Collectors Find Treasures at Expo

By Kathy Kuhl

Among the more than 3,000 people seeking treasures at the QCCA Expo Center over the weekend, Carole Harpole sifted through dozens of postcards to find unique gifts — and perhaps something for herself.

“I generally look for places I’ve been. Sometimes, I use them as greeting cards. They’re fun that way,” the Davenport woman said.

She had set aside a postcard — postmarked in 1955 — depicting Multnomah Falls in Oregon. It was one she planned to send to relatives who live near Portland. “We went there together years ago.”

The 11th year of the biennial Antiques Extravaganza buzzed all weekend with people seeking and people selling items as divergent as butter churns, cut crystal perfume bottles, tin signs, hand-woven rugs and baskets and one-of-a-kind furniture. And even old U.S. Department of Agriculture pamphlets, such as one titled “How to Cook Rabbit.”

The buying and browsing crowd at the event deserves credit for knowing their stuff, according to Trudy Pfeiffer, whose collectible business, Memory Lane, is in Moville, Iowa, about 20 miles east of Sioux City.

“This is a nice crowd of educated collectors,” she said, standing among her collection of urns, Fiesta Ware, and Jewel T stoneware. “Sometimes you have to educate your audience on things like bargaining. People who don’t do this often might not know it’s not like retail, that you can give your price and negotiate.”

Pfeiffer said she could appreciate her buyers because she was a buyer before she became a dealer about 15 years ago.

“I used to go to shows to get Fiesta Ware, but we brought more stuff home with us. Pretty soon we looked at what we had and said, “We need to sell some of this stuff,” she said.

Sam Cornelison of Davenport shared some “antiquing” wisdom. This patron to the event had made the most of the wristbands to gain free re-entry. He said he and his wife had attended all three days of the show. He estimated they have attended at least six Antique Extravaganzas.

“The first day is the biggest because people come to see things before they get picked over, but the last day you might get deals from out-of-town dealers who want to get rid of things,” he said.

Among his other purchases, Cornelison said he had found some oil cans to go with his collection of service station antiques.

Elaine Macias, who owns Quality Antiques in Rock Island, had made old items useful in new ways. In her hands, old windows have become tabletops or supports for tables. A series of “milk traps” — spring-loaded doors for milk delivery in an apartment building — became a tabletop. A baby carriage frame has been reclaimed as a plant stand by simply attaching a sturdy board to its open top. “I guess I call mine creative antiques,” she said.

The next Antique Spectacular will be March 10-12, 2006.