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On the evening of August 5th, 1992, after months of
anticipation, we finally arrived in Toledo, Ohio for Expo `92 a bottle
show put on every four years by the Federation of Historical Bottle
Collectors. This show featured a bottle auction and a two day show, with
over 60 displays and 650 sales tables of bottles and other related
collectible items from all over the world. Expo `92 was the biggest bottle
show ever held in North America.
Hotels in the Toledo core were booked well in advance by dealers and
collectors from all parts of the U.S., Canada, from places as far away as
England, France, Germany, New Zealand and Guyana.
That evening, even before the show officially opened, the rooms in the
hotels adjoining the convention centre had been transformed into showrooms
with dealers and collectors eagerly going from room to room to buy, sell
or trade bottles.
On Friday morning, the auction was held in the main ballroom of the
Radisson Hotel. Two hundred people were expected to attend the auction,
but to everyone’s surprise, over 600 showed up. Long lineups of interested
spectators waited to view the impressive display of bitters, poisons,
flasks, inks and sodas. Everyone was waiting for the last bottle to be
auctioned off. Three hours later, the auctioneer finally introduced the
Harrison’s Columbian Ink in sapphire blue with a wide mouth. The audience
was told that it was originally found in a flea market and that it had
changed hands several times before. The bidding started at $5,000 and when
the bidding war was over, the prize of the auction went to a gentleman
from San Antonio, Texas for the price of $30,000!
At 4:00, dealers were allowed into the convention centre to begin setting
up their sales tables. Finally the months of anticipation were to be
rewarded with the biggest bottle show we had ever seen and one we
certainly would never forget.
That evening, the meeting rooms in the hotel were reserved for specialty
groups such as collectors of inks, nursers, whimsies, poisons, and painted
label sodas. At the PSBCA (Painted Soda Bottle Collectors’ Association)
meeting, the club members were treated to a video showing how painted
labels were applied to pop bottles. A speaker from the Owen-Illinois Glass
Company explained the process and fielded many questions from the
audience. After that, there was a ‘bottle swap’ where top quality soda
bottles were traded in a controlled and somewhat lengthy process. Although
there were no Canadian bottles on the trade table, it was fascinating to
see the soda bottles you only hear about being traded in real life. The
meeting was a success for it was both very informative and it also gave
people an opportunity to meet the other club members.
The APBCA (Antique Poison Bottle Collectors’ Association) meeting was also
very interesting because it gave poison bottle collectors the opportunity
to meet other collectors from around the world. It gave members a chance
to share information about their collections, exchange stories about
interesting digs and discuss other upcoming shows and events.
On Saturday morning, we arrived at the convention centre at 7:00 a.m. so
that we could get a full day of looking at the incredible displays set up
by various clubs and collectors, meet other bottle collectors (there were
hundreds of us!) and of course, look for bottles to add to our
collections.
By the time the show closed on Sunday, our feet were very sore, our
wallets were very empty, but we still managed to walk away with some
wonderful memories, many new friends and of course, one or two new
bottles. Although prices at this show were rather high, the quality and
the quantity of bottles at Expo ’92 and the fantastic opportunity to meet
other bottle collectors made it a show that we will never forget. The next
show will be held in 1996 at a location that has not yet been announced.
We highly recommend that bottle collectors everywhere attend this future
event. |
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