Here’s your chance! That one special building or many sought-after pieces from noted SBCS member Howie Gelbtuch’s collection and other consignors! All you have to do is have a winning bid!
The bricks-and-mortar auction will be held in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Click here for the four-page flyer (pdf) from BP Auctions.
Catalogued items can be viewed now by clicking on these links for LiveAuctioneers: September 25. September 26.
Following the SBCS Convention tour of the Florida Southern College Architectural District, a collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, it was observed that a miniature of the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel had been created as a building fundraiser some time in the 1930s. Steven and Ethan C have a one in their collection. It was purchased about 2010 from a collector in Atlanta who would only part with one of a pair of bookends.
CHECK OUT THIS COLLECTION!
The City Reliquary Museum in Brooklyn, NY is showcasing in their Community Collections exhibit: “A Sampling of Souvenir Buildings” from the collection of SBCS President Joe Kopitz. They can be viewed in person at the Museum, on the City Reliquary Museum Facebook page and on the Souvenir Building Collectors Society Facebook page.
FACE BOOK Friend Days:
Of late, the Souvenir Building Collectors Society Facebook page has been hosting some lively discussions and a spate of interesting souvenir building photo postings requesting and receiving identifications. Carolyn C. kicked off these discussions on a Wednesday some weeks ago with a “Where Is It Wednesday?”.This has morphed into “Who Has It Wednesday?”, “and “What Is It Wednesday?” with resulting ID’s and pictures of the actual buildings.
Added to this ‘Day of the Week’ conversation is “Throwback Thursday” and “Test Tarun Thursday” (Tarun V. having shown an unbelievable rapidity in identifying previously unidentified souvenirs). And Tarun has contributed another category, “Friday Finds.”
Become a member of SBCS and join the conversation. Click here for Membership Information.
The first contribution toward building a checklist of souvenir buildings / monuments / statues located in Los Angeles or Orange Counties has arrived. Chris S. sent in this photo of the ARCO Center, ARCO Products Company Headquarters. He wrote, “This Arco Tower was a spec building built in the late 1980s prior to the office building bust in the 1990s. This was the ‘lesser’ ARCO building, not the more famous ARCO Tower that housed the oil company headquarters. This building housed the ARCO Products Division, the AM/PM Mini Marts. ARCO has ended their lease and taken the signage off of the building.” He speculates that this miniature was made as a souvenir for the initial occupancy or as a sales reward. Chris found it at the Mart Collective in Venice, CA in the fall of 2014.
NOW AVAILABLE under the MEMBERS ONLY tab:
WANTED:
Photos and descriptions of your souvenir buildings / monuments / statues with a Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County, or Orange County location. We will start posting some of these photos as a run-up to the June 10 – 12, 2016 SBCS Convention in Los Angeles. A further intent is to create a locale (LA and Orange Counties) specific checklist for members. Email your photos to bookendcollector@bookendcollector.com.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Head over to the Souvenir Building Collectors Facebook page and keep the conversation lively.
Elizabeth L. and Joe K. took advantage of the “First to Fly” promotion for the Orlando EYE and got the birds-eye view of the Orlando countryside. Joe took 2 flights and received 2 commemorative “First to Fly” pins. Joe said, “While there is not that much to see while up in the sky (after all, it is in central Florida – not on the edge of the Thames), there are several worthwhile sites to discover and see from a different perspective”.
Katherine and Jerry tickled Frank Lloyd Wrights’ fancy.
Donna S. picked up 2 keys to the 1933 Century of Progress, Chicago’s World Fair, at an antique mall in the city of Winter Park. Of course, the keys had buildings depicted on them.
On his way out-of-town, Joe K. found a $1 treasure at the Belville Corner Old Time Market in Bushnell, FL.
The Swap and Shop tables, the after dinner raffle, and the auction yielded more treasures for the 2015 convention attendees.
The Souvenir Building Collectors Society 2015 Convention in Orlando, Florida is in the bag. The next gathering will be June 10-11-12, 2016 in Los Angeles.
As SBCS members trickled out of Orlando, they carried bags of memories and packed suitcases of small buildings.
Early arrivals were treated to a walking tour of historical downtown Orlando, which included the SBCS & SBCCA Exhibit of miniature buildings in the Orlando City Hall Rotunda. This exhibit runs until May 9th.
SBCS Attendees caught up with each other at our hosts’ Meet & Greet soiree. Many shared stories of their newest or their special souvenir building finds.
More memories were added to the bag with the fantastic tour of one of the largest collections of buildings by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright at the Florida Southern College campus in Lakeland, FL.
One member found a photo of a cast metal model of the the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel that was sold to raise money for building the chapel. Have you seen one?
The Swap Meet on Saturday gave everyone a chance to trade, sell, or buy souvenir buildings. More treasures were added to the suitcases with the annual auction and raffle. It was hard not to go home with more real estate!
Tie the proverbial string around your finger! Or just make a list or a note to yourself!
Schedule:
FRIDAY, MAY 1
Hospitality Room (in hotel): Where you can pick up Registration Packets and drop off Raffle Items. Wed. 3 – 5 PM, Thurs & Fri. 10 AM – 12 Noon, and in afternoon.
City of Orlando Walking Tour: Conducted by members of the City of Orlando Historical Society. Will end at City Hall for SBCS Exhibit of Souvenir Buildings. 8:30 AM Friday – Meet in hotel lobby.
A quick tour will be offered to late arrivals in the afternoon and end at the City Hall SBCS Exhibit.
Meet & Greet: Light Dinner and Dessert with Hosts Marty and Jakob. Venue for Show-and-Tell with a theme of “recent finds or super favorite finds.” Sign-up in Hospitality Room for Shuttle or Car Pool. Walkable Distance. Early Evening Friday.
SATURDAY, MAY 2
SUNDAY, MAY 3
Oh so many choices. Meet for breakfast then onto personal interests – Cape Canaveral to Hogwarts, Antiques to Disney World.
What an Opportunity! Be one of the first to ride the Orlando Eye! The 2015 Souvenir Building Collectors Society Convention from May 1 – 3 in Orlando is on the same weekend that tickets first become available for the Orlando Eye. Tickets can be purchased for the “First to Fly” promotion by clicking on this link to the ORLANDO EYE. Act NOW! Tickets are going fast!
The Souvenir Building Collectors Society meeting is in Orlando, FL on May 1, 2 & 3, 2015. Click here to be taken to the website page about the 2015 Convention.
Click here to visit THE BUILDING COLLECTOR’s website and post on the SBCS Conventions’ Commemorative miniature buildings.
Click here to see the listing of the SBCS Convention locales and activities.
The Count-down has begun.
Seven (7) more days to register and receive a discount to the 2105 SBCS Convention in Orlando, Florida.
Twenty-two (22) days to the opening of the SBCS Exhibit of Souvenir Buildings at the Orlando City Hall.
Twenty-seven (27) days before Souvenir Building Collectors begin arriving at the Embassy Suites – Downtown Orlando.
Twenty-eight (28) days before a meet-greet-eat soiree at Marty & Jakob’s.
Twenty-nine (29) days before the Business Meeting, SBCS Swap Meet, Bus Tour to Lakeland, SBCS Dinner, Auction, and Raffle.
Thirty (30) days before some SBCS members head to Cape Canaveral for a peek at the Kennedy Space Center.
SBCS President, Joe Kopitz, states “I think that this is such terrific opportunity for our website and the SBCS. It adds such great value for our members and makes Lance’s hard work available to those who seek it most. Such a win-win.”
Lance has been a member of the Souvenir Building Collectors’ Society since 1995 and a member of the Still Bank Collectors Club of America since 1990. He is a frequent contributor of articles to the journals of both organizations. In writing Banthrico Buildings, Then and Now, Lance says, “My primary intent was to develop a database that could be used in writing comprehensive, detailed articles for collectors’ journals.”
In accomplishing his objective he not only provided the souvenir building and still bank collector communities with the specifications relating to the miniature replica building, but has conveyed the historical context of the actual building. For example, the Coast Federal Savings and Loan Association of Los Angeles issued a bank in 1961 that was a Rabbit looming over a replica of their building on Hill Street in Los Angeles. Lance’s data sheet not only covers the issue date and dimensions of the replica, but also supplies pictures of bank advertisements utilizing the Rabbit or “Bunny Bucks” as it was later known. There is even an advertisement depicting the Rabbit Bank, itself.
The book illustrations are colorful, informative, and instructive. The organization is outstanding. If you ever want to develop a catalogue of your collection, Lance has laid out a format that makes you want to start doing it today.
SBCS Members can download the electronic file in the Members Only section of this website.
sbcsociety.org 