The Joy Of Canadian Country Store Collectables

IMPORTANT ANTIQUE GUIDEBOOKS TO HANG ONTO - BECAUSE THEY COVER ALL THE BASES

I'VE SOLD OFF A LOT OF MY PRIVATE STOCK OF GUIDE BOOKS - AND FOUND ANOTHER ROOM WHERE THE SHELVES HAD BEEN

     THERE WAS A TIME, WHEN I WOULD LAUNCH INTO A WILD SMOKING TIRADE, WHEN SOMEONE WOULD TELL ME THEY DEPENDED ON THE INTERNET FOR ANTIQUE RESEARCH AND PRICING. A YEAR AGO, I HAD ABOUT A THOUSAND ANTIQUE RELATED REFERENCE BOOKS. SUZANNE ASKED ME ONE DAY, IF I USED THEM MUCH ANYMORE. OF COURSE I ANSWERED TO THE AFFIRMATIVE, BUT I WAS TELLING A PORKY. HONESTLY, I HAVEN'T USED MY REFERENCE COLLECTION AND PRICE GUIDES FOR SEVERAL YEARS. AND I HAVE TO ADMIT, THE INTERNET HAS PROVEN ITSELF TO ME, WITH FAR MORE OPTIONS TO ASSIST RESEARCH, THAN I HAD WITH A THOUSAND BOOKS. AS SUZANNE IS A COMPUTER WHIZ, SHE CAN RESEARCH PIECES IN A QUARTER OF THE TIME, IT WOULD TAKE TO PAW THROUGH THESE MANY BOOKS, AND EVEN THEN, IT MAY TAKE FOUR BOOKS ON THE SAME SUBJECT TO ANSWER ONE QUESTION. ALL GUIDEBOOKS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL, THAT'S FOR SURE. WE CAN GET HUNDREDS OF FILES ONLINE WITH THE CLICK OF A MOUSE, AND A BIT OF KEYBOARDING, AND HONESTLY, BEING AS IMPATIENT AS I AM…..IT WORKS FOR ME IN MY CRUSTY OLD AGE. I FEEL LIKE A HYPOCRITE BUT I HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT! CYBERSPACE HAS REDUCED THE NEED TO KILL TREES TO PRINT THE PAPER THAT IS EVENTUALLY BOUND INTO BOOKS. I REALLY FEEL BAD ADMITTING THIS, AS A BOOK COLLECTOR / DEALER, BUT IT'S TRUE. I HATE KILLING TREES AT ANY TIME. IN FACT, I DON'T EVEN LIKE CUTTING LIMBS, BECAUSE I ALWAYS THINK I'M HURTING THE TREES. I NEVER SAID I WASN'T PECULIAR.

     TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, RESEARCHING COLLECTIBLE (SUCH AS SIGNED COPIES), OLD, AND RARE BOOKS. YOU WOULD HAVE TO OWN A HUNDRED BOOK "PRICE GUIDES" TO EVEN COME CLOSE TO THEM BEING CONSIDERED EVEN SLIGHTLY USEFUL. THE EXPENSE OF BUYING THESE BOOKS? HUGE AND UNNECESSARY. SUZANNE CAN BROWSE THE "ADVANCED BOOK EXCHANGE" (ABE) ONLINE, AND TAP INTO THE RESOURCES OF A HUGE NUMBER OF ANTIQUE BOOK DEALERS, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRICE RANGE FOR THE TEXT WE ARE LOOKING UP. WE CAN EXAMINE CONDITION REPORTS, LEARN MORE ABOUT ACTUAL FIRST EDITIONS, LIMITED PRINTINGS, IDENTIFYING DETAILS OF RARE BOOKS, AND JUDGE BETWEEN FOUR TO DOZENS OF MEMBER BUSINESSES, OFFERING THE SAME BOOK FOR A SUBSTANTIAL RANGE OF PRICES. WHAT WOULD TAKE US MANY HOURS OF RESEARCH IN THE OLD DAYS, WHEN WE STARTED SELLING OLD BOOKS, NOW TAKES FIVE MINUTES. IT'S ALSO GREAT FOR BUYING BOOKS FOR CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS CONVENIENT AND SAVES A LOT OF HUSTLING ABOUT TO FILL ORDERS. I WAS A HOLD-OUT IN THE WHOLE COMPUTER / INTERNET TURN OF OUR BUSINESS, BUT NOW WE SIMPLY COULDN'T OPERATE WITHOUT IT. AND I MEAN THAT, INCLUDING THE NEEDS OF ANDREW AND ROBERT'S VINTAGE MUSIC ENTERPRISE. WHEN THEY NEED PARTS FOR INSTRUMENTS, IN FOR REPAIR, AN ORDER TAKES FIVE MINUTES, AND DELIVERY CAN ARRIVE AT OUR DOORSTEP IN TWO DAYS. EVERYTHING IS SO MUCH FASTER USING COMPUTER CONNECTEDNESS, AND THAT LEAVES MORE TIME FOR MAKING BUSINESS BETTER…..BY NOT HAVING TO BE AWAY FROM IT SO MANY DAYS OF A YEAR, QUESTING FOR EVASIVE MATERIALS AND INVENTORY. YES, WE DO BUY AND SELL THROUGH EBAY. WHEN WE ADDED AN ANTIQUE SHOP COMPONENT TO OUR LADS' MUSIC SHOP, THIS PAST JULY, WE TOOK A HIATUS FROM SELLING ON EBAY, AND TURNED IT INTO A "BUYING" RELATIONSHIP INSTEAD. ANDREW AND ROBERT BUY A LOT THROUGH EBAY, ESPECIALLY RECORDS AND "PROJECT" GUITARS……WHICH MEANS INSTRUMENTS THAT ARE IN DIRE NEED OF UPGRADES IN ALL AREAS. ANDREW REPAIRS THEM AND PUTS THEM BACK UP FOR SALE IN HIS SHOP. ROBERT SELLS THE VINTAGE RECORDS, AND WE WILL OCCASIONALLY FIND A COLLECTION OF COOKBOOKS WE WANT FOR OUR REFERENCE LIBRARY.

     I AM STILL COMPUTER ILLITERATE, AND THE MOST I CAN DO IS TYPE FROM THIS KEYBOARD, ONTO THE BIG WHITE "APPLE" SCREEN, AND YELL FOR HELP WHEN I ACCIDENTALLY HIT A KEY THAT ERASES MY EDITORIALS FROM VIEW. EVERYONE ELSE IN THE FAMILY IS COMPUTER SAVVY, AND THEY COME RUNNING TO SAVE MY COPY, AND PUBLISH THE BLOGS EACH EVENING. I HATE TO ADMIT THIS, BECAUSE I'M THE ONE THAT PUSHED THEM INTO THE COMPUTER AGE…….TELLING THEM, BOLDLY, THAT THIS WAS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE, AND OUR BUSINESSES WOULD DEPEND ON IT AS A RESOURCE. SO HERE I AM, IN 2013 STILL UNABLE TO SAVE THIS COPY FOR FEAR I'LL LOSE IT INTO THE BLACK HOLE OF CYBER SPACE. I USED MANUAL TYPEWRITERS FOR MOST OF MY WRITING CAREER, AND THIS ON-SCREEN WRITING STILL FREAKS ME OUT, EVEN AFTER A DECADE AS ITS SLAVE. TRUTH IS, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN SUPERSTITIOUS, AND I HAVE TRADITIONALLY HAD WRITING RITUALS…..MUCH LIKE BASEBALL AND HOCKEY PLAYERS, WHO HAVE TO TAP THEIR SHOES OR THE GOAL POSTS TWO OR THREE TIMES EACH BEFORE THE RESUMPTION OF PLAY. MY RITUALS WERE HINGED ON THE MANUAL TYPEWRITERS, NOT ON THIS INFERNAL HUMMING CONTRAPTION. THE POINT IS, THAT WHETHER I LIKE WRITING ONTO THIS SCREEN OR NOT, IT IS THE WAY I HAVE TO CONTINUE, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT I'VE GOT PROJECTS STACKING-UP. AS LONG AS I'VE GOT A TECHNICAL SQUAD TO BACK ME UP, I'M FINE, AND MY RITUALS ARE SUBTLE, SIMPLE AND APPARENTLY EFFECTIVE. I HAVEN'T LOST EDITORIAL COPY IN SIX MONTHS. ON THAT OCCASION, I'M TOLD, MY HEAVY TAPPING (A NECESSITY ON AN OLD UNDERWOOD) FRIED THE LAPTOP KEYBOARD SENSORS, AND THUSLY, ANOTHER COMPUTER WAS HEADED FOR THE RECYCLING DEPOT.

     AS INTREPID ANTIQUE HUNTERS, WE USE THE COMPUTER CONSTANTLY. IN THE SHOP, AT HOME, AND BY PHONE. I MAY NOT LIKE THE INTRUSION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, BUT I WON'T TURN AWAY FROM ITS BENEFITS EITHER, BECAUSE WE MAKE MONEY BY BEING CONNECTED. IT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE EQUATION. THIS IS WHY I BEGAN REDUCING MY GUIDEBOOKS BY THREE QUARTERS, THIS PAST SUMMER SEASON, AND A GOOD CHUNK OF IT HAS SOLD ALREADY. WHICH SHOWS THAT HARD COPY IS STILL RELEVANT TO ANTIQUE HUNTERS AND COLLECTORS. THERE HAVE BEEN FORTY OR SO REFERENCE BOOKS I'VE HUNG ONTO, BECAUSE THEY'RE CANADIAN, AND WE SELL A LOT OF CANADIANA. ONE OF THESE BOOKS, IS A BATTLE-WEARY COPY OF THE 1979 PRICE GUIDE, ENTITLED "CANADIAN COUNTRY STORE COLLECTABLES," BY BILL AND PAULINE HOGAN. IT'S A SMALL FORMAT BOOK WITH A BIG PUNCH. IT ORIGINALLY SOLD FOR $8.95, BUT ON THE REBOUND, AND IN GOOD CONDITION, IT CAN SELL FOR THIRTY DOLLARS. WHAT THEY INCLUDED, AND THE COLOR PRINTING FOR SOME ITEMS, MADE THE BOOK A PRIZE KEEPSAKE AS WELL AS A REFERENCE GUIDE FOR COLLECTORS AND DEALERS. LONG BEFORE THE INTERNET, THIS WAS A COMPACT, SENSIBLY PROPORTIONED TEXT, WITH EXCELLENT DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME OF THE BEST KNOWN COUNTRY STORE COLLECTABLES. THE MARKETPLACE WAS HOT FOR THESE ITEMS THEN, AND IT'S STILL ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR TYPES OF COLLECTIBLES IN THIS NEW CENTURY.

A LOOK AT A COLLECTOR'S GUIDEBOOK THAT IS ALSO A COLLECTIBLE

     (Circa 1979) "Bill Hogan can be considered one of the few authorities in the relatively new field of Canadian country store collecting. He and Pauline bring a wealth of personal knowledge to the subject. They have travelled extensively in Canada and the United States, searching for artifacts and for information about them. They have gathered a large and significant collection of Canadian country store memorabilia. From this experience Bill has presented lectures to historical societies and antique classes, appeared on television to discuss Canadian collectables, and he and Pauline have prepared articles for Canadian and American collectors' journals. In real life, in addition to raising two lively youngsters, both are teachers." This summary of the Hogans appeared on the back cover of the small book. I feel fortunate to have a double signed first edition, as you can see by the accompanying graphic, seen above.

     "About three or four years ago (1975), tins, signs, and other advertising items started appearing at the specialty 'bottle' shows in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, and a book in country store collecting started," write the Hogans. "We became intrigued with the items, first for their value as decor, and then for their own sake. Thus we began an engrossing spare time and weekend hobby, which has taken us all over Ontario, into Quebec and the United States, into the homes of many other collectors. Some people, like ourselves, began collecting the whole range of artifacts from the smallest advertising buttons to the largest coffee mill. Others made a specialty out of just one area of interest, tobacco tins, for example, or thermometers or sewing stuff. Today, collectors from across the country, from advertising directors to ten year old students, collect these country store artifacts. As well, 'theme' restaurants like 'Mother's Pizza Parlours,' and 'Crock & Block,' (and I hear McDonald's in the near future) have introduced country store collectables to the public at large and have created a brand new interest." Boy have we come a long way since this book was published. But the authors were bang-on about future interest.

     They write that, "The term 'country store collectable' is not terribly accurate. Actually we mean 'general store' because, of course, the old city stores had the same attractive stuff. The connotation of a country store, however, with its hint of nostalgia, variety and warmth, conveys the attraction of this kind of collecting. It includes advertising - signs, posters, trade cards, and all sorts of give away items which range from stuffed dolls to small furniture, all imprinted with a commercial message. It also includes store fixtures like coffee mills, dispensers, large bins, mirrors, and so on, and the ones with a commercial message are preferable. It also includes the containers and sometimes the contents that were sold in an old time general store. Anything, in fact that is pleasant to look at, to display, or to wonder about, and that recalls an older, less sophisticated time is a collectable. In general, the better the graphics or the design of the piece, the more beautiful it is, and therefore, the more valuable."

     "The era of the country store collectable is fairly recent. Up until the 19th century, the needs of rural dwellers were met by peddlers. Eventually, as roads were improved and the population thickened, small crossroads communities with, characteristically, a store, a post office, and perhaps a blacksmith, would serve the needs instead." The Hogans note, "The 19th century also saw the development of canning techniques and techniques for lithographing on tin-plated steel. Thus, producers could package their goods in pleasing containers designed to attract the eye in the crowded store and also suitable for long term storage, transportation and home use. All these developments produced the highly attractive containers and advertising pieces we treasure today. These collectables date, therefore, from about the mid 19th century to about the 20th. The cut-off date at this end can be quite a personal thing; whenever you feel 'old' ends and 'contemporary' begins. Generally, if your grandparents might have used it, it's charmingly collectable, but if you can remember it, you're not so charmed."

     They make a key observation, about national collecting trends, up to the time of publication, when they write, "Canadian collectors have been working in a vacuum. Very few correspond, largely because Canadians don't have the advantage of large advertising shows, like the American ones in Gaithersburg or Indianapolis, that let you know if you have significant pieces in your collection or ones that are quite common (but personally pleasing). We hope this book changes some of that." Actually, the book is an amazing predictor of the booming trend just around the corner. Today, many of the valuations of these so called "general store" collectibles have increased ten-fold, and after returning from a recent trip to several antique malls in our region, some items identified in this same book, are now in the "nose bleed" price category. This book, in Canada, certainly contributed to the awareness of general store collectables, and advertising memorabilia, at a time when there were few full fledged collectors in the field……and very little published information. It led the way for greater scrutiny in advertising collectibles, and a number of books which were published later, identified the artists who had been responsible for some of these advertising graphics, public promotions and product labels. There is one book dedicated to the commercial "labeling art," contributed to by Canadian Group of Seven artist, A.J. Casson, but others in the group, including the legendary landscape artist, Tom Thomson, also earned a living designing artwork for product promotion. There are examples of Thomson's designs for chocolate boxes, which ran on products for a number of years in Canada. Many of our country's finest artists, began, like David Milne, and Casson, having to make a living in the commercial art industry in Canada and the United States. Not only were the general store collectables becoming popular for nostalgia's sake, but then attracting the attention of art enthusiasts, who were chasing down labelled products, that could be attributed to our best known artists.

     I have included a number of digital images of this charming little book, full to overflowing with outstanding reproductions of advertising materials, and collectables. I haven't checked it out yet, but I suspect it's still possible to get a copy of the book, through the book dealer collective, on the Advanced Book Exchange…..which you can access easily online, and then type in the authors and book title. I would actually like another copy to put in my archives, as this one has been used so frequently, the binding has begun to weaken. Bill and Pauline Hogan did a masterful job compiling and publishing this important book for Canadian collectors…..and their timing was perfect. They pretty much predicted how the trend was going to strengthen, and how and why the prices would increase in the future. They were certainly prophetic, and the interest in general store collectables hasn't even come close to its peak. Entry into the field of play? It's going to be expensive. But history shows, these items have held their value well over the decades, since the book was published, and despite a number of recessions and dips in the antique business, and changing trends, advertising collectibles have shown themselves to be solid investments for collectors. And of course, the cut-off date now, for just advertising collectables, having value, has become very contemporary…..with these materials having significant value after only several decades of history attached. The field is ever-changing of course, but the original General Store Collectables, are still the attraction for many die-hard collectors, who have no interest in anything contemporary…..except the very next pricing evaluations. Their choices are still those charming advertising relics from the late 1800's and early 1900's.

     Thanks again for joining me today for this look at this very popular trend in collecting. Still going strong after all these years. Hope you can come back again soon, for a little bit more history, a few more "in-the-field" anecdotes about collecting and its trademark trappings…….that hooked me by my eighteenth birthday, and has never let go. Not once. Poor me!