I LOVE LUCITE!
Category: Buildings
Roofed and walled structure
Hugh Connolly (1958 – 2014) Architect and Long-time Member of SBCS
Hugh Connolly, Show and Tell, Charlottesville, 2008
Monticello, VA; Old Capitol, IA; Broadmoor Hotel, CO; Super Dome, LA
Hugh Connolly, enthusiastic collector of souvenir buildings, member of the Souvenir Building Collectors Society, an architect who became an early proponent of LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, will be greatly missed at SBCS Convention time for many years to come. At Show and Tell in Charlottesville, VA (2008) Hugh shared his love for Liquor Decanter buildings and inspired others to collect them as well. Click here to view Hugh Connolly’s Tribute in the Trenton, NJ Times
GOOD NEWS – Hotel Discounted Reservations Extended to Oct. 3
GOOD NEWS!!
The SBCS Convention Hotel (Millennium Maxwell Hotel) has extended the deadline to receive room discounts.
If you have not yet signed up for the SBCS convention – you can still get the special convention rate at the Millennium Hotel if you call or visit their website by Friday, October 3rd. Spaces are filling up fast and Thursday night is already sold out.
Please call the Millennium Maxwell Hotel directly at 800-457-4460 and give them the “SBC” group code – 1410SBCCON or go to their website at: www.maxwellhousehotel.com.
Hope to see you in Nashville. Let me know if you are having any problems at omemrick@bellsouth.net
Time is Passing Fast – SBCS Convention Hotel Discount Ends Sept. 30!
Hotel Room Discount ends on September 30. Rate goes up significantly. Good idea to make your reservations now.
Convention Late Fee is $20 for 2014 SBCS Convention registrations received after October 1st. Since registration (as of now) is by snail mail, it is time to get moving.
Click here for Registration Form and link to Millennium Maxwell House Hotel.
A quick review of the SBCS 2014 Convention Highlights:
Friday, Oct 24: Registration, Downtown Walking Tour, Meet & Greet with host and lots of Show & Tell.
Saturday, Oct 25: Annual Business Meeting, The Swap Meet, afternoon Driving Tour, Dinner and featured raffle and auction.
Sunday, Oct 26: Foot-Loose and Fancy Free. Options include sight-seeing, flea market, antique shops.
READY, SET ………. SHOW & TELL! October 24, 2014
Are you ready to share a special souvenir building (or two or three) with the “heavy grazers” at our Nashville Convention Host’s home? Show & Tell is scheduled for Friday evening, October 24.
One highlight of Show & Tell in 2012 was David S. and his cork replica of San Giovanni Eremite, Palermo, Italy. He told how “when he paid his entrance fee to visit the church, the monk in the the ticket booth had several replicas of San Giovanni made of cork. The monk whittled these little gems from wine and other corks, giving him something to do while in the ticket booth.” It turns out that David likes to collect souvenir buildings when he has met the person who made the building.
David’s Show & Tell evolved into a full article in Souvenir Building Collector, Fall-Winter 2012. Click here to view the full article.
Have you made your reservations for the Souvenir Building Collectors Society Annual Convention – October 24,25,and 26, 2014?
SBCS 2014 Convention
October 24, 25, and 26, 2014, Nashville, Tennessee
It’s time to start planning! Which souvenir buildings will you bring to the Auction or donate to the Raffle? Do you have enough buildings to have a half table or a full table at the Swap Meet? Or are you just going to add to your collection? Do you have a couple of favorite buildings you just can’t wait to share their stories at Show and Tell?
The 2014 SBCS Convention is just around the corner. The program is set, the excitement is building (pun intended), all that is needed is your registration and enthusiasm.
The program includes a walking tour and a driving tour, a visit to a SBCS collector’s home, swap meet, business meeting, and a southern-style dinner in an 1840s, residence. and, of course, the Auction.
History of Souvenir Buildings
In the Spring and Fall – Winter 1995 editions of the Souvenir Building Collector, Dave Forman authored the 2 part “MAGNIFICENT MINIATURES: A History of Souvenir Buildings.”
He told how his “first souvenir building was a family heirloom my grandparents bought for fifty cents. It was a gleaming blue and white Trylon and Perisphere they brought back from their visit to the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Sleek and elegant, the metal miniature symbolized a promising vision of the future. Little did I know, when it eventually was passed down to me, the enormous role it would play in my own future.” Dave went on to describe how this initial replica became the foundation of his collection, which in 1995 numbered over 500. “Cathedrals, skyscrapers, monuments, museums, towers, spires and landmarks. They are tacky and elegant, crude and highly detailed, mundane and fantastic.” His “history” covered primarily the history of souvenir buildings in the United States starting with the penny bank replica of Independence Hall sold at the 1876 Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia and ending (remember his article is from 1995) with the observation that “Today building replicas are noticeably absent from the souvenir shops in airports and tourist attractions.” 1876 – Centennial Celebration, Philadelphia 1886 – Statue of Liberty, New York 1893 – World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago 1920’s & 30’s – Many replicas as company favors, commemoratives 1950’s – Tourist items from travel in the USA
Empire State Buildings, World Trade Center, Chrysler Building
Varied dates and sizes of the Statue of Liberty
The article describes some of the major manufacturers of “magnificent miniatures” as well as some of the interesting miniatures and the forms they come in – thermometers, salt & pepper shakers, cigarette lighters, etc. Click here to purchase copies of Vol 2, No 1 & 2, of Souvenir Building Collector, Journal of the Souvenir Building Collectors Society.
Charms, Spoons, Bells
“AREN’T THESE CHARMS, SPOONS, & BELLS SOUVENIR BUILDINGS, TOO?” asked Bob Kneisel in the Spring 2003 edition of The Souvenir Building Collector. He wrote:
“To many souvenir building collectors, charms in the shape of buildings are not, well … very charming. So size does matter! Many collectors draw the line at miniatures smaller than an inch or so high, and casually dismiss charms as nano-buildings (an aside here – in 2003 not many of us had yet included ‘nano’ in our vocabulary). But many other collectors accept (dare we say “seek”) these most miniature of buildings.
Here are a few reasons why:
- Charms can have great detail
- Charms are the only 3D versions of many buildings
- Some charms are big, for their size
- Charms are cheap
- Charms don’t take up much room
- Charms may be the only building you find at a swap meet …..”
Bob’s article went on to describe charms singularly and those that have been placed on the handle end of spoons or those that serve as handles on bells.
His Listomania Categories with some examples:
Click here to view Bob K’s 2003 Listomania.
WHAT IS IT??? WHERE IS IT???
Debuted in Volume 1, No. 1 (1994), of the SBCS Journal, the first publication of the feature “WHAT IS IT??? WHERE IS IT???” resulted in a quick identification. By the next issue of the Journal, 2 collectors’ had identified the pictured nameless monument as the monumental statue of Ferdinand I atop a column surrounded by four Moorish slaves. It stands in the square near the harbor in Livorno (Leghorn), Italy.
In the same article that reported the identification of Ferdinand I, two more buildings were posited for identification: St. Botolph’s Church in Boston, England and a penholder desk set labeled “Addressograph-Multigraph Corp.” Also, at this time, “the mystery gift for a mystery solved” tradition began. It was suggested that the collector looking for information provide a mystery gift to the first person to solve the puzzle.
Carol D. has shared the background on the St. Botolph’s quick identification. She had a friend who came from Boston, England and Carol had visited her there and had actually climbed the “stump” as the tower is affectionately known. Her “mystery gift” arrived 6 months later from knowledge seeker, Dave F.. a set of S&P shakers of the Watchtower on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. They are still in her collection.
By the 3rd issue of the SBCS Journal, the identification of little buildings and monuments was well underway. In that issue the desk cigarette smoking set of the Dahlstrom Building was featured. Bill T. tracked down a VP of Dahlstrom Manufacturing Co., Jamestown, NY who confirmed the replica was of the administration/office building, built in 1926.
Do you have a Souvenir Building or Monument that needs identifying? The members of SBCS are very knowledgeable and are happy to help you identify your building. If it is one that is not readily recognized, such that SBCS cannot quickly respond to your request, it may be a candidate for a “WHAT IS IT??? WHERE IS IT???” post.
Click here to send a request for identification of a building or monument.
RECENT FIND: Arizona Territorial Governor’s Mansion
We spent a day in Prescott, AZ. Took a tour of the Territorial Governor’s Mansion at the Sharlot Hall Museum in the morning. Meandered through the antique stores in the afternoon. Found a bronze miniature of the Governor’s Mansion cast by Noggle Bronze Works for the 1864 – 1964 Centennial of Prescott as the Territorial Capital. It weighs 3 and 1/4 lbs, is 2 3/4″ in height, 7″ in depth, and 5 inches wide.
SBCS 