Checkerboard

February 2025

• 2025 AAAA Convention: Plan to Attend the Big Annual Event!
• Dheeraj Khiytani Joins the AAAA Board of Directors
• The Lucky Winner of the The Victorian Trade Card and Ephemera Collection of Josephine Bullock Toberman
• "The Hunt": Greenback Cardboard Store Container
• Gone But Not Forgotten
• Indy Indoor Antique Advertising Show
• Video: Todd General Store (Todd, North Carolina)
• Wanted Items

You have already marked the dates of the 2025 AAAA Convention in your calendar: July 15-19, 2025. Now you can reserve your room at a special rate of $142 per night (plus tax) and register for the convention at $125 per person. Do not miss out-this year promises to be a fantastic convention!

CONVENTION REGISTRATION

To register online, Click Here.

Or Click Here to print a registration form. Complete the form and return it to AAAA with payment. The registration deadline is June 15, 2025.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Important notice: Attendees must make their own hotel reservations.

To reserve a room at the Embassy Suites, 5100 Upper Metro Place, Dublin, OH 43017, Click Here

Or call the Central Reservations Number: 800.220.9219 and provide the following information:

Group Name: 2025 Antique Advertising Association of America Convention

Group Code: 94L

Group Room Rate: $142 + Tax

THE HOTEL RESERVATION DEADLINE is Tuesday, June 15, 2025, at 11:59:59PM.

We are returning to the Embassy Suites in Dublin (Columbus) Ohio as voted on by the vast majority of the membership. This year, the Ice Screamers, a national group of ice cream and soda fountain collectors will be re-joining us, and as in past years, the Treasures for Little Children and Graniteware Collectors groups have been invited to be with us as well.

Many thanks are extended to John DeVolder, Marianne Wink, Charlie Saxton, Fred Dodge, Reylan Lange, Heather Tomasello, and Michelle Drackett-Smisek for their diligent work as members of the convention committee. This has not only lightened the load for everyone, but has allowed more ideas and more people to know the process behind the convention.

It seemed that more people wanted to get settled into their rooms early last year-we had 28 rooms reserved for Tuesday night. We have increased that room block and listed a ‘pre convention’ room hopping for Tuesday evening. Wednesday is the official start of the convention, with room hopping and convention check in. And of course, renewing the many friendships that we have made through the years.

Thursday will be a full day, starting with the AAAA business meeting at 9:00 am. Immediately following the business meeting, John DeVolder will present a program on Rochester Lithography. The talk will be much more than brewery which is John’s forte’. He will enlighten us with the lithographers that called Rochester home, the lithographs that were produced and the companies that they promoted.

At 11:00, the Ice Screamers will conduct a presentation that our members are invited to. A sandwich buffet lunch will follow at 12:30 pm to include a choice of two sandwiches, pasta salad, fresh fruit, chips, coffee, tea, and a cookie platter.

Following lunch at 1:30, William Carlisle will present a seminar on the Advertising Art of Coshocton. The small Ohio town of Coshocton was, for many years, the nation’s most prolific manufacturer of advertising art. Bill has spent the last 40+ years collecting and researching all things Coshocton and is considered the leading expert on this subject. He will enlighten us on the products and history of the many companies that called Coshocton home.

The Ice Screamers will have an ice cream social starting at 3:00 pm that the members of AAAA are invited to. We will have time to room hop before dinner which starts at 6:00. Your choice of a sirloin steak with roasted shallot and garlic demi; grilled salmon with dill cream; or chicken marsala with mushrooms will be served in a plated format, with salad, vegetable, starch and desert. Relaxing and room hopping following dinner.

Friday will be a full day of public-advertised room hopping starting at 10:00 am. There have been ads placed in many national publications. We will also heavily promote this through social and local media. I addition, we will have printed ‘show’ cards that will be distributed within the central Ohio area at the various antique shops and co-ops. We are looking forward to attracting a large walk-in crowd that will enable you to sell more. Saturday morning will be a short wrap-up meeting at 9:00 that will end the convention.

We are pleased to announce that Dheeraj Khiytani has become a member of the AAAA Board of Directors. He is a well-known and respected expert on vintage and early cigarette packs. He has assumed the role of AAAA Webmaster and will also assist with social media and publications.

Dheeraj is a multi-talented individual with an impressive background. He was born and raised in Hong Kong to a Chinese Mother and Indian Father. He moved to the UK to further his tertiary education at Imperial College, London. He subsequently completed a PhD in Molecular Virology. After 7 years in tertiary education, he moved into market research and consultancy. He has now been in the pharmaceutical industry for 20 years. During that time, he also completed an Executive MBA and worked in a myriad of commercial roles. He also had the opportunity to live in Paris for a few years where he met his lovely American-French wife.

His passion for collecting cigarette packaging started when he was working on his PhD. At that time, he purchased his very first pack of Duke’s Cameo cigarettes. Later, his collecting became more serious when he began his involvement with the US Cigarette Pack Collectors Association and the UK Cigarette Packet Collectors Club of GB. His collection has since grown to over 2000 items. He loves doing research and learning more about the makers of the items that he has collected. When not involved with cigarette packaging, he is also a classically trained pianist and a big fan of Formula 1 racing! He currently lives in England with his wife and two teenage children.

We are delighted that Dheeraj has joined the AAAA Board of Directors. We look forward to his many contributions in the future.

In the January, 2025 issue of the Checkerboard, we announced the donation of a collection of approximately 75 Victorian Trade Cards and Ephemera to AAAA with the objective of finding a good home for them. The collection was generously donated by Bruce Torrence, the grandson of Josephine Bullock Toberman, who lovingly assembled the collection approximately 120 years ago.

We conducted a drawing to award the collection to a lucky AAAA member. Interest was keen among individuals who shared their excitement as they registered to participate in this game of chance. On February 1, a name was randomly drawn from among the registrants. And the name of the winner is (drum roll):

Christina Champion!

Christina was ecstatic when informed of the good news! She provided the following reaction, which we are pleased to share with our entire membership:

I was so surprised to hear that I was the very fortunate winner of this wonderful collection! I can really appreciate the time and effort involved in amassing such a volume of cards!! I have collected Victorian trade cards, advertising tins and signs and early post cards among other topics for many years. I absolutely LOVE early advertising! It not only tells a story of our past, it also can be very educational, colorful and even humorous.

It was very kind of Mr. Torrence to take the time to find our group and make such an offer. His grandmother Josephine was an amazing woman who certainly recognized the importance of the 19th century mode of advertising to get the word out about the latest, greatest products available to the public. I prefer it to most of today's in your face shouting. She also had the foresight to pass her tremendous collection along to those who would care for it as much as she did.

I am a founding member of the historical society in the village that I grew up in. In our museum we have a glass case that houses a rotating display of members' collections to educate and hopefully thrill those who visit our museum to see them. I have displayed several of my various collections over the years. This trade card collection will make a perfect fit for one of our 2 month long displays. This will be a perfect way to honor Bruce's grandmother, Josephine, and let the many people who visit our museum have the chance to see such an extensive and educational collection!!! I will be sure to credit Josephine and Bruce when it is on display.

Thank you to AAAA and especially Bruce for this wonderful gift!! It will be cherished!

Christina Champion

AAAA would like to join Christina in thanking Bruce Torrence for his gracious donation. Through his good deed, his grandmother's legacy will live on!

Editor's Note: This is the first in a new, reoccurring series entitled, "The Hunt". In this series, AAAA members will tell the intriguing tales of their most notable quests for vintage advertising. These stories will cover lots of territory, for example, describing years of dedicated searching; engaging in unconventional purchase strategies (such as trading); finding items in unexpected places; building a network of buddies to assist in the search; or even sharing the sad tale of "the one that got away". These adventures will be fun, exciting and informative to read about! Read on for the first installment in this series, authored by longterm AAAA Member, Stephen Cross.

I started collecting tobacco tins way back in 1975 or so as a young teenager so, of course, less expensive items were on my shelves at my folks' house in my basement bedroom. What boosted my appetite was a visit to either a booth at a local antique show back then (can’t remember) or an actual visit to an antique shop in Kansas City owned by Kaye Clemens. Either way, we bought a tin book published in 1973 by Kaye Clemens, (photo, below). She, of course, signed it to me and my brother (photo, below).

It was the first of many tin reference books I’ve accumulated over the years. Being proud of my small tin collection, I always looked through that book and underlined in red pen the tins I acquired. At that time I had a few favorites on my want list throughout that book…. but none more wishful than the rare Greenback cardboard store container by Marburg Bros on page 34-35 (photo, below). It is cardboard and stands 13” tall with oval ends. In the book, it is surrounded by little Greenback cloth pouches (photo, below). I think the store container held 20 or so of these. I'm not sure why that particular item stood out to me some 50 years ago, other than maybe the odd configuration and of course the large amphibian graphic.

Throughout my “hunt” over the next 50 years, I’ve only come across 2 or 3 by word of mouth. One was a sold-item in an online auction and the other was in a longtime collector's collection. I can’t imagine very many of these pieces surviving from the early 1900’s and I’ve always wondered if one would surface sometime. I don’t even remember seeing one in the rare tin rooms at the old TCCA "Canventions" in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

There could very well be a few more of these out there and there probably is…. but, to my utter surprise, one came up for sale earlier this year through an email from my longtime collector friend, Al Craver. We have bought and sold from each other for over 2-3 decades but I never met him in person, until last July at the AAAA Convention in Dublin Ohio.

I guess I never knew he had one or just forgot about it… So I HAD to pull the trigger!  Well it surely made my day when it arrived in the mail the other day…… the wait is finally over (photo, below)!

But here’s what is so cool about this Greenback store container. It is the EXACT ONE pictured in my 1973 Kaye Clemens tin book!!! I now know the history of ownership from myself clear back to who loaned it to Kaye Clemens to be photographed for her book. So the hunt does pay off….. sooner, but most likely, later.

Ok, now I’m underlining the item on page 34… where’s my red pen?

Thanks Al!

Editor's Note: You can look forward to additional examples of "The Hunt" in the next issue (April) of the Checkerboard. Do you have a story to share? Please submit it to Paul Lefkovitz at plefkov@gmail.com.

QUESTION: Who was that little guy with a baby face, bright red hair, blue eyes, a big smile and squeaky voice?

HINT: His tablet-shaped hat featured his name and he always seemed to be waving a wand.

HINT: For most of the 1950s and early 1960s, he was everywhere – in more than 200 repetitious television commercials and countless magazine and newspaper advertisements.

HINT: “Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz, Oh What A Relief It Is.”

ANSWER: Speedy Alka-Seltzer, considered one of the top, if not the top, advertising mascots in American marketing history.

Speedy images (above) include a retro doll, a postcard,

and an ad with his smiling face and promised relief

Created in 1951, he was first named Sparky but that was quickly changed to Speedy to align to the theme of “speedy relief” from an upset stomach or headache. Speedy first appeared in so-called women’s magazines in 1952, followed by newspapers across the country. (Image, above)

He moved into television commercials in 1953 with the now famous “Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz” jingle. At the same time, Alka-Seltzer doubled down on print ads including one with Speedy squeaking to Santa: “Relief Is Just A Swallow Away.” (Image, above)

Miles Laboratories of Elkhart, Indiana first introduced Alka-Seltzer in 1931, basically a tablet with a combination of aspirin, sodium bicarbonate and anhydrous citric acid for the effervescent. The company applied for a trademark for its Speedy mascot April 28, 1953 and it was registered the next year. (Image, right)

Right from the start, Alka-Seltzer was marketed extensively across the country in print ads and radio commercials, including “Alka-Seltzer Comedy Star of Hollywood.”

Then with the help of television, Speedy became the king of marketing. His popularity spread near and far, including in Spanish-speaking countries where he was know as “Prontito.”

But Speedy, at the age of 12, slowed down and was retired in 1964. Bayer AG acquired Miles in 1978 and under its watch Speedy bubbled up occasionally, most notably in 1980 appearing in slick, color ads with Sammy Davis Jr. and in 2008 advertisements aimed at party animals.

In the 1980 ads, Speedy and Sammy gave a nod to the Winter Olympics and the promise: “We’ll ski you fast relief anywhere.” (Image, right)

In 2008, Alka-Seltzer was looking for younger consumers. The New York Times put it this way: “The goal is to portray Speedy as a helpful ‘wing man’ for fun-loving men in their 20s and 30s – the type of consumers who often eat, drink and make merry to excess. Persuading them to use Alka-Seltzer for their frequent discomforts could increase sales more than courting older consumers who have cut back on la dolce vita.” (Image, below)

Editor's Note: Don Thornton is authoring a series of articles for AAAA. Stay tuned for more of his entertaining material in future issues.

Sadly, it’s been years since Speedy’s last campaign and it can be said the smiling redhead is sorely missed by his legion of fans. If they could be given a voice, they would say, without a doubt, “Speedy, announce you’re back! Bubble up again and regain your fame with the power of the PLOP PLOP, FIZZ FIZZ and RELIEF IS JUST A SWALLOW AWAY slogans!"

The next eagerly awaited installment of the Indy Indoor Antique Advertising Show will take place on Saturday, March 15 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. It will be located at the Indiana State Fairgrounds (South Hall), Indianapolis, Indiana. There will be no early buyers. The one-day format of this show has proven to be very popular.

This is where serious collectors of antique advertising from all parts of the US gather to buy and sell quality vintage advertising in a broad variety of genres. There is something for everybody at all price points.

Admission costs $10 plus parking fee. The public is welcome to bring quality 40+ year old advertising items for a free appraisal. The vendors in attendance have a huge wealth of knowledge in this field. Also attendees are encouraged to bring in old signs that they wish to sell outright. 

If you have any questions, you can contact show Owner/Manager, Damon Granger at 248-910-6765 or DamonGranger@gmail.com.

If you miss this show, be sure to attend Damon's next show that will take place on Saturday, September 27 at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Indiana.

This video is part of an ongoing series memorializing general stores of yesteryear. It chronicles the resurrection of Todd General Store, located in Todd, North Carolina, deep in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. The new owners invested blood, sweat and tears, in addition to significant capital expenditures to bring this business back to life. The result of their efforts was a vibrant enterprise that celebrated local history, products, crafts, traditions, food, and the arts. In spite of their valiant efforts, however, it appears that the business was once again shut down approximately two years ago. Nevertheless, this video remains as a testament to their vision and considerable efforts. It also speaks to the difficult challenges faced by general store proprietors over the years in keeping their businesses functioning. To learn about their story in this brief narrated video, click the YouTube arrow below.

In this column are those sought-after items of desire that seem to be elusive. If you know where any of these items can be acquired or if you have one available, please click the link to reply directly to the seeker. To place a listing in this column, click here. There is no fee for AAAA members. Up to three listings per member are permitted.

Early Mr. Peanut/Planters Peanut memorabilia. The older and rarer the better! Please contact at jcamelleri@gmail.com or 864-327-6485.

Santa Claus bar soap. Call 602 689-7779 or send email to goodfinds31@yahoo.com

"You Pay" Spinners Wanted. Colorful, early, tin litho only. Also known as "Who Pays" Spinners, "Your Turn" Spinners, etc. Used in drinking establishments to determine who pays for the next round. Please contact plefkov@gmail.com.

In search of Raven's Horse, Cattle & Poultry Food poster. Last sold Showtime Auction, April 2013. Dimensions: 13 1/2 x 21 1/2. Motivated buyer. Please call Ken Opengart at 256-520-5211 or email at kenopengart@gmail.com. To see a photo of the poster, click here.

US cigarette boxes, packs and wrappers from 1870-1935 wanted. Please text or email any you might have available for sale. Jon Canfield, joncanfield@gmail.com, 917-841-0275.

Pre-1885 advertising items related to barbed wire and farm fences. I am interested in primary material. Let me know if you have any items including illustrated catalogs, wire company published newspapers, illustrated postal covers and letterheads, flyers, signs, salesman samples, patent models or anything else related to my specific wants. Larry W. Love, wirefence@att.net, 214-497-6787.

Bulldog tobacco oval-top tin. Convention Hall coffee tin (Ridenour-Baker Kansas City) green version. Big Horn 1 lb or 3 lb coffee tin.  Tuxedo tobacco sample pocket tin (top condition). scross1@cox.net.

Philip Morris Tin & Porcelain Advertising Signs, thermometers, door push signs. Excellent to mint condition preferred. Daryl Crawford (804) 721-7294 or email drc4@msn.com

Justrite Pet Foods. The Justrite Company General Office was located in Milwaukee WI. A National Account. Advertising, displays, signs, tins, boxes all with logo on it. Most would come from the 1930s through 1950s. Thanks for the help… Gordon Addington. To reply, click here.

Old Topper Brewery Calendar of the late 1940s featuring a pin up artist nude in large format wanted. Always seeking any Rochester Brewery memorabilia. John DeVolder 585-697-4047 or jcdvette@yahoo.com.

"Jenny" Genesee Brewing Company's girl of the 1950s. Seeking cardboard point of sale-and other items that feature Jenny, who had a ten-year run from 1953 to 1963. Also interested in any cardboard point of sale items from the 1930s through the 1950s from any of the Rochester Breweries. John DeVolder 585-697-4047 or jcdvette@yahoo.com.

Coca-Cola 24" button porcelain sign with bottle in center. Want several in as close to mint condition as possible. Call 336-970-9867.

Books on Oil & Gas Collectibles. Also looking for books on signs. Call 336-970-9867.

Yellow Kid wanted: 50 year collector looking for the unusual. Reply to: yellowkid@tds.net.

Pedal Cars: Photos, postcards, calendars, catalogs and advertising related to pedal cars. To reply, click here.

Beer cans, soda cans, beer and soda tin-over-cardboard signs, cork-backed bottle caps, key-wind coffee cans, quart oil cans. Please email Jeff Lebo at jefflebo@aol.com.

Pedal car related items. To reply, click here.

Matchbook holders. To know what these are, see my articles in Checkerboard

for Nov. 2020 and May 2021. I will consider all items, in any material from plastic to gold, and not necessarily with advertising. Email Andy at matchbookholder@yahoo.com.

Cigarette Packs. Advanced collector looking to purchase vintage packs. Please contact Dheeraj by email: DHEERAJ.KHIYTANI@GMAIL.COM.

Donald Duck Goyer Coffee Cans; One pound can & 3 oz sample size in good condition with lids. Please send email with photos & prices to Jessica_l_Upton@yahoo.com.

Morimura Brothers (Japanese import company operating in NYC from 1880-1941) advertising items wanted: trade cards, pamphlets, catalog pages, salesman sample pages, porcelain items with advertising. To reply email at victdelit@aol.com.

DeLaval Items and Farm Advertising Signs. Always looking for top quality and unique items. Contact Gregg Hillyer at hogs2gregg@aol.com.

Antique advertising pertaining to country store or drug store products or places. Especially those showing women or girls with the product or location shown. I would consider any  antique advertising (paper, cardboard & metal signs). Quality a plus! Dale Peterson at cpeters2@sbcglobal.net.

Unusual one pound peanut butter tins. Tin litho or paper label. To reply, click here.

Marshmallow Tins. Smaller than 5 Pound Size. To reply, click here.

American Cookie, Biscuit and Cracker Tins and Boxes. To reply, click here. 

Banjo related advertising wanted Pre-1940s. Long time collector buying banjo company signage, catalogs, billheads, periodicals, minstrel banjo items such as posters, broadsides, sheet music (pre-1870s) with illustrated banjo covers, early photographs showing banjo players (pre-1915). My main collecting interest is in 19th century material. To reply, click here.

"Antique American Medicine Bottles" by M. Knapp... soft cover book with price guide. Printed in 2012. Cemartinjr@comcast.net or 781-248-8620. Also, see my other want ad for Clarke’s ephemera and bottles.

Looking for 3 Vintage Tins. American Eagle "Oriental Mixture" tobacco (dimensions approx. 6.5" long, 2.75" wide, 1.5" tall); 1 Gal. Indian Head Hydraulic Brake Fluid; and Packham´s Caramel Toffee. Any offer is welcome and any condition considered. To reply, click here.

Morton Salt, older items, and also Pacific Coast Borax, especially a crate or box. Email pego1950@hotmail.com or call Peggy Dailey 612-522-9211.

Comic Book-Related Advertising Items: Must be from before 1980. To reply, click here.

Clarke’s Vegetable Sherry Wine Bitters, Sharon, MA & Rockland, ME: All sizes, variants, smooth/pontil base. Especially need labeled Clarke’s any size! Also, any Clarke’s ephemera…trade cards, almanacs, newspaper ads, etc. Charlie Martin Jr., 781-248-8620. Email: cemartinjr@comcast.net.

George Petty: Advanced collector looking for unique or rare items. Photo’s, store displays and non paper items. NO Esquire pages. Pete Perrault. To reply, click here or call (502) 290-7661.

Ice Cream Advertising: Mr. Ice Cream desires better graphic ice cream advertising including: postcards (Advertising and RPPC), trade cards, letterheads, billheads, booklets, poster stamps, blotters, magic lantern slides, pinbacks, watchfobs, and pocket mirrors. Allan Mellis, 1115 West Montana St. Chicago, Illinois 60614-2220. mellisfamily@rcn.com To reply, click here.

Stock food, poultry food, veterinary advertising wanted. Posters, medicine packages, give-aways. Email kenopengart@gmail.com or call (256) 520-5211.

Singer Sewhandy Model 20. Green-regular paint, not hammertone. To reply, click here.

National Biscuit Company, Nabisco, Uneeda Biscuit, Uneeda Bakers, Muth Bakery, NBC Bread toys, signage, tins, containers, displays, historical items. Please Email jbarney@ameritech.net or call (937) 205-2232.

Early Cigarette Rolling Papers: Pre-1940s - American, Zig Zag, Braunstein Freres, Bambino, and Ottoman papers wanted. To reply, click here.

Antique/Collectible Banking and Financial System "Giveaway" and advertising items. Specifically from Pennsylvania. Alarm devices and such. To reply, click here.

VITAMINS advertising, displays, signs, bottles, and anything related: Hadacol is an example. Most would come from the 1930s thru the 1970s. Also anything related to cod-liver oil and WEIGHT-LOSS, REDUCING, ANTI-FAT, and OBESITY ITEMS. To reply, click here.

Dwinell-Wright Co. Royal Ground Spice Cardboard Spice Boxes. One side displays horizontally. Approximately 3.75" by 2.25". Any type of spice is OK. To reply, click here.

ENSIGN Perfect and ENSIGN Perfection vertical pocket tobacco tins to enhance my collection. Feel free to contact me at 614-888-4619 or k8pyd@breezelineohio.net to see if you can help fill the voids.

Edmands Coffee Company, Edmands Tea Company, 1776 Coffee, American Beauty Tea, Japan Tea, Devonshire Tea, (imported by Edmands, Boston/Chicago): Any items such as tins, signs, paper, or anything else related to the Edmands family of companies in Boston is desired. To reply, click here.

The AAAA Checkerboard is a monthly e-newsletter that is made available to all AAAA members at no cost. The mission of the Checkerboard is to increase knowledge about antique and collectible advertising among AAAA members. The Checkerboard also provides news and updates about AAAA. It is produced each month with the exception of the four months per year when the award-winning PastTimes print newsletter is published. Paul Lefkovitz (plefkov@gmail.com) serves as the Editor of the AAAA Checkerboard. Copyright 2024, Antique Advertising Association of America.