Papermania managers Gary Gipstein and Arlene Shea commented that
a large crowd was on hand for the opening of the show on Saturday
and the gate remained steady throughout the day. Sunday, although
slower than opening day, was also well attended.
The Hartford Civic is in the middle of being torn down with huge
cranes and bulldozers having turned the exterior of the building
into a skeleton resembling war-torn photos of the Middle East.
The place looked absolutely inhabitable, yet the concert hall and
the main arena remain intact and functioning.
Joshua Evans of Leland's with a rare "Lusitania" war poster.
Gipstein made sure everyone knew where they were going and
where the entrances were with additional signage posted throughout
the area. And while many balked at the appearance, it turned few if
any ephermeranados away from this cultlike event.
The typical assortment of early documents, movie posters,
postcards, photographs and advertising was available. Some of the
interesting items seen around the floor included a rare Civil War
broadside looking for recruits for Jackson Zouaves, circa 1860.
The Zouaves were described by Westchester, N.Y., dealer Ed Caren
of The Caren Archives as a Civil War unit that paraded around in
very colorful uniforms reminiscent of those used in the French
Algerian wars.
The dealer also offered a hand drawn battle plan conceived and
signed by the Duke of Wellington during the Napoleonic War, circa
1815, a 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill broadside and a 1668 document
signed by Richard Nicolls, the first governor of New York.
It was all fun and games at the booth of Paul Fink of Fun and
Games, Kent, Conn. The dealer offered up a wide assortment of
puzzles and early games including such rarities as McLoughlin's
"Game of Discovery of The North Pole," a Parker Bros Sambo Five
Pins and three Par Puzzles desired for their intricate figural
pieces.
Joshua Evans of Leland's was there as a dealer, shopper and
auctioneer. When not selling from his booth, he was busy either
sniffing treasures out on the floor or promoting his upcoming
sports memorabilia auction. The highlight of his booth, according
to the dealer, was an extremely rare war poster that "started the
whole thing. This image made such a statement that it became part
of the reason that we got involved in World War I," he said. The
poster featured a woman clutching her child while plummeting into
the murky depths of the ocean after the sinking of the
Lusitania.
Ken Schultz, Hoboken, N.J., with a document signed by the
captain of the "Titanic."
Lusitania memorabilia was also offered in the booth of
Ken Schutlz, Hoboken, N.J., as he displayed a letter on the
ill-fated ship's masthead from the captain to a doctor in Chicago.
Shultz, who specializes in ocean liner memorabilia, also displayed
a rare certificate of discharge for the captain of the
Majestic, Edward Smith, who would later become the captain
of the Titanic. Another desirable item in the booth was a
ships log from the RMS Majestic, circa 1922, that was a
who's who of the period with signatures of the King George V and
the Queen of England, Winston Churchill, J. P. Morgan and film star
Mary Pickford.
The disparity of items seen on around the floor ranged from a
hand colored 1649 atlas in the booth of Tamerlane, Haverstown,
Penn., to a rare Grateful Dead poster just down the aisle in the
booth of Nantucket's Nelson Allen.
Papermania was originated by the late Paul Gipstein and now
managed by his son Gary and Paul's wife Arlene Shea. The show
began in 1977 as a once a year event and soon due to the
popularity became a biannual show. Management reports that 80
percent of the dealers still doing the show were with the
Gipsteins when they first started.
For information call show producer Gary Gipstein at 860-529-2234
or show manager Arlene Shea at 860-563-9975 or write Hillcrest
Promotions, PO Box 152, Wethersfield CT 06109.
