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Acres of antiques

Three times a year in sleepy Mount Dora, collectors can find just about anything.

By CHRIS SHERMAN
Published February 11, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Ted McLaren] These vintage metal Tonka trucks display a heartwarming amount of wear from little hands over the years..

MOUNT DORA

The folks who run Renninger's field of antique dreams call their biggest sales weekends "Extravaganzas."

The British have a better word: jumble.

And what a glorious jumble. Three times a year, an avalanche of antiques and collectibles scatters along U.S. 441 on 100-plus acres. Primitive rocking chairs, Roseville pottery, Hoosier cabinets, rusting toys, '50s Melmac dishes and old wooden dough trays from Poland spill down the hills and up again.

The landslide is actually carefully structured. At noon on the third Wednesday of January, February and November, the gates open to a caravan of dealers' trucks, campers and vans that roll down to the shade trees and other prime spots. Roustabouts set up huge rental awnings while other vendors pitch their tents and unbundle wares. Some sleep among their inventory until they can uncover their merchandise at 10 a.m. Friday.

The Mount Dora fairgrounds have been a big stop on the winter antiques circuit since 1984. These days, 1,400 dealers show up for the Extravaganzas some do only these shows. They are followed by thousands of buyers. They'll assemble again next weekend for the final Extravaganza of the season.

Where to start for a first-timer? First, a shopping list. Unless you stay overnight, you can't make your way through the acres and acres of stuff without some focus.

We practiced our strategy at the January sale. After consulting a half-dozen colleagues, my "I wanna" list ran from the again-fashionable sleek Biedermeier furniture of the 1830s to wedding cake bride and groom figurines and Cracker Jack prizes (everything has a collector). We hit the grounds at noon on Saturday.

Here's what we were looking for and how we fared:

IRON GARDEN GATES. Top of our list and top of the hill, I saw them before we entered, a literal fence of gates with white paint freshly peeling, hauled from North Carolina. About $200 and up.

BONUS FIND: A herd of sheet metal pigs with Botero lines and rusting paint are the creation of a crafty welder from the north of England. $30 to $60.

HIGHWAYMEN PAINTING. We couldn't miss the big bright painting with a tropical scene typical of Florida's roadside artists. The signature of Willie Reagan and a rare inclusion of a sailing ship add value. The seller won't price it or permit a photo. "I think it's around $3,000, but I'm taking offers."

HALL POTTERY WATER PITCHER. We have a bunch from this revered Ohio company, and I'd love one by the brilliant Eva Zeisel, who just celebrated her 100th birthday.

With time, I might have found one. Closest hit was an angular yellow and white pitcher, probably Czech from the 1930s, for $20. No cigar.

BONUS FIND. An American Flyer in Florida spurs nostalgia; this was a rare Scandinavian sled with steering wheel and hand brake, endorsed by a skiing hero of another century. $450.

EPHEMERA: Old paper, from stock certificates to antique photos, is everywhere. For my collector, I pick up a "Dear Jack" solidarity card from World War I, praising the recipient whether he "fights the hun" or makes a gun. For me, a New York World's Fair map. $1 each.

BONUS FIND: Paper chases are time-consuming, so I don't do much, but at a messy stall piled with vintage clothing and plastic toys, a stack of Ziploc bags call out. Inside are exquisite monographs on type design from the 1950s collected by a connoisseur of printing arts. Not everyone wants a handsome celebration of the Italian typographer Bodoni. An ink-stained wretch, I can't refuse for $5.

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN: Before modern commercialization, spooky decor was rare and flimsy, all the more valuable now. Yet a pair of devils in orange papier-mache are $15.

BONUS FIND. There are occasional fakes and frauds, but not often at these prices. Reproductions and replicas are honestly presented. A rainbow of carefully stacked and color-coded Fiestaware filling an entire booth doesn't pretend to be mid-century vintage.

Sellers admit that a truckload of early 20th century classics including a Stickley bookcase and a Frank Lloyd Wright settee are copies, though exceptionally good. The Limbert dining set matches the dimensions of the arts and crafts original, and the polish gleams (too much, to be honest). It's still a joy of lines and fine work with mortises and tenons; made overseas for $1,500.

BOARD GAME: My personal goal is a prewar game with bright lithography, perhaps a McLaughlin Bros. game of city life. I do find Little Black Sambo, 1949, by Cadaco-Ellis, with cartoon natives. Good condition, $95.

BONUS FIND: A massive collection of stained glass windows from a Tampa Heights church about to be scuttled by a highway. $1,000 and up, most sold.

TOY TRUCKS: Old toy cars, boats and tractors are in demand; trucks are scarce too. My collector wanted cast metal, but my first discovery was a lineup of big Tonkas, well-used but still heartwarming, $60 and up. Later I found a stash of cast metal cars, including the Dinky Toys, Matchbox and Corgis of my youth, and hard rubber cars from decades before.

BONUS FIND: As Eastern Europe and other places modernize, dealers line up for their castoffs, from Chinese grain boxes and woven well buckets to Mexican wooden sugar molds.

Hot this year are baby bathtubs from Hungary, white porcelain tubs on green metal stands, stunning as planters. Dealers have scores at $89.99, half the price you'll see at retail.

COKE CLASSIC. Another collector seeks out Coca-Cola collectibles, specifically serving trays from the 1930s, and tells me how to spot the real thing. One booth has everything pop, from Wink to Pepsi signs in French to small-town Hazle Club soda. The proprietor flips through some cheaper trays and then offers "the good stuff": a vintage tray of a flapper, date in the right place. Our hunter said it'd be $300; the dealer starts at $325.

Just one more look

I was about to quit as I reached the permanent antiques center; many shoppers do. They shouldn't. Dealers here have a year-round home, a roof, big selections and fine furniture. In the field, much of the furniture is sturdy stuff, from primitive to modern retro.

The Biedermeier might be here, but I lost my way at the Hardware Man among historically correct knobs, pulls, lamp switches and door hinges, more than in all of Colonial Williamsburg.

Then I saw my true love, Tim Benson's Southern Cross collection of mission furniture. Bookcases, lamp tables, desks and morris chairs in quarter-sawn oak and rich old grains accented by the warm glaze of old pottery, hammered copper, slag lamps and lovely books. Real stuff made by artisans 100 years ago.

I couldn't afford a piece of it, and I hadn't found the wedding cake toppers or Cracker Jack prizes.

Yet I left happy. Seeing, touching and admiring can be enough. And the cheapest bargain of all.

IF YOU GO

Renninger's

Location: U.S. 441 east of Mount Dora, about 30 miles northeast of Orlando. Call (352) 383-8393 or go to www.renningers.com for information. (Renninger's also runs similar antiques fairs in Pennsylvania the rest of the year.)

Schedule: The next three-day Antiques Extravaganza begins Friday, although the Antique Center and flea markets are open weekends year-round. Monthly antiques fairs are the third Sunday each month, except January, February and November, when the Extravaganzas are held.

Hours and fees: For the Extravaganza, doors open at 10 a.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and close about 5 p.m. Admission is $10 on Friday; $5 Saturday; $3 Sunday; $15 three-day pass. Parking is free.

Services: You can buy carts and bubble wrap; delivery is available. Food and drink booths on the grounds.

Accommodations: Motels and B&Bs can be found in Mount Dora, Tavares and Eustis, or farther afield in Sanford, Leesburg and Apopka. Call the Mount Dora Chamber of Commerce at (352) 383-2165 or go to www.mountdora.com, www.lakegovernment.com or www.renningers.com.

Helpful hints

- Set a budget. Figure what you will pay; if a dealer won't sell at that price, don't buy it. That's not prudery; it saves money for an unexpected White Tower soup bowl .

Start your bargaining when a dealer says, "I can do better," but know that he won't budge much once he says, "That's the best I can do."

- At Renninger's, some dealers take credit cards or checks, some only cash. Bring all three.

Chris Sherman

[Last modified February 9, 2007, 09:58:00]