The AAAA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that a membership survey will be conducted this fall. It will be used to produce an updated AAAA database and Membership Directory. This newly revised Directory booklet will list hundreds of AAAA members along with their contact information and areas of collecting interest. Willingness to permit visitors will also be listed. Indexes by state and most popular areas of collecting interest will also be included to make it easy for members to find kindred souls. Members will be able to opt out of reporting any specific type of information in the Directory.

The survey will be conducted via email and regular US Mail (for those without email) in September. You must be a paid-up member to receive the survey. PLEASE complete the survey as soon as you receive it!

One of the most highly anticipated events of the Convention was the tour of Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor and Museum, located in Columbus, Indiana. The presentation conducted by Debra Slone exceeded every expectation. Here are some of the comments made by attendees:

This heartfelt tour opened with an account of the establishment of Zaharakos in 1900, its gradual decline, and its remarkable restoration in 2009. Debra walked the visitors through all parts of this precious time capsule, explaining what has changed and what remains the same. The beauty of Zaharakos spoke for itself with its original Liquid Carbonic 40 foot onyx and Italian marble counter and two sets of dispensers; 50 foot backbar with stained glass accents and ornately carved woodwork; rare Welty Orchestral Organ; museum-grade collection of syrup dispensers; country store; collection of early soda fountains; and, well--there is no need to describe any more. To see Debra's 25 minute presentation and witness the grandeur of Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor and Museum, just click the link below.

Our appreciation goes to Debra for conducting this tour!

Attendees were given the opportunity to visit with old friends and make new ones in break-out discussions. The participants were separated into 7 smaller groups, each in their own virtual room. There were no leaders or prescribed topics. Those involved simply took the discussion where it was meant to go. By all accounts, the groups were active and had lots of fun.

Our thanks go to John and Alice for presenting this outstanding seminar!

To view their seminar, click the link below.

President Steve Lefkovitz called the meeting to order and an informative and relevant gathering followed. Reports were provided by the following Board Members: Amy Vehling (Membership), Jeremy Blum (Finance), Alice Muncaster (Facebook), and Paul Lefkovitz (Publications and Conventions).

Good news was shared on several fronts. Membership currently stands at around 330, which is higher than it has been at any time over the past 8 years. We have been holding steady at 300 or more for a number of years at a time when other clubs are experiencing steadily declining membership. Our financial status was reported as being very stable with healthy reserves. A survey of AAAA members is planned for the fall which will be used to update our database. It will also lead to the publication of a new Membership Directory.

What's more exciting than winning free money?

Twenty-two lucky AAAA raffle winners will exclaim "Nothing!"

Free raffle drawings were conducted in a virtual room full of anticipation and suspense. A total of $2,000 was awarded in cash prizes. Bob Hunt can be seen above announcing the prizes and Michele Lefkovitz is shown calling out the winning numbers. Linda Seeley and Eric Schwartz each walked away with a grand prize of $250 (pictured below)! Twenty other happy individuals won either $50 or $100.

"Room Hopping" is probably the favorite AAAA Convention event, where attendees "hop" from room to room, shopping for treasures to purchase. In this Virtual Convention, 29 sellers from around the US offered thousands of vintage advertising items for sale. Room Hopping began immediately after the Convention Zoom Meeting ended on Saturday, July 24 and remained open until Saturday, July 31. It was conveniently available on the AAAA web site.

The Room Hopping web site is pictured below. The visitor scrolled down to see the doors of all 29 sellers.

Clicking on a door revealed the seller's inventory of vintage advertising, attractively presented. A broad range of collecting genres was represented at all price points.

AAAA extends its appreciation to the following 29 sellers who participated in our Room Hoping event. They all contributed significantly to the success of the Convention!

The gallery below provides a quick look at the varied and desirable items that were made available by the 29 Room Hopping sellers.

I hated to do it, but I had a better offer. What? Better than seeing all that great antique advertising? Better than re-connecting with like-minded collectors and friends? Even better than buying and selling from the virtual room-hopping? Well…yes.

First, a little background to explain. Being raised in St. Louis, it was a very big deal when Six Flags opened it’s park there 50 years ago in 1971. I was 17 and was in the group of the very first employees hired. It was like Hollywood had come to my home town. Of course, I wanted the best job in the park, the train conductor. The uniform, the spiel, meeting all those people; I just knew it was the perfect job for me. But somehow, management saw my future with them in the Food & Beverage department. They thought I had great potential in scooping ice cream. So, that’s what I did for 2 years. I developed a very large right bicep. But eventually I left Six Flags and went to school and earned my Master’s degree and over the years created my professional speaking business.

But recently, COVID hit. Maybe you heard about it. It was in all the papers. What you may not realize is that it shut down the convention business. Everywhere. No conventions, no need for speakers. But, I haven’t been just sitting around for a year and a half. I’ve re-done all my websites, created new virtual video programs and wrote three new books. I also wrote a letter to the president of Six Flags. Click here to learn what happened next and why I regrettably missed the AAAA Virtual Convention. (Be sure to let it download completely so you get the entire article and video.)

Addicted collectors find their interests change over the years. Something catches their eye so they seek more examples to satisfy their interest. That effort leads to other interests and before long they have nice collections of niche topics. Celluloid smalls have always appealed to me. And celluloid scorekeepers are of special intrigue. Often they are colorful with attractive graphics and they cover a wide range of products.

Baseball, Whist, and card playing were popular past times before WWII. Advertising promotions companies such as Whitehead & Hoag created products featuring these activities. Scorekeepers provided a means for customers to interact with the promotion. It is easy to imagine ladies, gentlemen, and couples playing cards and using the markers to track the score. People at a youth ballgame having a scorekeeper to track not only runs scored, but hits and other statistics.

Besides scorekeepers, similar items can be found to translate fractions to decimal equivalents, price charts, and a number of other functions.

The gallery below presents a selection of advertising celluloid score keepers from my collection.

United States Tires. ‘Don’t Monkey With the Score.’ 

Briggs Piano Bridge Score Keeper

The Indy Ad Show, promoted by Route 32 Auctions, will be back at the Boone County Fairgrounds on September 24-25, 2021. The location is about 20 minutes outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. This show continues to be very popular with both dealers and collectors. It will run from 9:00 am to 5:00 PM on the 24th. On the 25th it will open at 9:00 AM and close at 3:00 PM. (Note: Dealers often pack up a bit early on the second day.)

Packaged as part of the Boone County Treasure Hunt, one admission price of $10 will also get you into an Antique Market and a Gas & Oil Show both days. Route 32 also conducts auctions featuring vintage advertising each day after the show (6:00 PM on Friday and 4:30 PM on Saturday).

Approximately 250 dealers are expected at this show and you can be assured that there will be something for everybody. The Indy Ad Show is known for the high quality and diversity of the items available for sale. Most collectors of antique advertising consider this a "can't miss" event when it comes around in the spring and fall of each year.

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.

DeLaval Items and Farm Advertising Signs. Always looking for top quality and unique items. Contact Gregg Hillyer at [email protected]

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