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     PART
              2  OF
              THE 2013 NATIONAL SPORTS  COLLECTORS
              CONVENTION COVERAGE  
              - THE
              POST-CON ROAD TRIP -   Featuring
              forays into Indiana's Antique Alley, Springfield Ohio  Antiques
              Malls, Adamstown PA. , and a viewing of  the
              John Gennantonio Collection BY
        CARLTON HENDRICKS       THE 2013 NATIONAL SPORTS  COLLECTORS
              CONVENTION COVERAGE  
              POST-CON ROAD TRIP   By
        Carlton Hendricks     RUNNING
      THRU THE SHOPS So
      the wake-up call went off and I was back out there by 1:00PM going thru
      the stores...The landscape hadn't changed too much since
      I was last there in 2009...Most of the stores were the same...The
      closest venue from my hotel was the inside of Renninger's so that's where
      I started...Renninger's indoor part is a vast cavernous building with
      about 375 dealers set up on a permanent basis...It's sort of like a little
      city...even has a little grill with a counter...   
        
        
          
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            | c1900
              Tickets Reverse Glass Sign 5 feet wide by 14" tall, $450.00 |    The
      inside was better than the outside that day...The first cool thing I came
      across was a framed ticket advertising sign made of glass that was about 5
      feet wide by 14" tall. It was hung up high so I couldn't get a real
      good look but it appeared the lettering was reverse glass painted...priced
      $450.00. If it had documentation as being from a sports stadium of some
      kind it would be to die for...But the dealer didn't know it's
      history...could have been from a railroad, opera house,
      etc....nevertheless...as far as I was concerned it was very
      cool...but somehow I passed..   
        
        
          
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            | c1880
              Merle & Heaney Billiards Table Rules Poster, 26" tall x
              25" wide $900.00 Found
              in Renninger's indoor flea area |      Next
      cool piece...just across the walkway and a couple dealers up I found a
      billiard rules poster issued by The Merle & Heaney Manufacturing
      company...probably about 1880-90...a little worn which didn't really
      bother me...the dealer Elliot Pincus had a $900.00 price tag...I can't
      remember what the price was after the arm wrestling but I remember I was
      really considering it...I think it was like $700.00 or so...Somehow I
      passed and left without it...Looking at it now it looks really
      good...Later when I got home I sent photos to Mike Gilmore in Ohio, who has some of
      the best billiards antiques I know of...an advanced billiards collector...Mike
      pooh-poohed it because of the condition...But Mike's a lot
      more of a condition guy than me...heck I actually like the
      wear...especially these days with the re-pops we're seeing...   
        
        
          
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            | 
 Vienna
              Boxer as found  in
              showcase, booth 
               closed,
              owner gone |  | 
 Side
              view as  photographed
              thru glass,
               showcase
              locked |  
            | c1927
              VIENNA BRONZE BOXER, CITY CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY Cold
              painted, 5 1/2" tall incl. marble base Found
              in Renninger's indoor flea area |    After the Billiards poster I continued on around the market...wasn't
      seeing too much interesting...and then boom I hit pay dirt...Out of
      nowhere, in a locked display case of a closed booth I spotted a Vienna
      bronze of a boxer...It was mounted on a marble base and had been used as a
      trophy. The front of the base was crudely engraved: CITY - BOXING
      CHAMPIONSHIP  118 LBS WEIGHT 1927.     For
      those not familiar with the genera of Vienna bronzes...they are hand
      painted miniature
      bronze figures, often referred to as cold painted,...They are known for their high
      quality  definition and
      were  produced in Vienna
      Austria between 1880  to about the 1930's...They were made in many subjects...very often whimsical like
      kittens, and birds...but not all...some were even risqué...sports ones are
      very rare...I've managed to snag a few over the years...Back to our
      boxer...I didn't
      mind the engraving too much...but it would have been much better had it been
      professionally done. The booth was closed and the dealer gone and I
      couldn't make out the price tag. The dealer across phoned him and got the
      price....$500.00. All things considered I suppose $500.00 was fair. I
      never got around to pursuing it.  
         Next
      after Renninger's I headed over to Morphy. Morphy
      is both an auction house and antiques mall...with the highest quality per
      square foot in the town. Actually it's a contender for the best antiques
      mall in the world...they really get high quality stuff. I saw lots of
      great Americana but not much in sports pieces...First was a collection of
      occupational shaving mugs that included eight sports ones to be auctioned
      in a then upcoming auction. They were all nice but the most exciting one
      for me was the power boat racing one...I'm
      big on that sport...who'd have thought there was a power boat racing
      shaving mug out there!    Other than that the only other sports piece
      was a was a tin Moxie sign with
      terrific baseball graphics...Big and
      great...like about 30" tall by 24" wide...and like the mugs it
      wasn't for sale, just on display to be auctioned ...Looked outstanding...I
      pretty much just glossed over it though as something that would go sky
      high more than I wanted to pay...Then as I was writing this...for the sake
      of the story I looked up what it went for...Lot #225 Premier Advertising
      Oct. 4-5th 2013...What'd I tell ya...sky-high...sold for $6,600.00...see
      details here...I can
      buy a lot of sports antiques for $6,600.00...or take a vacation!    
         ADAM'S
      ANTIQUES  After
      Morphy I hit a few more stores, then it started getting towards closing
      time 5:00PM for most the stores in town.  So I headed for one of the best
      malls Adam's Antiques...It was good as usual...but one booth was really good...Keith Javic's...his booth was filled to the brim with antique
      sports stuff...One piece that was particularly memorable was a c1890 21
      3/4" wide by 13" tall photo mat with two oval openings for
      cabinet sized photos. The mat had a water color painting of two football
      players...one a Yale player the other Princeton...both in c1890 period
      football union suits...  
         As
      mentioned earlier I was running behind schedule...Adams Antiques gave the
      closing in ten minutes announcement...After that I drove a little ways and
      found a few little shops that stayed open till 6:00...but didn't see
      anything great.  
             Continue
      to page 13  
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