Checkerboard

May 2025

• 2025 AAAA Convention Update
• Paul Kennedy Retires from Kovels Antique Trader...and the Hobby Loses a Sage
• "The Hunt": More Stories
• The Hunt: Dheeraj Khiytani
• The Hunt: Doug Galvin
• The Hunt: Robert Ray
• Renew Your AAAA Membership
• Cadbury Chocolate Featured on CBS News Sunday Morning
• Video: Rockford General Store, Dobson, North Carolina

Have you registered for the 2025 AAAA Convention yet? You have about one month to do so. Do not delay!

Getting the Word Out

As I write this, both the Kovels Antique Trader and Antique Week publications have been in touch with us for information about our club and our convention. Each of them may publish a full-length article about our group! This is a tremendous opportunity to promote AAAA and especially to promote the public day within the convention.

Fred Dodge is doing a great job to promote Friday's Public Day on social media. We need your help if we are to have 200+ people through the door that day. Under a separate email you have been sent the image of a show card. Please send this to all of your contacts and post on your Facebook and Instagram or other social media you may be on. The images can be sent more than once, and it is best to keep sending them right up until "showtime".

I still have plenty of paper show cards that I can send to you if you are in or traveling through the mid-Ohio area or doing an advertising show. These can be distributed at any show, antique shop or co-op, and placed on any community bulletin board. You can also download and print your own from the image that was sent. Let’s get the word out!

Seminars

William Carlisle will share his expertise with us about the industries of Coshocton, Ohio, beginning with a small ad in the January 5, 1884 edition of the Coshocton Age. The newspaper announced that W. W. Shaw & Co had gone into the printing and novelty advertising business. The success of this business prompted Jasper Meek to enter the advertising world and buy Will Shaw’s business in 1886 while retaining Mr. Shaw to be his first salesman. Their first product was cloth school bags followed closely with horse blankets that he would run through his presses adding advertising copy to them. From this meager start, Bill will inform us on what transpired to make the small city of Coshocton the advertising capitol of America.

John DeVolder will deliver a seminar on "The Lithographs of Rochester". With Rochester, New York's origins dating to the very early 1800’s, John will trace the changes of the city and its products through the next 100+ years. Rochester was first known as the Flour City which changed to the Flower City by the 1850’s when the Ellwanger and Barry Nursery would become the largest nursery in the world. With the needs of the civil war, the clothing and shoe industries mushroomed to be the leading industries for the next thirty years. Patent medicine king, H. H. Warner would dominate that market until his bankruptcy. William Kimball was a huge success in the tobacco industry in part to his developing machinery that could produce over 7,000 cigarettes per minute. Learn what these and other companies would generate in lithographed products and advertising.

The Ice Screamers national club has joined us this year and we have been invited us to attend their seminar entitled “100 Years of Ice Cream Advertising”. Ice cream was once a dish set before Renaissance kings and courtiers, so precious were its costly ingredients of white refined sugar and exotic fruits, so laborious were the tasks of preparing and freezing the concoction. As in Europe, the history of ice cream in colonial America began at the tables of the upper class where wealth and power resided. One hundred years after Dolly Madison awed inaugural guests with a “large shining dome of pink ice cream,” it was the standard refreshment served at church socials, parties and picnics. Join Michelle Drackett-Smisek and Heather Tomasello who will enlighten us about the advertising that promoted ice cream to become an everyday treat.

Beyond Seminars

The convention includes much more than seminars. Click here for the complete Convention schedule.

In addition to great learning opportunities, there will also be great eating opportunities!

Your convention registration includes two delicious meals:

On Thursday, registered AAAA attendees will be served a lunch buffet from 12:30-1:30 pm in the Dublin A room. The buffet will feature the following options:

• Club sandwich with smoked turkey, honey ham, applewood bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato on Herb Focaccia bread
• Roast beef sandwich with roast beef, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, horseradish cream on a brioche bun.
• Each sandwich choice will be accompanied by a pasta salad, fresh fruit, chips, coffee, tea, and a brownie/cookie platter.

At 6:00 pm Thursday, registered AAAA attendees will be treated to a sumptuous hot dinner consisting of the following alternatives:

• 6oz. Top Sirloin Steak with roasted shallot and garlic demi.
• Grilled Salmon with dill cream.
• Chicken Marsala with mushrooms.
• Each entre Includes salad, vegetable, starch, and desert (yet to be selected) along with rolls and butter, coffee, hot or iced tea.

It should also be noted that free breakfast is provided each morning in the Urban Craft area for those staying at the hotel. The hotel's made-to-order buffet breakfast with vast cold and hot selections is described by many as "the best in the US!"

Another popular accommodation is the social event hosted by the hotel each evening in the bar area between 5:30-7:00 pm. Hotel guests enjoy light snacks and drinks (2 max), including beer, cocktails, and soft drinks all at no charge.

Sounds great, right? Register NOW to attend the convention! The Registration fee is $125.00 per person.

To register online for the convention, click here.

For mail-in registration, click here for a form to print and submit.

Hotel reservations must be made directly with the Embassy Suites Dublin, 5100 Upper Metro Place, Dublin, Ohio 43017 by June 18 . To reserve a room, online, click here. Or you can call the hotel's local number (614-790-9000) or Central Reservations number (800-220-9219) ASAP. Please mention our group name, “Antique Advertising Association of America”, group code 94L to receive the discounted room rate of $142 per night, plus tax.

Questions? Contact John DeVolder, Convention Coordinator, at jcdvette@yahoo.com or call/text 585-697-4047. We hope to see you there!

John DeVolder

AAAA Convention Coordinator

Paul Kennedy

Change is one of the unavoidable realities of life. Darn it! So when I heard the news that Paul Kennedy, Editorial Director of Kovels Antique Trader publication, was retiring, I was philosophical...for a few moments. Then it hit me that the world of antiques and collectibles would lose an important voice.

Paul and I worked regularly and collaboratively in our respective roles. He was an important supporter of AAAA throughout his years there. Beyond that, he was a personal inspiration to me. As good as the Antique Trader was before his arrival, his presence there immediately became very apparent.

Paul transformed a quaint and perfectly charming periodical into something grand, more on the scale of a Life Magazine. His bold and creative vision provided a dramatic backdrop for the timely articles he ushered into existence.

Paul’s sense of humor is one of his unique trademarks, which, in the context of his recent writing, is somewhat of a feat. After all, there is nothing inherently funny about antiques. Nobody has ever heard somebody remark, “Hey have you heard the one about the guy who walks into an antique mall?” No, Paul’s humor is more subtle than that.   And while his subject at hand was always related to history and antiquities, the underlying message in his columns was often more about people and what makes them tick. A brilliant observer of the human condition, he provided frequent insights into others, and sometimes himself.  Good writers encourage their readers to think but great writers encourage their readers to feel. Paul is a great writer. 

Don’t take my word for it. Click here for a compilation of the columns Paul wrote for Antique Trader over the years.  Settle in and get ready for some fine journalism.

In my personal communications with Paul, he once pondered, with a twinkle in his eye (over email), which one of us is “Paul” and which one of us is the “Other Paul”?  We’d chuckle about that from time to time. Well, for what it’s worth, I have concluded that he is truly the “one and only”.

While it is sad that his voice will no longer find expression in the pages of the Antique Trader, there is some good news: Don’t be surprised if you find Paul pop in for a visit to the AAAA PastTimes or Checkerboard in the future. Stay tuned. 

I asked Paul to share some thoughts about his career as an author and anything else he'd like to discuss with our readers. He wrote the following: 

"My favorite American poet is Walt Whitman. And while I have his landmark collection of poetry, 'Leaves of Grass,' in our bookshelf at home, it was something else Whitman wrote that has always moved me: "Be curious, not judgmental." Whitman's straightforward advice was a driving force during a forty-year career and continues to influence my life.

"It's a simple philosophy, this being curious without judging, yet few seem to practice it. It's a shame, really, because curiosity -- along with its good friend enthusiasm -- opens doors no matter where we travel or who we meet. I've been lucky my entire career because curiosity opened doors into the most fascinating worlds imaginable: other people's lives. It turns out that if you're curious, people will tell you just about anything -- their passions, their dreams, their heartaches, the very things that make us human. My life has been made better because of that. And I like to think the people I've met along the way would say that their lives were made better simply because someone bothered to ask.

"And because, my friend Paul Lefkovitz asked, I'm going to leave you with one more thing. While an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin, I considered majoring in Communications, with a focus on Advertising. I took a few classes and enjoyed them, but then I started writing and working at the student newspaper — I would become the sports editor of The Daily Cardinal, a position I earned mostly by just showing up day after day (there’s a lesson in that for all you kids out there). It strikes me as funny now that if I had gone into advertising, the stunningly brilliant ads I’m sure I would have created forty years ago would now be vintage, visual wonders of a long ago time. OK, so perhaps they wouldn't be antique advertising, but I'm confident they would be collectible. So, if you look at it from my point of view — and squint real hard — you can see that in spirit I have always been a member of your club. Thanks for having me."

You may recall that we recently introduced a new series entitled "The Hunt". This series chronicles the exciting, intriguing and sometimes unpredictable adventures surrounding our members' quest for new treasures. Below are three new stories for your enjoyment. Do you have a story to tell? If so, please click here to submit it! We want to continue to regularly share these entertaining tales.

My passion for cigarette packaging started with a simple Duke's Cameo pack that I found on Ebay quite by chance many years ago (image, right). It is a full pack, dating to 1889. I hadn't realised there was such beauty and history in cigarette package collecting.

As my collection grew, I started researching the history behind the companies and individuals making these brands, and with time started branching out into other cigarette packaging.

I first came across Thomas H. Hall’s ‘Between The Acts’ as cigarette packs but of course Hall was also famous for his ‘Between The Acts’ Little Cigars. What I didn't realise was that he also made the super rare and very beautiful ‘Between The Acts’ cigarette pocket tins in the early 1880s! These were made in a bronze as well as yellow gold colour. There have been five or six sold on Ebay over the last few decades, but mostly in poor condition and all but one or two before I started collecting. They would go for between fifty and a few hundred dollars each depending on rarity and condition.

I had all but given up on finding any, let alone those in good condition until a chance encounter with fellow AAAA Board member, pocket tin expert, and now my friend Reylan Lange who had purchased a set of nine ‘Between The Acts’ cigarette pocket tins from legendary collector Jim Challenger. He very kindly offered them to me knowing I was a collector and I jumped at the chance! These I now call the ‘Challenger/Lange’ pocket tins!!!

About eighteen months ago I would have my next chance at owning a further set of three tins and make no secret that these were sold at the October 2023 Morphy’s Auction. I managed to win the lot of three and now have a set of twelve beautiful tins that now form the cornerstone of my collection.

My set of 12 Between The Acts Pocket Tins

As with any collector and collection, the end game is to have a full set, if one exists. My Past Times article in March 2023 presented most of what I could find on Thomas H. Hall and his beautiful pocket tins. In truth, no expert I have spoken to really knows how many different representations of these pocket tins were made, and the literature does not give any clues. But based on the cigarette cards he produced at the same time the current consensus is possibly no more than a dozen different ones, or so?

I currently have eight different actresses, and I know there are at least two more out there that I don’t have, Ms Effie Ellsler and Ms Lizzie Harold. That would make ten different ones. So perhaps two more to make a full dozen?

The hunt goes on……..

P.S. My two teenage children love them!!

I have always been attracted to old stuff and, from childhood to adulthood, things old, dusty, rusty or unusual always attracted my attention.  In 1976 while cruising the Sierra foothills, my wife and I stopped at an antique shop in Diamond Springs, California where I spotted a food dye bottle with a cork stopper from the California Perfume Company. Upon inquiring about it, I was told this was a product of what would later become Avon. I purchased all 3 and have not seen another since.

That acquisition lead into many years of fun searching for spices and related kitchen items. Always being on a tight budget made expansion a slow process, yet a great adventure. Untold numbers of conversations with shop owners, other collectors, friends, and family have transferred small investments into great memories. Money well spent!

A pharmacist moved to our small town in 1976. He established a drug store and pharmacy here and was in three locations over the years. On his last move, he purchased a piece of property and tore the building down to build a new drug store. During that time, the beautiful sign shown to the left was found in a garage on the property. The sign was from an earlier drug store that operated in our town around the 1920’s. He hung the sign in the window of his new store. About 20 years ago I told him how much I liked the sign. He had since retired and sold the building but took the sign with him so it was not available for sale.

Last week I got a phone call from him telling me he was downsizing and wondered if I would be interested in buying the sign. I was definitely interested! However, I only had one possible spot it could go and that space was exactly 48 inches wide. I got to his house and measured--the sign was 47 inches wide so it was a go! A perfect fit! The sign is double-sided and measures 47" x 47". The front was repainted sometime in the past but the back is still in original condition. It now hangs in my basement with some of my other collections.

Cadbury, a British confectionery company, has a rich history rooted in the Quaker values of its founders, John Cadbury and his sons. Founded in 1824 in Birmingham, England, the company initially focused on tea, coffee, and chocolate beverages. Over the years, Cadbury evolved to become a renowned chocolate maker, known for its iconic Dairy Milk chocolate bar and other popular brands. 

1866 saw the first-ever recorded advertisement from Cadbury after a new way of processing cocoa made it 100% pure. 'Absolutely pure, therefore best' was the first slogan Cadbury used to market their cocoa essence which generated a huge boost in sales.

Throughout its subsequent history, Cadbury produced beautiful and iconic packaging art and commercial advertising. In a recent April 30 episode of CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley, one of the segments celebrated the history and beauty of Cadbury's advertising art. If you have a streaming service available to you, you should check it out. Examples of Cadbury's product advertising are presented below.

This is the time of year when many AAAA members renew their annual membership. If it is time to renew, you will find a pink renewal form included with your PastTimes newsletter. You can also check your status by looking at the PastTimes envelope--"Member Through" is printed on the front of the envelope to inform you of the month and year of your paid membership. Annual fees remain at $40 (U.S.), $50 (Canadian), and $60 (Foreign). To inquire about any membership issue, click here to contact Rosalind Mohnsen, our Membership Coordinator.

There are so many reasons to maintain active involvement in AAAA . Dave DeLongchamp, one of our long-time, faithful veterans, wrote the following eloquent statement to express his personal sentiments.

"Over the course of the last five decades, my life has been intrinsically intertwined with both the TCCA (Tin Can Collectors of America--disbanded in 1990) and Quad A" (AAAA).

It's absolutely a fact that well over 50% of my closest personal friends and acquaintances have been made through these great two clubs! Because of this, my life has been incalculably enriched with dozens of wonderful memories! I now wish the same for all you fellow collectors! Happy picking to you all!

Love,

Dave DeLongchamp

Join the fifth owners of this general store as they relate the history of the Rockford General Store in Dobson, North Carolina. They also describe surrounding points of interest in the town. The store has continuously operated since it was established in the 1890s. The building is authentic with original wood floors and interior brick features. The store has expanded upon its original functions by adding food, candy, and arts and crafts. This charming video runs just under 4 minutes.

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.

Clover Farm Stores (Cleveland, OH headquarters). General store grocery and hardware items, any advertising, displays, signs, tins, boxes, pictures, etc. Anything related to Clover Farm Stores. Dave and Sally Coates, 765-586-9834, dbsjcoat@gmail.com

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.