Contributed by collector and Overstreet Advisor Art Cloos
Photos by Alice Cloos
The 46th edition of the Allentown Antique Toy Show was held on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at the Agricultural Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This show is well known in the toy collecting world. When Allie and I first heard about it 33 years ago, we were told this was the show to go to, even ahead of other well known shows in the area.
The Allentown Antiques Toy Show was created by David K. Bausch, and it all started when he was a kid. As a teenager in 1948, Bausch developed an interest in automobiles, and eventually he would own eight antique cars, including a 1927 Franklin boat-tail roadster. After that automobiles became his passion, anything from a toy truck to car calendars, from brass lights to a brass mock-up of the 1913 Ford assembly line, from a car etched on a pocket watch to the full-sized vehicle, and eventually toys. Soon he and his friend, Jeannie Lowe, were hitting antique stores searching for car related items and toys. While going to antique fairs where all kinds of historical items were sold, they began to wonder why there weren’t shows for toys. All of which is why Bausch and Lowe created The Allentown Vintage Toy Show 46 years ago.
The Agricultural Hall is a large open space that can fit 500 tables and allow for wide aisles as part of the experience. There is ample parking available for dealers and buyers during registration periods and the day of the show.
Allentown is a must attend show among vintage toy collectors who come from all over the US and overseas. Vintage for this show is defined as items at least 50 years old, however they have become somewhat lenient about that timeframe.
Overall, the dealer tables had a very large variety of vintage items. They ranged from cast iron and tin toys, dolls and doll houses to Steiff stuffed animals. There was jewelry, vintage toys, and pedal cars. There were Christmas and Halloween items, metal signs of all kinds, vintage games, and vintage comic books. From a personal point of view both, Allie and I were happy to see that there was more quality vintage Batman and Wonder Woman items than we saw combined over the last several years. We were quite happy to see Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age comic books as well.
A seasoned group of veteran dealers set up at the show, and they know exactly what they have and what they are willing to accept for it. The same can be said for the buyers; they know what they collect and know what an item should cost as opposed to what was being asked. Bargaining is part of the game, but it is possible to reach an agreement on something you want. The auction houses Bertoia, Milestone Auctions, and Morphy’s were all there, and they were advertising their upcoming auctions while taking consignments as well.
Allie ran into our pal and dealer buddy Nelson and his wife, and I ran into fellow collector Manny Maris. We also talked to dealers like Captain Perry R. Eichor who runs Keep Em Flying. He is a WWII retired airplane pilot who now sells antique aircraft memorabilia, toys, models, literature, and he also does appraisals too. One dealer I look for every year is Barbara Moran who specializes in Japanese vintage paper games and from whom I buy the Batman ones. Gerrie L. Brand’s Vintage Toy booth is one of the dealers we make a point of checking out every year as he always comes with a large selection of items Allie and I are interested in. The same is true of Joan Collien and her husband who always have a nice selection of Batman toys. Tin Toy Works, the Allentown-based toy repairer, led by owner Joe Freeman was also there to help fix any broken toys.
Allie noted that this year there were a number of first time dealers. One that stood out was Ali, a 14-year-old young lady who is a doll expert, accomplished public speaker, and author on collecting dolls. She runs her own Facebook page called Nostalgic Treasures For The Love Of Dolls.
The Fairgrounds D&L Concession stand offered both breakfast and lunch options as well as snacks and drinks. The Allentown Fair Grounds Farmers Market is across the street with over 60 local merchants with more meal options and even a local winery.
There are several nice hotels located in the area and a lot of local attractions and restaurants to check out. Our hotel had the Linx restaurant, which is just a great pub with a first rate bar and excellent food. It also features live karaoke every Friday and Saturday night too.
The Allentown Antique Toy show is held once a year on the first Saturday of November at the Allentown Fairgrounds. The show is open from 9 AM to 3 PM and admission is $8 for adults. The next edition will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2025. Information on the show can be found on its Facebook page, or by emailing sfrey5564@gmail.com and jsauerzopf@msn.com, or call (484) 553-2947.
To see more photos from Allentown Antique Toy Show, jump to our In the Limelight.
