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......" This one sold in May 2008 in Robert Edward Auctions for
$16,450.00. Come to find out though one sold in an April 29- May 1st 2005 Rich Penn Auctions
in Waterloo, Indiana for $27,500.00".......
The Fan Taz syrup dispenser is in the exotic category of baseball memorabilia.
The first recollection I have of one is from about twenty years ago. The now defunct Collectors Showcase magazine had a story about the All American Antiques show in Glendale Calif. In the story were various shots of the show, and I remember a photo of
Leland's President Josh Evans holding one of these with the caption indicating he bought it there. This one sold in May 2008 in Robert Edward Auctions for
$16,450.00. Come to find out though one sold in an April 29- May 1st 2005 Rich Penn Auctions
in Waterloo, Indiana for $27,500.00. R.E.A.’s 2008 catalog estimates 20
exist. Steve
Wolter's  of
SportsInvestments.com
from Cincinnati has an example. I saw it in his great
collection back in 2005. For my pocketbook though, the Fan
Taz always been so expensive I’ve always just glossed over them. I can buy a lot of great stuff with
$15,000.00-$27,000.00. I found an interesting story on- line from Art and Antiques
Weekly which clarified the Fan Taz isn’t an anomaly, but seems to sit about in the middle price range of rare syrup dispensers
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EXCERPTED
FROM ANTIQUES AND THE ARTS WEEKLY ON LINE - Soda Fountain Collection Means Sweet Success At Rich Penn Sale
- June 28, 2005 full
story
“The first of
many syrup dispensers to break the $5,000 mark on Saturday was the Crawford's Cherry-Fizz, closing at $9,625. Among those over $10,000 were the Grape Punch at $12,100, the Ironport at $18,150 and the Drink Smack at $18,700.
The first of several to break the $20,000 mark was the Cherri-Bon at $25,300, a
Fan-Taz at $27,500, a Dr Pepper Urn at $26,400 and a So.
Cas. Co Orange Ale at $26,400. Several dispensers broke the $30,000 level. The Grapefruitola made $34,100, as did the perfect condition Pepsi Urn. The Dixie-Flip, in immaculate condition and with several strong bidders, soared to $37,400.
The $40,000 barrier, well into record territory, according to the gallery, was breached by the Root Beer collectors. A Jim Dandy, in excellent condition, ended at $44,000. A Hires "Ugly Boy" brown version urn was not hampered by a restored lid. It crowned the auction, selling to a phone bidder for $69,000.”
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From
that I get the feeling prices for the Fan Taz are perhaps driven as much
if not more, by syrup dispenser collectors than baseball collectors.
Syrup
dispensers were used in soda fountains starting in late 19th
century. Syrup makers would make porcelain dispensers with
their name on them and give them to soda fountains as
an advertising vehicles.
Here
in the United States during the 19th century, the "soda
fountain" as it is, or at least was known, originally evolved
as a feature of the pharmacy. In summary, pharmacists would
mix up soda drinks with sweet syrups which they made, in order to
mask the bitterness of medicines. I use the term medicine loosely;
narcotics would be a more accurate description. While
preparing this feature I stumbled on the most interesting
story. I say story; actually it was a
2008 interview with a third generation pharmacist named Bill Soderlund.
He's also a drugstore and soda fountain antiques collector and owns the
website DrugstoreMuseum.com.
He goes into detail on a lot of facets of the history of the
pharmacy, and doesn't hold back any punches. Among other things he
brings to light some very remarkable things about drug addiction
on a wide scale from so called medicines during and after the civil
war. I recommend reading it; here's the link to the interview on CollectorsDaily.com
Back
to the Fan Taz, talking about this product is one thing but too
bad we can only experience two dimensions of it, the visual and
historical context. Wouldn't it be neat though if we could taste it? The internet is good but it's not that good
yet!
Today
the rage for specialty drinks would be the Frappacinnos and Ice
Mochas and such at  Starbucks.
I readily admit their strawberry cream is awesome.  Also
coming on strong would be the tapioca
pearl drinks found in college towns. Tapioca pearl drinks,
originated in Taiwan in the 1980's and have migrated here to the
U.S. and are growing in popularity.
Vick's
Ice Cream, Riverside Blvd., Sacramento Ca.
But
in America all specialty drinks had their start in the pharmacy. I had the good fortune of growing up in the 1960's in a
neighborhood with a classic ice cream parlor that made sodas the
way Fan Taz was made. That is by mixing syrup and carbonated
water by hand the old fashion way. Vick's Ice Cream on Riverside
Blvd. in Sacramento California was and still is the classic
neighborhood ice cream parlor. As a kid it was almost like something out of Leave it to
Beaver.  My usual was a cherry phosphate and a
cheesedog. Probably some places serve phosphates but Vick's is
the only place I've ever known of. A few years back I took
my friend and fellow collector John Buonaguidi to Vick's and he
raved he hadn't had a peppermint shake like that since he was a
kid. If you're in Sacramento don't
miss Vick's, it's an institution.
Wrapping
up this weeks feature of the Fan Taz; lastly I'll mention I came across a Fan Taz
advertising sign someone was researching. see below. That would
imply we may eventually see it in an auction. It's
possible I may have seen one of these somewhere but I don't recall
it.
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