Review and Photos by R. Scudder Smith
ALLENTOWN, PENN. — “I bought the Antique City Show from Norm Schaut two years ago and since it was already booked into the facility on Lehigh’s campus in Bethlehem, I had to have it there, but it was not an ideal venue,” Bill Thomas of Holiday Promotions said. He noted that visitors found the building hard to locate, parking was not near the building, restrooms were inadequate and the food service was not up to par. “I decided to ask my dealers if they would like to move, and if so, where would they like to go,” Bill said. The suggestion to move was well received by the dealers and all but one suggested the show move to the Allentown Fairgrounds. And that’s what happened.
Show manager Bill Thomas of Holiday Promotions surrounded by Christmas ornaments in the booth of dealer Russ Harrington of Baltimore.
On Saturday and Sunday, June 18–19, Antique City opened its doors at the 302 North 17th Street location with 130 exhibitors set up in one large room with an overspill of about ten dealers in an adjoining room. “We had some last-minute dealers either call for a booth or show up and so we took part of the connecting room to accommodate them,” Bill said. He mentioned that, in the future, if the show continues to grow, both rooms will be needed to fit in all of the exhibitors.
The show, advertised as “5 shows in one!,” opened at 8 am on Saturday with a $10 preview, which drew about 400 visitors for an early look. Regular hours, 10 am to 5 pm, had a $5 admission, as did the Sunday hours from 10 am to 4 pm. “Sunday was not as busy as we had hoped, but some people did come and there was selling both days. In total just under 1,400 people attended the two-day show,” said Bill.
“We like to think we are giving the public five shows in one,” he said, listing the categories that are prominent across the board. Toys and dolls are stacked high in some of the booths, advertising catches one’s attention with graphic pieces in porcelain, cardboard and paper touting things such as automobiles, tires, medicines and war bonds, while holidays have their turn with row after row of Christmas ornaments, a few feather trees and some Santa figures, and Halloween is remembered with an array of early costumes and papier mache pumpkin lanterns. Primitive and country things, such as tools and kitchen pieces, stoneware and redware, are offered, and some dealers present just a general line of things including quilts, postcards, jewelry, doorstops and shaving mugs, books and some early publications, and glass ranging from Tiffany to depression.
For those who plan ahead, mark down June 17–18 for the 2017 Antique City in Allentown. For more information, 410-538-5558.
