A 1950s Tomorrowland board game rocketed for $30 at a past All-American Show. Disney memorabilia is expected to soar even higher at the upcoming January 16th and 17th Show because of Roy Disney’s recent death.Although he was not as as well known as his uncle, Walt, Roy was a consultant for The Walt Disney Company, owned 16 million shares of stock in the company, and was Director Emeritus for the Board of Directors. He was perhaps best known for organizing the ousting of two top Disney executives: first, Ron Miller in 1984, and then Michael Eisner in 2005. The board game was offered by the wife of an All-American Show dealer named Arthur, who was both a Disney fan and a former employee. He died a few years ago of lung cancer. ”He was a ride operator,” she said. “He worked at the [now defunct] submarine ride from 1957 to 1967.” He was more than just another employee, she claimed. He and founder Walt Disney actually had a friendship that actually caused them both more harm than good. ”Walt would come down in his little cart, pick him up and they would go outside the gate, away from the other employees, to smoke,” she said. Although Walt ended up offering him a job on the inside of the company, Arthur had plans that did not involve Disney. After a decade, he left Disneyland and worked as a building coordinator at Fullerton College and then ended up as a tax assessor for Riverside County. Walt Disney, a chain smoker, died in 1966 after having his left lung removed. He had scheduled to undergo neck surgery for an old polo injury, and doctors found an enormous tumor on his left lung. They removed his lung and despite several chemotherapy sessions, doctors only gave him six months to live. He died ten days after his 65th birthday. Even though the bulldog that was exhibited at the December Rose Bowl was chain smoking, since he was made out of pot metal, it is unlikely that he will die from cancer. His greatest enemy is rust. Dealer Pete Torres offered the canine cigarette collectible for $80. Similar automatons will be offered at the All-American Show. The All-American Show is from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Glendale Civic Auditorium is located at 1401 N. Verdugo Road in Glendale. Admission is $7 for adults and $2 for children.
Tag: All American Collector’s Show
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Lily cheers up sick children
She may not be much for listening to one’s problem’s but Linda Mullins’ three-year-old Maltese, Lily, is a therapy dog. ”She makes everybody feel better,” explained Mullins, who brought the perfectly-groomed and even more perfectly-behaved white terrier to the All-American Show where she set up her antique teddy bears and dolls. ”I take her around to children’s hospitals to help cheer them up,” said Mullins. For years, Mullins produced doll and teddy bear shows in the San Diego area. She has also been instrumental in raising large sums of money for victims of natural disasters around the world by orchestrating teddy bear auctions.
A big-busted beauty that doubles as a beer tap out of the New York area poured for $7,500 in the space of Big Blue, David Pacic, at the All-American Show. Proving that he still deserves the title for his oversized showstopping items, Pacic couldn’t pass up the hand carved wooden beer tap that was carved in the likeness of a ship’s figure head. ”It was used around the turn of the century in Brooklyn probably at a carnival but ultimately ended up in a bar,” he said of the bare-breasted, open mouthed beauty. It may have been carved by one of the master wood carvers of the time, like Looff, who was known for his phenomenal carousel horses. But, Pacic has been unable to prove any rich provenance at this time. ”If you could verify that is was carved by one of the top carousel horse carvers, or even better yet, if you could prove that it was actually a figure head on the front of the ship, it might be worth $20 or $30,000,” he said. However, Big Blue was looking to make a quick buck and was willing to sell the animated and seductive siren for $7,500. Pacic offered another piece of Breweriana in the form of a 1920 or ’30s neon Budweiser sign that imbibed for $1,200. The totally functioning sign glows a bright red. It may have been a back bar piece, but could have lured customers in by glowing a bar window. For more information on either piece, Pacic can be contacted at (805) 493-2953.
A toothless and tattered wax bust from the turn of the century recently sold for $1,895 on an internet auction site, but Maria Krane offered a much prettier and fully-toothed beauty for only $1,500 at the August All-American Show. The specialist in Art Deco fashion accessories, who earned the Collector magazine title, Rhinestone Fairy, showcased the circa 1900 wax mannequin with glass eyes in the center of her ultra feminine space. The bust, which would have been used to display hats or necklaces also has a full head of real, not molded hair. Krane can be contacted at (310) 569-1110.
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Vintage G.I. Joe's fire up all-American Show
Military memorabilia, from helmets to toy soldiers, always take aim at the All-American Show and this summer’s event, slated for August 15th and 16th at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, is no exception. With the release of the new G.I. Joe movie right around the corner, military items will be shooting up faster than the mercury in thermometers. Dealer Phil Miller is likely to bring his own G.I. Joe, a life-sized fiberglass soldier ready to engage in battle. He brought the angry 1970s G.I. to the last All-American Show in hopes that he would blast away for $950. ”He would make a great showstopper for a military collector’s showroom or any military-themed display,” he said. “These are also popular at Army Surplus stores.” Miller bought the well-armed soldier from a dealer in San Dimas. The movie has been described as a cross between Mission Impossible and James Bond with some Rambo thrown in, as well. In this thriller, instead of Bond’s SPECTRE, there is the nefarious COBRA, the Scottish arms lord. The female lead in Sienna Miller famous for her co-starring role with the deceased Heath Ledger in the movie, “Casanova.” She will be playing the villainess Baroness. Channing Tatum will be playing Duke. He is best known for his current role as Pretty Boy Floyd in “Public Enemies.” Prior to his gangster role, he was the star of cult favorite, “Battle in Seattle,” where he protested in the streets against World Trade Organizations. Whereas in the G.I. Joe movie he uses machine guns to fend off high tech tanks, in Seattle, he threw bricks at a Starbuck’s barista. In celebration of “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra,” which will be released on August 7th, just a week before the All-American Collector’s Show, dealers will be bringing out vintage G.I. Joe action figures and parts. The G.I. Joe line of military-themed action figures produced by Hasbro began in 1964 as a 12″ line of figures, and in 1982, the line was relaunched in a 3 3/4-inch scale complete with vehicles, playsets, and a complex background story involving an ongoing struggle between the G.I. Joe Team and the evil Cobra Organization. The G.I. Joe toys are significant because they led to the coining of the term “action figure.” The All-American Show will be open from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $7. Call (310) 455-2894 for more information.
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Robot tribute
On Sunday, when news of the tragic death of “Lost in Space” actor Bob May had died spread throughout the All-American Show, there were several impromptu robot displays in honor of his character Robby, eulogies were delivered, and some even wore black arm bands.May, who donned Robby the Robot’s suit in the hit 1960s television show “Lost in Space.” He was 69. His call phrase, “Danger, Will Robinson,” has been used for generations to alert people of potentially unsafe conditions. it was used more times on Saturday Night Live and in the Bush administration than on the show. Despite the popularity of the phrase in everyday culture, it was only said once on the show. This was during episode 11 of season 3: “The Deadliest of the Species.” The Robot gave warnings intermittently to Will and the other crew members of the Jupiter 2, in the form of the expressions “Warning!” and “Danger!” May died on January 18th of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Lancaster. According to June Lockhart, who played family matriarch Maureen Robinson, he said he got the job because he fit into the robot suit. Although May didn’t provide the robot’s distinctive voice (that was done by announcer Dick Tufeld), he developed a following of fans who sought him out at memorabilia shows. There is hardly a man more revered for his contributions to pop culture.
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Courage after tragedy
After the tragic death of her husband Wally, the Teddy Bear diva, Linda Mullins, is back in the antique and collectible world. She is hitting the show circuit again, and started by making a triumphant teddy return by offering not only vintage bears at the January All-American Show, but a group of rare and historic Teddy Roosevelt memorabilia. Mullins is the former 20-year promoter of the San Diego Teddy Bear Show, which is still being held, and author of 19 books on the stuffed animal for which she is so passionate. At the summit of her Teddy Bear career, she produced the San Diego Teddy Bear Show, which is still referred to by loyalists as Linda’s Show. even though she hasn’t been the owner in more than five years. It has changed names and hands several times since she sold the show half a decade ago. Mullins has written books on all aspects of vintage and collectible Teddy Bears, including “Creating Miniature Teddy Bears,” “The Ultimate Handbook for Making Teddy Bears,”American Teddy Bear Artists Pattern Book,” “Steiff Identification and Price Guide,” “Teddy Bears Past and Present: A Collector’s Identification Guide,” and “The Teddy Bear Men,” which is about the two most important men in Teddy Bear history, President Theodore Roosevelt and cartoonist Clifford Berryman. After years of hard work as an author and show producer, Mullins was determined to retire, and did for a bit, but relaxing every day at her Carlsbad residence overlooking the lagoon, was just not her style. After giving up her show in 2004, Mullins had decided to take a break with her husband. But, due to the unprecedented national and international disasters that hit the following few years, she started raising money for a number of worthy causes. As founder and coordinator for the International Teddy Bear Relief Fund, she planned an auction of custom made Teddies that raised $75,000 for the victims of the tsunami that swept through Southeast Asia in 2005. She began raising money for disaster victims via Teddy auctions in 1995 when she raised $220,000 for those who lost everything in the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan. Most recently, she held a Teddy Bear and doll auction that raised $35,000 to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Since the death of her husband, Mullins had been out of the antique and collectible world. She made her re-emergence at the All-American Show, and will continue to pop up at toy and teddy shows. When she is not wrapped up in the world of her favorite stuffed animal, Mullins is embracing life as a single woman. She is taking gourmet cooking classes at Legoland, teaching her Maltese dog tricks, and taking ballroom and Latin dance lessons.
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Prototype plane
After only a few hours at the All-American Show, Joel Haffner discovered that a metal airplane that was part of a his personal collection for 28 years, was not the Howard Hughes prototype as he was led to believe. ”It was misrepresented,” said Haffner, who had purchased the plane at a K&K Toy Show in Las Vegas from a man who claimed he was an ex-executive for Hughes Aircraft. “He said he had a few items from the Howard Hughes Collection.” Another individual who really used to work for Hughes Aircraft, burst Haffner’s bubble at the January Show. He revealed to him that the metal plane with 42” wingspan is indeed a prototype, but of a Northrop Gamma, not a Hughes Aircraft H1. This revelation may have a dramatic affect on the plane’s value. Prior to the news, all he would disclose about the selling price was that it was “well over $5,000.” This was the first antique show to which Haffner brought his plane. Prior to the show, he was convinced that the handwritten notation, reading: “HAC Dept. 4, Everett Rhodes, Prototype H1, 02-34.” was correct. One of the benefits of exposing coveted items at an antique show, is that is can help considerably in the research and vetting process explain insiders. But, they add, dealer beware: one’s delusions can also be shattered. For more than two decades, Haffner had a certain point of view regarding his prototype plane. It was marked as a Hughes prototype; he even bought it at a toy show in sin city, where Hughes spent the remainder of his days. All of this evidence did not make what he was led to believe, true. For more information on the plane, contact Haffner at (541) 383-1897. Howard Hughes was a major figure in Vegas throughout the 1960s and ’70s. On November 24, 1966, Hughes arrived in Las Vegas by railroad car and moved into the Desert Inn. Refusing to leave the hotel and to avoid further conflicts with the owners of the hotel, Hughes bought the Desert Inn in early 1967. The hotel’s eighth floor became the nerve center of his empire and the ninth floor penthouse became Hughes’ personal residence. Between 1966 and 1968, he bought several other hotels & casinos, including Castaways, New Frontier, The Landmark Hotel and Casino, Sands, and Silver Slipper. Hughes wanted to change the image of Las Vegas to something more glamorous than it was. As Hughes wrote in a memo to an aide, “I like to think of Las Vegas in terms of a well-dressed man in a dinner jacket and a beautifully jeweled and furred female getting out of an expensive car.” Hughes had spent a total of $300 million on his many properties in Las Vegas.
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Great root bear debate
The 3 1/2′ tall A&W mascot bear head Willie Nickel offered at the All-American Show growled for $495. The familiar face of the fast food restaurant has not been given his due. According to Nickel, the grizzly head is of Papa Bear, who was a part of a three-bear family of mascots that represented the burger/root beer joint from the 1950s through the mid-1960s. ”I suspect he was part of a larger mechanical display,” said Nickel. Papa Bear was one of A&W’s three bears that represented each of their burger sizes: Mama Bear was the medium-sized burger, Teen burger was the junior-sized patty. Most documentation, including that presented by the restaurant itself, suggested that the first mascot was and still is, “The Great Root Bear.” He was first used by Canada’s A&W in 1974 and was later adapted adopted by the American chain. In the late 1990s, the Great Root Bear’s role as mascot was reduced, ultimately being replaced by “The Burger Family,” although he still appears in various capacities for the restaurants and on the A&W Root Beer cases in Canada. Nickel’s story stands strong, however. On July 19, 1960, A&W Food Services of Winnepeg and Manitoba, Canada filed a trademark for “Papa Burger,” and they were granted that trademark on November 25th. In 1961, they introduced the Teen burger to its menu. It makes perfect sense that they would have had a family of bears that represented their various burgers. There are also puppets, drinking glasses and other pieces of memorabilia shown in Tom Morrison’s books on root beer collectibles that suggest the bear memorabilia dates back to the 1960s, before The Great Root Bear was invented.
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Early litho lunch box
Ralph Persinger helped facilitate the wave of robots that stormed the All-American Show in January. Although it was only lithographed on the front of a lunchbox, the giant robot facing off with Superman graces an important early box.”It is one of the first full litho lunchboxes,” said Persinger, who hoped the box would preserve $1,000. The original 1954 lunchbox in excellent condition shows a hovering Superman with extended fist approaching a towering gold robot. There is fire at their feet, combat planes and a skyline in the background. Persinger, who owns Burbank Antiques on Magnolia Avenue, authored a newsletter called, “The Paileontologist” in the early 1990s. He published about eight issues of the paper dedicated to lunch box enthusiasts like himself. How Metal Lunchboxes Were Manufactured Factories took large, flat rolls of steel and cut them down to the appropriate size. The sheets were then run under print rollers in a process known as lithography using CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) which is the standard four-color printing process that is used today. In the
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