Category: People

Buildings, Events, People, RECENT FINDS

2014 Convention Finds

Bookend Collector
Stadhusett - Stockholm (City Hall - Stockholm), Sweden, height - 3”, Cast Metal. Sticker on bottom reads, “Washfobik, Konsthantverk, Varby, Sweden.” The City Hall was designed the National Romantic style by the architect Ragnar Ostberg and was completed in 1923.
Stadhusett – Stockholm (City Hall – Stockholm), Sweden, height – 3”, Cast Metal. Sticker on bottom reads, “Washfobik, Konsthantverk, Varby, Sweden.” The City Hall was designed the National Romantic style by the architect Ragnar Ostberg and was completed in 1923.

Russell K. shares the following: “These are two acquisitions that I consider as the most unique added to my collection as a result of the SBCS event in Nashville. Both represent major architectural monuments in Stockholm, Sweden. My wife and I have visited them during our travels to Sweden. I had not previously seen these souvenir buildings. They were formerly part of the collection of Pat Smith. Based on the number of other Swedish souvenir buildings I purchased at the swap meet that were part of her collection, I would assume she bought both pieces in Sweden. Joe K. had also brought a large number of pieces of travel literature that Pat had collected and my wife and I were pleased to be able to take a number of them that related to Scandinavia.”

Kungliga Slottet - Stockholm (Royal Palace), Sweden, height - 1 1/8”, Cast Metal, Maker unknown. Since completion 1974 it has served as the official royal residence of the Swedish Royal family.
Kungliga Slottet – Stockholm (Royal Palace), Sweden, height – 1 1/8”, Cast Metal, Maker unknown. Since completion in 1774 it has served as the official royal residence of the Swedish Royal family.
Buildings, Monuments, People, RECENT FINDS, Upcoming event

More Convention Finds!

Bookend Collector

Steven C. and son, Ethan C., returned home from Nashville with lots of great additions to their collection of souvenir buildings and monuments.  Check out these photos!

Steven C. finds
Tecumseh Monument, Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD; Polar Circle (Polarcirkel 1937) Monument, Norway; St. Pauls’s Cathedral, London; Shrine Peace Memorial, Toronto; Lucy the Elephant, Margate, NJ; Ricordo Di Padova; Temple of Saturn, Baalbeck, Lebanon.

 

Ricordo Di Padova
Ricordo Di Padova, with St. Anthony Icon, Basilica of St. Anthony, Padua, Italy
Steven C. finds
Peace Arch Memorial, US-CN border, Blaine, WA & Surrey, BC; Fountainhead Chiropractic Hospital, Davenport, IA; Tower of America, 1968 HemisFair, San Antonio, TX; Lighthouse, Portland, ME; Sacre Coeur, Paris; Irish Cottage.
Steven C. finds
Fountainhead Chiropractic Hospital, Davenport, Iowa.
Steven C. finds
Winged Victory of Samothrace, Louvre, Paris (Nat’l Fed. of Business and Professional Women’s Club); State Capitol, Montgomery, AL; Trolley, San Francisco; St. Peter monument, Vatican.

And finishing off with a collectible Beer Tap Handle.

Steven C. Finds
Heidelberg, Germany depicted on a Heidelberg (Tacoma, WA brewery) Beer Tap Handle
Buildings, People, Upcoming event

Hugh Connolly (1958 – 2014) Architect and Long-time Member of SBCS

Bookend Collector
Photos of Hugh Connolly and his collection
Hugh Connolly, Show and Tell, Charlottesville, 2008
Monticello, VA; Old Capitol, IA; Broadmoor Hotel, CO; Super Dome, LA
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

 

Buildings, Events, News, People, Upcoming event

READY, SET ………. SHOW & TELL! October 24, 2014

Bookend Collector

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.

Photo of San Giovanni Cork Replica
Cork Replica of San Giovanni, Palermo, Italy

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?

Click here for Program Highlights.

Click here for  Registration Materials.

Buildings, Monuments, People, Upcoming event

History of Souvenir Buildings

Bookend Collector

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.”

Photo of Trylon and Perisphere souvenir building
Trylon and Perisphere Miniature Building from 1939 New York World’s Fair

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

Photo of NYC Souvenir Buildings
Empire State Buildings, World Trade Center, Chrysler Building
Photo of Statue of Liberty Souvenirs
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.

Buildings, Monuments, People, Upcoming event

Top Ten List of NOTABUILDING

Bookend Collector

With David Letterman announcing his retirement, perhaps it’s time for a republication of Bob Kneisel’s “TOP TEN LIST OF NOTABUILDINGS” FROM 1997.

 

What’s a Notabuilding, you ask? It’s one of those objects that you initially see and think is a building, but turns out not to be. You’ve all seen ‘em, been disappointed by ‘em, and wanted to call them something printable. Now you can. In true David Letterman style, here are the Top Ten Notabuildings, gathered from the letdowns of fellow collectors.

10. Cheese Graters (Look like skyscrapers from afar)

9. Fire Hose Nozzles. Are they towers? Steeples? Or All Wet?

8. Cone-topped Beer Cans. These castaways of our youth are now collectible, (which is OK), except they look like buildings, which they aren’t, (which isn’t).

7. Book Banks. They’re rectangular. They’re tall. They’re upright. But save your money, and wait for a real bank.

6. Those tall, brass cigarette lighters that look like skyscrapers. You’ve seen ‘em. The Johnson Wax Tower they’re not.

5. Transistor Radios. Who’d have thought to hold onto these things? In bad light, from a distance, they can seem to be an office building with rows of windows. Resist the transistor!

4. Those obnoxious little replicas of typewriters, weather vanes, sewing machines, etc. Pot metal they are. Buildings they’re not.

3. Flashlights, when stood up on end. They are definitely notabuildings.

2. Bookends, which have the pattern and detail of a building, but turn out to be replicas of library shelves, bookcases, or anything butabuilding.

CableCarNotabuilding

1. San Francisco Cable Cars. They’re oblong! They have regularly repeating rectilinear features! They’re copper-plated pot metal! They’re souvenirs! I have some! They’re NOTABUILDINGS!

Buildings, Monuments, News, People, Upcoming event

Patricia Scherf-Smith (1930 – 2014) Early Member and SBCS Contributor

Bookend Collector
Photo of Pat Smith and miniature buildings 1996
Pat Smith with her collection of houses and buildings. Souvenir Building Collector, Journal Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring-Summer 1996.

Patricia Scherf-Smith, avid collector and documenter of miniature buildings, was an early member of the Souvenir Building Collectors Society and a frequent contributor to the Souvenir Building Collector Journal. She wrote about hunting souvenir buildings in the Middle East, at Estate Sales, on the Internet, and in catalogs. Click here to read about her 2001 adventures collecting souvenir buildings in the Middle East. A frequent attendee at the SBCS Annual Conventions, she shared her enthusiasm and interests with all. Tributes to Pat can be found at Mason City Glove Gazette and The Building Collector.

Buildings, Events, Monuments, People, Upcoming event

WELCOME TO SBCS

Bookend Collector

The Souvenir Building Collectors Society

A souvenir building is a three-dimensional, miniature version of an actual building, monument, statue, bridge, dam etc.   Souvenir buildings trigger a memory of a building or a structure, a time, a place, or perhaps a person.

SBCS is a Meeting Place for Souvenir Building Collectors, where you get to connect to a huge & diversified group of Souvenir Building Collectors and learn about thousands of Souvenir Buildings & even grow your collection.

Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/47920772123

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