On Saturday January 23 and the days that immediately followed, the Winter doldrums were shattered for over 300 vintage advertising collectors by the 2021 AAAA Virtual Winter Retreat. This first-ever wintertide event provided an opportunity for AAAA members and others to gather with their soulmates, buy and sell antique advertising, acquire new knowledge, and visit some of the most celebrated collections in the United States. The tone of this Zoom-hosted event was upbeat and even celebratory as people ventured forth from their self-imposed quarantine. This event was open only to AAAA members.

The Retreat consisted of four components: (1) Room Hopping, which took place both as part of the Zoom Meeting and on the AAAA web site, (2) a seminar conducted entitled "Up in Smoke" that focused on cigar box labels, (3) a break-out session that created ten spirited small group discussions, and (4) visits to the Hooks Drug Store Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana and the W.R. Rudy's Country Store & Drug Store Museum in Mt. Airy, Maryland.

The image below shows some of the participants in the Zoom Meeting intently focused on the proceedings.

Attendees reported having a great time and not even one person asked for a refund! (Well, the event was free but you get the idea!). Many expressed great appreciation to AAAA for sponsoring this Retreat and for adding further to the benefits of being an AAAA member.

In the sections below, we provide additional details about the Retreat offerings. They are presented in the order they took place.

After brief words of welcome by President Steve Lefkovitz and Convention Coordinator Paul Lefkovitz, the Zoom Meeting kicked off with three live Room Hopping presentations. Steve Lefkovitz, Alice Muncaster, and David Meinz welcomed attendees into their on-line rooms and presented some of their items for sale.

In the image below, Steve Lefkovitz (third thumbnail image from left) unveils his room full of unique and desirable treasures.

Below, Alice Muncaster, (third thumbnail image from right) conducts her live Room Hopping presentation, which included many examples of gorgeous ephemera

David Meinz (third thumbnail image from right) informs attendees about vitamin-related and other fascinating items in his chock-filled room.

The image below presents a portion of the Room Hopping page on the AAAA web site. It featured 30 rooms of great vintage advertising items for sale. By clicking on any "door", attendees were able to view images of the goodies that awaited them in that room. In total, over 1,300 photos of items for sale were featured on the Room Hopping web site. On Sunday, January 24, the general public joined AAAA members in Room Hopping. The Room Hopping site remained open for all to enjoy until Sunday, January 31.

Popular presenter Chuck Kovacic returned to deliver another well-received seminar, this one entitled, "Up in Smoke". The 45 minute presentation was a virtual clinic on the history, design, manufacture, and beauty of cigar box labels. He shared numerous captivating and dazzling examples of cigar box lithography from his own extensive collection while informing attendees of the technical and creative forces behind each image. His scholarly command of the details surrounding this enterprise was encyclopedic.

Attendees used superlatives to describe their response to this presentation. They reported that they enjoyed it immensely and, at the same time, learned a great deal. The photo below provides a small glimpse at his presentation. Chuck is captured at the top of the image in the third thumbnail from the right.

Chuck is a professionally trained fine artist from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Currently, he resides in the Los Angeles area and has assisted serious collectors and select auction houses with their restoration needs for over 40 years. As a respected member of NABA and AAAA, he has published articles and conducted seminars at their past gatherings. He states he was delighted to be a 2021 Winter Retreat "speaker". He welcomes your restoration questions at [email protected].

After Chuck's presentation, a question was posed for him to respond to. Here is that question and his response:

To view a video of Chuck's entire presentation, click the button below.

The Zoom attendees consisted of up to 90 participants at one time, including several logged in with multiple individuals present. For the "Break-Out Discussions", this group was broken out into ten smaller groups of approximately 6-10 participants in each. There were no assigned leaders and no assigned topics. Groups were free to discuss whatever they wanted. It was reported that the discussions were very lively and engaging.

Topics of discussion were all over the map including the following: the "Ice Screamers" club, "pull-down" signs, AAAA, how easy AAAA makes it to visit other collections, ice cream molds, COVID-19, what they collect, how they found out about AAAA, "meet & greet" talk, and much more.

One of the highlights of the Retreat for many participants was the visits to two outstanding collections. In reality, they are both museums. Attendees were utterly wowed by what they experienced! Read below for further details.

Attendees loved seeing the huge collection of bottles, jars, packaging, and other products that were on display in this authentic late 19th century setting. They were particularly enamored with the reverse painted glass panels set in the historic cabinetry throughout the museum. What impressed many the most, however, was the quality of the presentations provided by Dan Russell and Bob Hunt. Each of the tour guides provided a wealth of information about the histories and back-stories of many of the items exhibited in a clear and engaging manner.

Howard Parzow conducted an unforgettable tour of the W.R. Rudy's Country Store and Drug Store Museum, located in Mt. Airy, Maryland. In this live 20 minute presentation, Howard charmed the audience with his sincere and spontaneous commentary about his beloved collection. As he walked past his rare treasures, he shared interesting historical information as well as tales of their acquisition. Attendees were not only impressed by the sheer size of the collection but by the rarity and pristine condition that was evident throughout. It should be noted that the tour benefited from the vital technical assistance provided by his good friends and neighbors, Donna and John Hollingshead.

The Country Store Museum is located on 10 South Main Street Mount Airy, Maryland. This building was erected in 1888 as a Country Store and Drugstore which stayed active until the late 1960's. The building stayed vacant until Howard purchased the property from The Myers family in 1976. This three story brick building became the perfect location for showcasing Howard's personal collection.

The Museum is open for tours by appointment. Arrangements can be made by contacting Howard at 301-351-6544 or [email protected]. However, he has extended the very gracious offer to provide a FREE tour for any current member of AAAA.

Click the button below to view a video of the entire tour of the W.R. Rudy's Country Store and Drug Store Museum.

The 2021 AAAA Virtual Winter Retreat ended on a very positive note, with participants eager to dive into our Room Hopping web site. Web site statistics reveal that almost 400 "unique visitors" took part over the days of the event. By all available measures, the Virtual Winter Retreat was successful in supporting our members and others at a time of challenge and, once again, in bringing them together in the spirit of fellowship.

Our virtual "Tours of Outstanding Collections" series has included diverse offerings. In the Winter Retreat just conducted, we featured two collections that were essentially museums. Our Virtual Convention last July featured two great collections that were home-based. Whatever the setting or the major focus, AAAA members have loved these tours and have enthusiastically asked for more! Would you consider allowing AAAA members to visit your collection virtually at some point in the future? No special equipment is needed--just a smartphone and a steady hand. If you think you might be willing to share your collecting passion with our membership, click here and provide us with the details.

At the time of this writing, COVID-19 prevents us from providing a definitive update about the 2021 AAAA Convention. It is too early to say whether the event will be in person or if it will be "virtual" once again. While the roll-out of vaccines has been very encouraging, other factors such as new variants have tempered scientists' optimism about when things might "return to normal". Our convention is scheduled to be in Reading, PA from July 21-24 but the ongoing uncertainty prevents us from accepting any registrations at this time.

We can definitely say this: we will have an enjoyable and exciting Convention in July, whether it is in person or "virtual". Stay tuned for updates on the status.

With that in mind, we are actively seeking seminar presenters. If you can be persuaded into conducting a presentation, either in person or virtually, please let us know.

If you would like to confidentially weigh in on this subject or volunteer to conduct a seminar, please contact Paul Lefkovitz, Convention Coordinator, at [email protected].

My wife and I own a restored 1969 Shasta Compact travel trailer (photo, right) that we take to vintage trailer rallies around the southeastern United States. The theme of our trailer is ‘Cola War: A Family Divided! Coca-Cola vs Pepsi-Cola.’ We named our trailer ‘Bubbles’ as a playful reference to carbonated beverages. Because of the trailer’s theme, ‘Bubbles’ is festooned with Coke and Pepsi advertising, memorabilia and ephemera. In other words, ‘Bubbles’ is a Coca-Cola & Pepsi-Cola mini-museum. How all this came about will be the subject of a separate article in the March, 2021 issue of AAAA’s Past Times, but for now I’d like to share our trailer’s Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola collection with you.

One of the most interesting items is a metal printer’s block (photo, left) with a reverse-image Coca-Cola logo on it, which was used by newspaper and magazine typesetters for creating Coca-Cola advertisements prior to going to press. This item is now part of our outside display at vintage trailer rallies.

Another interesting item (possibly rare, but I’m not certain) is a book of matches with the Pepsi-Cola logo on one side and a Walt Disney designed cartoon insignia for Jackson Air Base on the other side (photo below). This framed piece is used as a wall hanging inside the trailer. I bought it unframed at an antique store for just $2 (a steal, I think).

Because I write articles for Vintage Camper Trailers, I wanted a vintage-style display rack to showcase copies of the magazine during rallies. To match the trailer’s theme, I cut apart a wooden Pepsi-Cola crate and repurposed the wood to build a one-of-a-kind magazine rack (below, left). Mounted inside the trailer, the Pepsi logo is clearly visible on both sides of the rack. Not only does this rack hold copies of Vintage Camper Trailers, it also holds vintage road maps from the 1950s and 1960s. A second wooden soda crate was repurposed (below, right), this one with the Coca-Cola logo on it and used as a step for getting into and out of the trailer, since most vintage trailers don’t have steps.

While exiting an antique shop one day, a man asked if I had an interest in old magazine advertisements. That’s how I picked up a full-page Pepsi-Cola advertisement dating back to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. This awesome ad, which features a beautiful woman in a bikini, is now framed and mounted in the trailer (below, left). That ad was the first time I ever bought something straight out of the front seat of a stranger’s vehicle. Two other magazine advertisements I bought from that guy include a half-page Coca-Cola ad from 1945 during World War Two and a smaller Coca-Cola ad from the 1949 pre-Korean War period. Both of these gems are displayed inside the trailer in a multi-sectioned frame alongside a Coca-Cola super premium card and a cardboard Coca-Cola marketing piece dating back to 1960 that states “over 60 million a day,” meaning over 60 million bottles of Coca-Cola sold each day (below, right).

About a dozen metal Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola advertising signs and serving trays are mounted inside the trailer. Half are antiques, the other half are reproductions made to look like antiques. My favorite of this dozen, despite it being excessively rusty, is an antique Pepsi-Cola serving tray with the logo’s double dots (two hyphens between the words Pepsi and Cola) clearly visible. The double dots date this sign to the pre-1951 time period, the year Pepsi-Cola changed from the double dot logo to the single dot logo.

Two special pieces mounted inside the trailer are a metal Coca-Cola thermometer with art deco styling (below, left) and a wooden Coca-Cola notepad holder that I converted into a key rack (below, right). Another item I converted is a plastic Pepsi-Cola top piece (I don’t know what else to call it) from a commercial soda fountain that I turned into a reading light (below, middle). This one-of-a-kind light is mounted below the bunk bed, above the twin beds. That’s right...our 11-foot travel trailer has a bunk bed so that it can comfortably sleep three people! Our daughter sleeps on the bunk, which she accesses via a vintage wooden painter’s ladder that I dismantled, shortened and narrowed for an exact fit. When the bunk bed isn’t in use, the ladder comes off and the bed is folded up against the rear of the trailer.

Probably the rarest item in our antique advertising collection is a framed cardboard Coca-Cola game piece that has fifteen small round push-out tabs, each printed with a woman’s name, such as Agnes, Blanche, Clara, Dorothy, and Ethel (continuing on through the letter O). Because of the names, we think this game piece dates back to the early 1900s. There’s also a large round push-out tab the size of a bottle cap. The top of the game piece states “WIN A 6 BOTTLE CARTON OF Coca-Cola FOR ONLY 5₵,” which also dates it to the early 1900s. The card was printed by the Lion Manufacturing Company in Chicago, IL. Except for some minor staining, this Coca-Cola game piece is in excellent condition. (If anyone reading this article has information about this game piece, please contact me at [email protected]).

Two antique paper items we haven’t yet framed include a $277.20 check from the Coca-Cola Bottling Works in Jackson, TN, made out to the Beau Ice & Coal Company on November 5, 1931, and an invoice for $1.00 from the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company in Knoxville, TN, for a single tank of water purchased by G. W. Lung in New Market, TN, on August 16, 1916.

Other soda-related items (photos below), most of which are displayed outside the trailer, include the top section of a Pepsi-Cola vending machine, a metal Coca-Cola ice chest, a pair of wooden Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola crates, several Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola bottles of varying styles, an aluminum Pepsi-Cola six-pack carrying case, a metal Douglas DC-3 airplane model with Pepsi-Cola livery, a pair of Coca-Cola salt & pepper shakers, two different pairs of Pepsi-Cola salt & pepper shakers, three retro-style Coca-Cola clocks of varying designs, a pair of small Pepsi-Cola drinking glasses from soda fountain days (when glasses were filled with syrup up to a painted line prior to adding carbonated water), a one-gallon Coca-Cola syrup bottle with traces of syrup still in it, a pair of Coca-Cola pillows, a Coca-Cola cloth banner, a pair of ceramic Coca-Cola nick nacks, a piece of stained glass artwork depicting the Coca-Cola logo on the side of a covered bridge over a flowing river, a pair of Coca-Cola lamps, a miniature plastic Coca-Cola crate with thirty miniature Coca-Cola bottles in it, and a Coca-Cola floor mat.

Non-soda items in our trailer’s collection, most of which are displayed outside, include two pieces of vintage luggage, a vintage water jug, three retro-style lawn chairs, a metal toy travel trailer, a vintage radio, a tin Cracker Jack container, a ceramic Felix the Cat cookie jar, a vintage napkin dispenser, an art deco paper towel dispenser, several pink flamingos, a ‘TRAILER TRASH’ sign made from nailing letters cut from vintage license plates onto a piece of old barn wood, a Florida license plate from 1969 that matches the trailer’s year of manufacture, and numerous other items that add to trailer’s vintage aura.

Here are some additional interior views of Bubbles:

If you’re interested in seeing vintage trailers decorated with antiques, check out the Tin Can Tourists website at tincantourists.com to get a listing of vintage trailer rallies in your area. Most rallies have a public open house on the Saturday of the event. If you see ‘Bubbles,’ stop by to say hi.

The Indoor Antique Advertising Show is scheduled to take place on March 20, 2021 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana. It will be held in the Champions Pavilion. The hours will run from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Admission will cost $5.00 plus parking. There will be no early buyers. A wide range of quality vintage advertising will be available for sale at this enjoyable and expanding event. For additional information, contact Damon Granger at 248-910-6765 or [email protected]. The show's web site is www.IAAShow.com.

"CigarettesPedia" asserts on its web site: "Since its creation on 29th March, 2006, this site has turned to a priceless, unequalled archive, that has more than 30,000 unique articles and images." The web site goes on to elaborate that "Many collectors from all around the world contribute for free and share information and images of rare, exclusive, old and new cigarette boxes. Cigarettes Pedia is open to large information or image contributions, drawing a large number of editors. Collectors and all interested parties, of any ages, are welcome to add further information, images and tobacco products to enhance the amount of knowledge/ information held by CigarettesPedia.

This web site, which also includes little cigars, reveals truly impressive international breadth. However, specifics provided about the various brands is often quite sparse. One or more photos accompany each listing. It appears that this resource comes to us from Russia. For those interested in the global reach of cigarettes, this is for you. Go to www.cigarettespedia.com to visit this site.

A few images from this web site appear below.

A second web site devoted to vintage cigarette packs is entitled: "The Biggest in the World Collection of Full Cigarette Packs" and it too comes to us from Russia. It appears to have been developed by the same individual as the one above. According to its web site, it was developed by Igor Sergeev in Moscow. He has collected cigarette packs since 1973. As of December 6, 2020, there were 51,700 packs in his collection. In spite of its Russian origins, the vast majority of the holdings in the collection hail from the United States. Like CigarettesPedia, limited information is provided about listed cigarette brands. The web site also claims to have cigarette brands for sale from $3.00 to $145.00 each. (Let the buyer beware!) To visit this site, go to: http://www.tttt.ru

A selection of images from this web site appears below.

In this column are those sought-after items of desire that seem to be elusive. If you know where any of these items can be acquired or if you have one available, please click the link to reply directly to the seeker. To place a listing in this column, click here. There is no fee for AAAA members. Up to three listings per member are permitted.

Antique Advertising pertaining to Country Store or Drug Store Products or Places. Especially those showing Women or Girls with the product or location shown. I would consider any  Antique Advertising (paper, cardboard & metal Signs). Quality a plus ! Dale Peterson  at [email protected]

Wanted top condition: Hard A Port small top tobacco tin; Convention Hall 1 lb coffee tin (green or yellow); Army Navy coffee slip lid canister; Big Horn 1 lb coffee tin; Continental Cubes medium size kidney shape tobacco tin.

To reply, click here.

Unusual one pound peanut butter tins. Tin litho or paper label. To reply, click here.

Marshmallow Tins, Smaller than 5 Pound Size. To reply, click here.

American Cookie, Biscuit and Cracker Tins and Boxes. To reply, click here. 

Banjo related advertising wanted Pre-1940s. Long time collector buying banjo company signage, catalogs, billheads, periodicals, minstrel banjo items such as posters, broadsides, sheet music ( pre-1870s ) with illustrated banjo covers, early photographs showing banjo players (pre-1915). My main collecting interest is in 19th century material. To reply, click here.

Antique American Medicine Bottles by M. Knapp... soft cover book with price guide. Printed in 2012. [email protected] or 781-248-8620 also, see my other want ad for Clarke’s ephemera and bottles.

Looking for 3 Vintage Tins: American Eagle "Oriental Mixture" tobacco (dimensions approx. 6.5" long, 2 3/4" wide, 1.5" tall); 1 Gal. Indian Head Hydraulic Brake Fluid; and Packham´s Caramel Toffee. Any offer is welcome and any condition considered. To reply, click here.

Morton Salt, older items, and also Pacific Coast Borax, especially a crate or box. email [email protected] or call Peggy Dailey 612-522-9211

Comic Book-Related Advertising Items: Must be from before 1980. To reply, click here.

Clarke’s Vegetable Sherry Wine Bitters, Sharon, MA & Rockland, ME: All sizes, variants, smooth/pontil base. Especially need labeled Clarke’s any size! Also, any Clarke’s ephemera…trade cards, almanacs, newspaper ads, etc. Charlie Martin Jr., 781-248-8620. Email: [email protected]

George Petty: Advanced collector looking for unique or rare items. Photo’s, store displays and non paper items. NO Esquire pages. Pete Perrault. To reply, click here or call (502) 290-7661.

Ice Cream Advertising: Mr. Ice Cream desires better graphic ice cream advertising including: postcards (Advertising and RPPC), trade cards, letterheads, billheads, booklets, poster stamps, blotters, magic lantern slides, pinbacks, watchfobs, and pocket mirrors. Allan Mellis, 1115 West Montana St. Chicago, Illinois 60614-2220. [email protected] To reply, click here.

Stock food, poultry food, veterinary advertising wanted. Posters, medicine packages, give-aways. Email [email protected] or call (256) 520-5211.

Singer Sewhandy Model 20-Green-regular paint, not hammertone. To reply, click here.

National Biscuit Company, Nabisco, Uneeda Biscuit, Uneeda Bakers, Muth Bakery, NBC Bread toys, signage, tins, containers, displays, historical items. Please Email [email protected] or call (937) 205-2232.

Early Cigarette Rolling Papers: Pre-1940’s - American, Zig Zag, Braunstein Freres, Bambino, and Ottoman papers wanted. To reply, click here.

Antique/Collectible Banking and Financial System "Give-a way" and advertising items. Specifically from Pennsylvania. Alarm devices and such. To reply, click here.

VITAMINS advertising, displays, signs, bottles, and anything related: Hadacol is an example. Most would come from the 1930’s thru the 1970’s. Also anything related to cod-liver oil and WEIGHT-LOSS, REDUCING, ANTI-FAT, and OBESITY ITEMS. To reply, click here.

Early tin signs lithographed by Tuchfarber, Wells and Hope, Worcester Sign Company, Sentenne and Green, etc. I can pay more for good condition, but would be interested in any condition. Don Lurito [email protected] also in the directory. To reply, click here.

Dwinell-Wright Co. Royal Ground Spice Cardboard Spice Boxes. One side displays horizontally. Approximately 3.75" by 2.25". Any type of spice is OK. To reply, click here.

ENSIGN Perfect and ENSIGN Perfection vertical pocket tobacco tins to enhance my collection. Feel free to contact me at 614-888-4619 or [email protected] to see if you can help fill the voids.

Edmands Coffee Company, Edmands Tea Company, 1776 Coffee, American Beauty Tea, Japan Tea, Devonshire Tea, (imported by Edmands, Boston/Chicago): Any items such as tins, signs, paper, or anything else related to the Edmands family of companies in Boston is desired. To reply, click here.

The AAAA Checkerboard is a monthly e-newsletter that is made available to all AAAA members at no cost. The mission of the Checkerboard is to increase knowledge about antique and collectible advertising among AAAA members. The Checkerboard also provides news and updates about AAAA. It is produced each month with the exception of the four months per year when the award-winning PastTimes print newsletter is published. Paul Lefkovitz ([email protected]) serves as the Editor of the AAAA Checkerboard. Copyright 2021, Antique Advertising Association of America