I would like to thank the 49er Bottle Club for a very well run show this last weekend.
The club had security folks walking the floor throughout the weekend and we were not bombarded with announcements all show long reminding us to take care of our own business.
I only heard of one bottle disappearing off of a sales table during the show, and hopefully that was the only incident of the weekend.
I will be posting more on the Auburn show real soon and would like to hear your comments and thought on this years show. Feel free to comment or post your Auburn experience.
More to come on this....
rs
There were several reports, whether imagined or not, of bottles stolen during the show. One dealer vows never to return due to the value of missing glass. More than one suspicious character was followed at a discreet distance and a couple were observed in the act of thievery, but they were not challenged. A fine line must be drawn when determining if a suspected thief should be confronted and/or detained by force, so it was decided by the witnesses to make them highly uncomfortable and encourage them to leave the premises. I was not a witness, but my tack probably would have been more direct. How in the hail do we put a stop to this situation? A thousand folks milling around in all directions makes it very difficult, indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great show, but sorry to hear there were still thieves in our midst. If these scum bags are actually caught in the act, why not call the law to the show to at least confront them? If someone actually saw them in the act, why the heck did they not challenge them? Witnessing such a crime, then looking the other way is a crime in itself. You are allowing more of your fellow collectors to get ripped off!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I and many others were pleased to see the "cattle herding" fiasco was dropped this year. The dealers were allowed to immediately begin setting up at noon without having to exit the building, get in a line, and then reenter again a few minutes later. Kudos to the show hosts for putting an end to that nonsense! Now, if we can only work on the 1-2 hour dealer setup period...
It's easy to find flaws, then moan and complain. The 49er Bottle Club did an excellent job of hosting the show. It is evident that those involved put their heart and soul into making this show a success. It is sincerely appreciated and I'm already looking forward to next year!
There seemed to be a positive vibe/buzz at the show this year compared to last year's Auburn show. I didn't find much last year or this year - a total of 5 bottles came home with me from both 2009 - 2010 Auburn shows. Perhaps a case of all the "good stuff" (whether high-end or low-end) coming out Friday and the leftovers being proffered on the Saturday AM sales tables. Saw some nice coffin & pumpkinseed flasks well out of my price range. There were also some surprisingly high prices on the handful of SF/Oakland druggists I noted on the sales tables. Found a handful of items for my advertising-giveaways collection. All in all a fun time was had...
ReplyDeleteHad a great time! Saw some amazing glass, and the black Cassin's was spectacular. It was nice to see friends, and some beautiful bottles. There were Lacour's, a green small Rosenbaums, a green small letter Renz'z (went home with me), a Chalmer's, some other nice Western squares, a great selection of whiskey's, like a John Van Bergen, Phoenix, Castle flask, AAA flask, GREEN small Miller's (could not resist), and some great medicines. I was able to bring home my second Dr. AH Fung's Great Chinese Remedy, S.F. It is crude and mint...what a surprise to see that one! The IXL display was great, and getting 2 copies of Warren's book was a highlight. What a fantastic book!All in all a great show, and the money ran out long before the glass did! Dale Mlasko
ReplyDeleteGreat Time, really enjoyed the show, Good Job 49er's, Had Great Sales, Huge Crowd, Great Glass everywhere, bought some quality stuff for me and a little resale, hit the shops and came home with 3 giant bags of stuff, Dug through AT's stuff and came home with Goodies and a nice Roth 1/2 Pint flask, stopped at a friends on the way home and got to dig through a collection of stuff, 5 more boxes of stuff. Made it home Safe and Sound. Good to see everyone, the Dinner was Great, I thought the Show started at 2:00PM so we got there a little late, everyone was in and going nuts, for me the only bummer was the 87 MPH speeding ticket I got coming into Marysville, I throw myself on the mercy of the court. Oh Yeah, I got to hold the Most Bubblious R.Hall, Dr.Barnes Jake and the Most Strangest Green R. Hall, Dr.Barnes Jake I have ever seen. I want em! Good Fun. I did miss the IXL Shootout though, I was manning the table, Thanks for the Pictures. Rick
ReplyDeleteAlthough I was busy at the table with book distribution and signings I was able to get to see some fantastic western bitters that were acquired by some collectors. Two variant 1 Lacour's were bought, one in light green, a twin to the example on the OLD WEST BOTTLES website and the other a grass green, a twin to mine and I believe the other one that was dug at the S. F. dig in '98. Two examples of a variant 2 Lacour's, one in an intense yellow-olive green and the other in a light honey amber, both spectacular examples.
ReplyDeleteI also viewed three AT & Co bottles in slightly different hues of color, a yellow-amber, orange-amber and an olive-amber. All terrific specimens, the history behind these bottles is fascinating; I wrote about this bottle and its product in my book.
Like Dale, I was fortunate enough to come home with a good western square to add to my collection also; an intense yellow-olive small variant Rosenbaums Bitters. It now sits between my dark amber variant and the grass green example, makes a terrific trio.
FANTASTIC SHOW! I love coming out for the people, the area and the bottles. Went home with a copy of Warren's INCREDIBLE book(clearly a labor of love), two Drakes cabins, an Old Sachem barrel and a Pine Tree Tar Cordial.
ReplyDeleteOnly "snag" on trip was long & tense journey in snow on way back from visiting Bonnie McLane in Sparks...Donner quickly went from chain control to closure while we visited. Irony was that I thought I'd escape Wisconsin's usually snowly 1st weekend of Dec.!
Merry Christmas to all!