SBCS Building Exhibit at Orlando City Hall

During the 2015 Souvenir Building Collector’s Society convention in Orlando Florida in May, host Marty G. organized a display of buildings at the Orlando City Hall. Marty send some photos of the exhibit. The club is planning it’s 2016 convention in Los Angles from June 10-12th. 

SBCS 2013 Convention in Minneapolis/Saint Paul

SBCS President Joe Kopitz just sent me a wrap-up of the 2013 convention events to share with those not able to attend. Joe writes, “There was such a great and complete announcement of the just-passed Minneapolis/Saint Paul Souvenir Building Collectors Society convention published in this blog last April, that there is little to add to the facts and flow of what was said or referenced there. However, for a good re-cap of the convention, check out the story in the latest issue of the SBCS newsletter. What was not provided in the fact-filled itinerary was just how special this convention was in so many ways.  Members were able to connect with each other in a much more personal way – time to just sit and chat and discover much about one another and the buildings they collect.  And the photos from the convention also show just how fun this year’s convention was.  Enjoy! The greatly expanded Show and Tell has given us all a terrific opportunity to learn more about folk’s favorite buildings – and why they are so special.  It’s sort of like a dozen “mini tours” of people’s home collections with an added commentary that informs and entices.  The auction presented several terrific and rare buildings that tempted vast sums of money to leave one’s checkbook (mine).  This continues to be a great opportunity to acquire significant buildings from other members while also supporting the SBCS.  Hopefully more members will see this as a great venue to buy and sell higher end buildings and can expand the offerings at future conventions.  It’s a great resource for those looking to thin their collection of duplicates or if they are looking for a practical way to downsize their collection and target fellow collectors as their audience. The raffle continues to become much more fun and another terrific resource for adding great buildings to one’s collection.  Thanks to some logistical changes made several years ago, the raffle moves much more quickly, every lucky winner always gets the building they want and excitement (and raffle ticket sales) has blossomed.  It’s so much better to know that every raffle ticket purchased goes to increasing your chances in getting the buildings you really want.  Such a win-win. The announcement of next year’s convention location contained an interesting twist.  The convention will be in Nashville, Tennessee – a fun place to explore, but maybe not in the typical SBCS convention month of June.  Surprise!  Next year’s convention will be the last weekend in October 2014.  A much more reasonable (i.e. cooler temperature) time to visit Nashville.  And, it coincides with the gigantic monthly flea market – a very tempting draw.  Stay tuned for more details.” - Joe K.

Steve S., who also attended the convention, also wrote, “The convention was good. The Foshay where we stayed was fantastic! Very cool historical building. Has an observation deck with an incredible 4-sided view of the city. Also has a museum on the top floor, but unfortunately they did not have a model/replica of the building. Friday afternoon we did a guided tour of the Guthrie Theater. Amazing building! Then Friday night we toured Tom Malone’s collection at his Tae Kwan Do studio. Saturday we started with the business meeting where we discussed trying to expand membership, etc... Next was the swap meet. Then we did a guided tour of St Paul in a trolley. We went to the Capitol, the St Paul Cathedral, and then to see the God of Peace statue in the City Hall. We ended the day with the dinner, auction, and raffle. The best auction item was the People's Bank of St Louis that finally hammered at $575. Sunday morning we went back to St Paul to tour Carolyn's collection. We visited with everyone for several hours there and then to the airport to head home.  There were 25-30 members in attendance.” SBSC Member and attendee, Lara G., uploaded many photos of the convention to Flickr. 

SBCS Commemorative Souvenir Buildings

The Souvenir Building Collector’s Society (SBCS) holds a convention each year in a different city.  For many recent years, the convention registration fee has included a commemorative souvenir-building replica from the host city. Fellow collector, Carolyn, wondered how many commemorative buildings have been produced the annual convention. Thank you to collectors Carolyn C., Joe K., Carol D, Ward S. and Bob K. who contributed to compiling this list and finding photos.  

1994    Pasadena (held at Bob K's house and billed as "The Third Annual Miniature Souvenir Building Convention," The first two unofficial souvenir building gatherings were held at Margaret & David's, and maybe in New York)

1995    NYC:  Chrysler building replicas on black marble base with a limited production of 200 were sold for $49.95 by Dixie T.  They stood 6.5 inches tall and had a bright silver finish mounted on a black marble base that was marked, “1995.”

1996    No convention

1997    Washington DC:  The Octagon House (AIA HQ) made by Microcosms was offered for sale.

1998    Los Angeles:  LAX Theme Building made by Microcosms was offered for sale.

1999    Chicago

2000    NYC

2001    Montreal, Canada

2002    San Francisco: Coit Tower by Microcosms (first year for convention commemorative building included in the price of registration)

2003    Gettysburg  (no commemorative)

2004    Seattle: The Exchange Building

2005    Philadelphia:  Masonic Temple

 2006    Baltimore:  Lord Baltimore Hotel

2007    Dallas: Reunion Tower       

2008    Charlottesville: The UVA Rotunda

2009    Pasadena: Pasadena City Hall

2010    Stamford: CitiCorp Tower (made of Lucite)

2011    Washington D.C.:  National Building Museum

2012    Toronto:  Old Toronto City Hall

2013    Minneapolis: Foshay Tower

SBCS 2013 Convention Details Announced

Convention organizers Carolyn and Tom have a full weekend planned for those attending the Souvenir Building Collector Society’s annual gathering. This year, from June 21 – 23, the host hotel will be the historic Foshay Tower in Minneapolis. Friday afternoon will kick things off with a guided walking tour of US and Wells Fargo Banks, Downtown architecture and then the Guthrie Theater. In the evening, collectors will view Tom M.’s souvenir building collection at his home outside the city. Saturday morning will be the popular sale and swap meet of miniature buildings and then on to an architecture tour aboard a trolley to see the State Capitol, St Paul Cathedral, J.J. Hill, Historic Summit Avenue, Weisman and Walker Art Museums. The evening will find attendees at the dinner, live auction and miniature building raffle. Finally, on Sunday Carolyn will invite everyone to see her collection in St. Paul. 

SBCS 2012 Convention in Toronto

This year’s Souvenir Building Collector’s Society’s convention in Toronto, Canada I’m told was a success. Host Mark F. organized a full weekend of activities. During the business portion of the meeting, Joe K. was elected the new president of the society.  The 3-day event included architectural tours of the city, the very-popular sale & swap of building replicas and a show & tell time in which attendees were asked to bring an interesting or rare replica and talk about the real building, the miniature or a story about how they acquired it. The Saturday dinner, raffle and live auction were also a big hit as was the visit to Mark’s home and collection. Next year, the annual convention will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Below are some photos sent to me by Joe K. Club member Tarun also uploaded photos to Flickr and Lara G. shared some on her Facebook page for everyone to see.

Visiting Jim Redwine’s Banthrico Collection

Joe, Elizabeth and Pat’s adventure continued with a visit to author, Jim Redwine, who literally wrote the book on collecting Banthrico Banks.

“We also met with Jim Redwine at his home in Florissant, Mo. for several hours. He is an amazing character and a wonderful human being. He chatted a while - telling us his personal history and sharing significant stories about his collections. He brought is from room to room giving a great oversight to the many treasures held within. Then gave us all the run of the house to explore, look, photograph and enjoy his extensive collections. I have to make the point that when I say, collections – I mean he has many different types of collections. To me, he was always known for his still banks and souvenir building collections. And, of course – his extensive collection of Banthrico coin banks and other items. But those are just the tip of the preverbal iceberg. I can’t do justice to his extensive collections, but I’ll try to share some of them with you (in no particular order). In addition to the above collections, he also collects: door stops, cartoon character banks and related items, lunch boxes, Santa Claus items, tin can advertising banks, cast iron salesman samples of cook stoves (complete with miniature cookware, of course), Royal Dalton head mugs, bust banks, college mascot banks, car banks, cast iron toys, Indian head banks, ceramic “piggy” banks, glass bottle banks, cast iron mechanical banks, cast iron animals (banks & door-stops), clowns and bobble heads. By his own account, he has over 6,000 items inside his home and another 1,000 duplicates in the garage. Each one of the categories I listed has such an impressive number of items that on their own would make any collector proud. Put together and it’s just overwhelming. Every collector’s “significant other” should witness Jim’s collection first hand. It really puts one’s own collection into prospective. I am speaking from experience. As you may know, Jim has written two books on Banthrico. At 81, he’s still going strong. He's about to write another book about cartoon character banks. I brought his first book with me so he could autograph it (which he did with pleasure). I had also bought his second book that night - and he autographed that one as well. He is am amazing guy. He does not have or use a computer. His entire collection (remember - over 6,000 items in his house and over 1,000 duplicates in his garage) is catalogued by hand and listed in his bound ledger books. He has a tiny dot with a number on the bottom of each item and can find out everything about it from these ledger books in a matter of seconds. He was put to this test when Pat Smith wanted to buy a Banthrico corn-cob coin bank from Iowa from Jim. He looked it up and sold it to her for the price he paid for it (so he says). The whole transaction was less than a minute.

Above is a photo of a guest bedroom...can you find the bed?

Frank Lloyd Wright House Monumental Miniatures Exhibit

The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park, Missouri reached out to the membership of the Souvenir Building Collector’s Society months ago requesting souvenir buildings for their planned exhibit celebrating Mr. Wright's 144th birthday. Many SBCS members stepped forward to help fulfill their request and loaned the house many building replicas. The exhibit, which opened in June and will go till November 28, 2010, received some media attention. SBCS members Joe Kopitz, Elizabeth Lawson and Pat Smith visited the FLW house in October. It sounded like a wonderful trip, filled with events to make it a miniature convention, and Joe kindly wrote highlights to share with everyone. I’ll publish a few installments of what the three did over the next few days.

According to The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park, the exhibit called, Monumental Miniatures, “brings to St. Louis more than 150 miniature buildings from private collections around the country. Miniature buildings have been produced for the past two centuries, many as souvenirs that evoke memories of important architectural sites. This unique exhibit features architectural styles from all over the world from ancient times to the present day. Ancient temples, pagodas, mosques, pyramids, cathedrals and churches, skyscrapers, houses and historic sites are on display. Many of the buildings are famous landmarks or buildings of note by celebrated architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright. The works are made of a wide variety of materials including cast iron and various metals, ceramic, plastic, wood, rubber, and even sand. Most lenders to the exhibit are members of the Souvenir Buildings Collectors Society and are avid collectors of architectural miniatures from all over the world.”

Joe Writes:

“A little background about this event. Joanne Kohn, the president of the board of theThe Frank Lloyd Wright House House, had come up with the idea of displaying Monumental Miniatures within the FLW house to place Frank Lloyd Wright in the context of the history of architecture. She had come upon miniature collecting in an article in the Wall Street Journal. She shared this idea with Laura Meyers, the Executive Director and Peter Shank, the FLW House curator and board member who worked to make this incredible event happen. Joanne, Laura and Peter made numerous trips to visit collections of SBCS members. When they visited the New York metropolitan region in April, Elizabeth Lawson and I decided to display our selections at the Brooklyn home of one of SBCS founding members, Patricia Smith. Pat had graciously allowed us to set up in her dining room and provided terrific refreshments. She had not anticipated showing her own (wonderful) collection; Pat is in the process of downsizing her souvenir building collection. She still has an incredibility diverse collection of little buildings that she has amassed over many years. But when the St. Louis threesome asked about seeing her collection, she led them to her 3^rd floor. They were so impressed with what they saw, they asked if she would be willing to contribute some of her little buildings as well. Of course Pat said yes. The group from the FLW House had made many similar stops at numerous collectors’ homes in several States. Many members of the Souvenir Building Collector’s Society stepped up to the challenge of filling the FLW House with such an incredibly diverse mixture of miniature buildings that truly did “place Mr. Wright in the context of the history of architecture.” The three of us, Pat, Elizabeth and I, had originally thought we would visit the collection during its run. But as the summer came and went, we realized it was now or never. So in September, we made plans to visit during the weekend of October 21^st. The hotel in St. Louis and rental car reservations in place, we were all set. Pat and I arrived in St. Louis around noon on Friday, checked into the hotel and had lunch. By mid-afternoon, we had arrived at the FLW House. We had a very informative tour and took lots of photos. Truly the house is extraordinary and the Monumental Miniatures exhibit was set up beautifully and added immensely to the significance of the visit, the history of the house and Mr. Wright’s place among architects. The grounds and surrounding area were also extremely peaceful and relaxing. A true oasis. On Saturday morning, during a personal tour of Downtown St. Louis, graciously provided by Laura Meyer, we got a chance to see many wonderful landmarks. We even got a glimpse of “Occupy St. Louis” from the car. Since Pat and Elizabeth had no interest in joining me, I visited the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by myself. I even went up to the top of the arch in their little capsules. After returning to earth, I discovered that many of the original construction guys who worked on building the arch were there to sign posters. This was the first time they had ever gathered for such an event. Not letting such a rare opportunity pass, I bought a couple of posters (at $1 each) and waited in line for them all to sign them. On Saturday night, Joanne Kohn, along with a couple of board members, had us all for a dinner party at Mr. and Mrs. Kohn’s extraordinary mid-century home. The home, its furnishings and setting were all magnificent. They all really made us feel very special. Joanne’s collection of pottery was extraordinary and very exciting for me; I took lots of photos. She prepared my absolutely favorite dish: Chicken Marbella from the Silver Palate Cookbook. I know I shouldn’t tell cooking secrets outside of the kitchen, but it is so yummy. She topped off the evening with homemade pear-ginger pies. What a treat!” Joe Kopitz.

Russell’s Souvenir Building collection

SBCS’s DC convention in June also viewed Russell K’s collection displayed among his modern furniture. Much of his collection is usually stored, so we enjoyed a rare opportunity to see it in its entirety. Below are questions and answers to help us learn more about his collecting methodology:

Q: How did you get started collecting souvenir buildings?

A: The first domestic one was a gift in New York State. The first international ones were unique examples seen during an extended visit to the Soviet Union.

Q: Why do you collect souvenir buildings?

A: As an architect who has spent nearly all of my professional life working with historic buildings, structures and historic districts, together with having an ongoing interest in contemporary architecture, it was a natural extension to take note of miniature representations and begin collecting them. The hobby was greatly facilitated by my being able to do so much personally on an international scale.

Q: How many total souvenir buildings do you have in your collection?

A: With the entire collection being placed on display for the 2011 Souvenir Building Collectors Society (SBCS) National Convention, it totaled 853 pieces representing 61 countries.

Q: How long have you been collecting?

A: My domestic collecting began in 1974. My international collecting began the following year in 1975. I still am collecting from both sources.

Q: What was the first replica you acquired and how did you get it?

A: The first domestic replica was a presentation to me of a small, cast-iron, 19^th century house in Rochester, New York by the Landmark Society of Western New York. The presentation was in recognition of my efforts as a representative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s support for the creation in 1974 of the Preservation League of New York State. My first international pieces were purchased while I served as a member of a seven-person, historic preservation delegation on a month long visit in 1975 to the then Soviet Union. I noted with interest in several official tourist shops the small, natural wood with burned decoration, representations of 18^th and 19^th century historic Russian churches and purchased a number of them. On that same trip I also acquired a number of small Russian commemorative/souvenir pins that featured historic Russian buildings.

Q: Which is your favorite and why?

A: I cannot say that I have “a favorite”. When I view individual pieces it is personally satisfying to reflect on where and when they were acquired. I also enjoy the diversity of materials represented in the buildings in my collection – cast metal, tin, wood, marble, glass, plaster of Paris, resin, paper, bamboo, stone, grass, etc. and the variety of the ways these materials have been used to create these miniature buildings. Those examples where I have personally met the artist that created them have an extra special association. Included in this group are: the series of large sculpted facades of demolished historic Chicago houses and commercial buildings created by a woman sculptor in Chicago; two historic multi-story houses in Sana’a, Yemen created by a young architect; and the model of a typical corrugated iron shanty house in South Africa created by a metal sculptor in Capetown, South Africa.

Q: How and where do you buy most of your items?

A: I buy nearly all of my items at antique malls, antique shows, flea markets, thrift stores and museum shops. International purchases are often made at such added places as tourist oriented shops, news/tobacco shops, artist’s cooperatives and department stores. A few unique pieces have been purchased directly from individual artist’s studios. My 50-year professional life as a preservation architect and historical agency administrator afforded me a unique opportunity to travel widely throughout the United States and internationally. As the Director of Field Services, Vice-President for Preservation Services and Senior Vice-President with the National Trust for Historic Preservation took me to all but two states and several foreign countries in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. As the Vice-President for Programs of the International Council on Monuments and Site, U.S. Committee, I traveled to a number of other foreign countries in Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa. As the Director of International Relations for the American Institute of Architects and the Co-Director of the Professional Practice Commission of the International Union of Architects I continued my international travels to a number of different countries throughout the world. Since joining the SBCS a number of pieces have been acquired at the annual convention swap meets. Being retired, my wife and I take both domestic and foreign trips and they always include stops at many of the aforementioned places. A number of pieces are gifts from my wife and son. As an architect, my son who works on many foreign commissions has added a number of international pieces to the collection that he has found on his international travels.

Q: How do you display your collection?

A: The portion of the collection on display is disbursed throughout our home with much of it being in wall mounted glass cases on our living room walls and on shelves in my office and guest room. Pieces that cannot be displayed are stored in boxes. All acquisitions are recorded on a self-designed inventory form at the time they are acquired. Having placed the entire collection on display for the 2011 SBCS National Convention, each item is now being recorded into a digital photographic archive.

Q: Any interesting stories about your collecting experience?

A: Domestically the most interesting aspect has been the discovery of and learning about the diversity of plaster models of domestic and foreign historic buildings created by the federal Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. Since the school education program operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was likely the largest source of such models, a number in my collection have been found at various locations in Pennsylvania. They tend to be large models and are somewhat problematic to store. Made of plaster of Paris and now nearly sixty-years old, they are very fragile. Patronage over the years of a number of regular vendors at flea markets has resulted in their knowing what I collect and their looking out for items I might be interested in buying the next time I see them at a market. Internationally I have learned to ask any and all professional colleagues and hosts met during the course of my visit to a country if they are aware of any sources of miniature buildings representing their country. Such inquiries have led to a number of unique acquisitions – such as the miniature models of church facades made of paper and tin foil found in Warsaw, Poland on the suggestion of the Cultural Attaché in the U.S. Embassy. I stay alert during walking tours of historic city areas, such as the World Heritage site of Old Sana’a in Yemen which led to the discovery of a small studio of an unemployed architect who was producing highly unique, handmade and painted plaster of Paris models of typical Yemeni multi-story houses.

Q: Anything additional you’d like to share about your collection?

The only “series” collection that I have made a concerted effort to assemble are the miniature, ceramic, Dutch houses given to Business and First Class passengers on KLM Airlines. My mother’s family was Dutch and with my extensive travels in the Netherlands, the 90 buildings in this collection have a special association. While serving at the Washington, DC headquarters of the American Institute of Architects I had a small portion of my collection on display in my office. It was a constant source of interest to my many domestic and international visitors. Having to organize and host a number of special dinners for international architects, I would often use selected items from the collection as elements of the table center pieces. They stimulated lively table conversation to identify what the individual pieces represented and where they were located. Regular visits to small and large flea markets revealed 19^th and 20^th century souvenir trays that featured nicely detailed representations of buildings and bridges. A 2008 first visit to the infamous Brimfield Antique Show, in Brimfield, Massachusetts resulted in finding a large box of such trays, both domestic and foreign, under a vendor’s table. The die was cast for another dimension to my collection! Currently at 75 pieces, it continues to expand. - Russell