THIS WEEKS FEATURE

 SPECIAL EDITION 

Carlton's 800 mile L.A. Road Trip To the Glendale Show and Long Beach Flea Market

 PAGE 2 

STILL WORTH THE TRIP

But everything' s changed since the internet. Nevertheless Glendale is still fun. In retrospect I suppose I still go to it, 1. Out of tradition 2. To get warm and wear shorts in January, and because I like L.A., and 3. Last but not least, for the sake of turning over every rock. Because it's still a pretty target rich environment, or at least has the potential.

TOP DOWN

I recently got a convertible so was looking forward to this Glendale show and driving around L.A. with top down. Glendale is usually held the same weekend as the Long Beach Antiques Flea Market, about 45 minutes further south. So that makes for a perfect weekend trip. 

ARRIVAL

I arrived at the show Saturday morning at ten minutes to nine. I always pay the $40.00 early entry fee and go in at 9:00AM. I did pretty good and found three things. 

43" x 13" c1910 reverse glass advertising sign

FIRST PICK-UP

The first wasn't sports, but could be construed so if you wanted to really stretch it. It was a c1910 43" wide by 13" tall reverse glass sign for "UNIFORMS". I started looking at it and it had a price tag of $195.00, which was a steal. The dealer says to me he didn't have room to take it back and would give me a heck of a deal....$100.00. Wow, he wasn't kidding, that was giving it away....DONE DEAL! It's going over my dining table! My bud Mike Hoevet from Ann Arbor emailed me there are repros of this sign, which alarmed me, but this ones way too real not to be real...weighs a TON from the thick period glass, and has quite a bit of wear that wouldn't likely be duplicated. I bought a bulldog show poster from the same dealer a year or two ago that is one of my favorite non sport posters even in it's poor condition.

19" wide x 11"  tall x 6 1/2" deep

c1955 Motorized Advertising Display

SECOND PICK-UP

Next I spotted a very unusual 3-dimensional, Voit Athletic Equipment advertising sign/display. I've only seen one other example of this sign right there at the same show in August 2005. Mike Karberg of Blue Mirror Antiques out of Chicago had it and was asking $600.00 I think. When I first got it I wasn't sure about it. Now that I have it home though I'm wild about it! The way it's designed is very cool. The letters are...I don't know what you'd call it....deep I guess, very deep...made of all wood. AND it gets better....it's motorized.

It has a stem that sticks out the top to display a ball on, and when you plug it in the ball turns continually. Darn I like it, and I like the price, $200.00. The dealer was setting up when I started looking at it. He was kind of preoccupied, and quoted me $200.00. I went ahead  examining it to trying to grasp it, since it was so unusual. Then the guys goes to me...after you leave I'm gonna up that to $275.00. Which actually would have still been a steal...I said, well...I guess that ...and he goes, "yeah that nullifies any negotiating".  It's an out there serious sign. The two tone colors really give it definition.

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