Category: Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

April Sunday Zoom

tarunverma82

It has been around six weeks since we had out last Sunday Zoom and Mark is back with another exciting Sunday Zoom for us building collectors. Let’s get to know more about it from him

Sunday Zoom – April 10 – 2PM EST

Zoom Sunday is one week away.

All members, old and new, are invited to join. Joe will be sending the link. This month’s Sunday Zoom will feature stories of some of our members “First Convention.”

There will be reminiscences and stories about meeting new people; tours; show & tell; swap meets; auctions; and raffles. For those who have yet to experience a First Convention this will be informative and eye-opening. Great fun all around. Maybe it will convince you to make the trip to SBCS 2022.

I hope to see you on Sunday, and then again in Pittsburgh.

Mark Fine – Toronto

SBCS MEMBERS ONLY!

Invitations will be sent out via Email.  If you are not a member and want to join us, here is a link to the membership application. 

Here is a quick peek from February Sunday Zoom

Miscellaneous

Souvenir Buildings make way to Local History Museum in Michigan

tarunverma82

When we as collectors are putting together a collection, a thought of showcasing our collection to friends, family and rest of the world often crosses the minds of most of us. Therefore we invite people to our home to see our collection(/s), SBCS Conventions & SBCS Zoom calls being a couple of those golden opportunities . Thanks to the social media, it has become much easier these days to share our passion. However having our collection being displayed at a museum or a public display is one of the best ways to let a much bigger section of community see our prized & precious congregation of souvenir buildings.

One of the long time members of Souvenir Building Collectors Society, Wynn Wikman has made us proud by getting part of his collection displayed at local history Museum, Tri-Cities Historical Museum in Grand Haven, Michigan. Here is a quick glance of the how tall & beautifully his collection shines in there.

Wynn’s collection at Tri-Cities Historical Museum in Grand Haven, Michigan.

Here are a few words from Wynn sharing interesting facts about himself , why & how he got into collection of Souvenir Buildings and how his stunning & hand picked collection made its way to the Tri-Cities Historical Museum.

I have been a collector all my life, I started collecting souvenir buildings about 20 years ago. As an architecture aficionado I like the ability to hold a building in my hand and take in the whole thing at once. As a sculptor I appreciate the 3D form of these replicas as well as the artistic license some of the makers have taken in their creations. As a history buff I am interested in the time or events these objects represent, as well as the history of the replicas themselves. As a traveler I enjoy the memories these souvenirs give for places I have visited. I also like the variety of structures represented and the ability to create new cityscapes on a shelf.

I have a small part of my collection (less than 100) on display at a Tri-Cities Historical Museum in Grand Haven, Michigan.  I included basic information about each of the replicas on display.  I arranged a shelf with a souvenir building timeline ranging from a grand tour obelisk replica to a One World Trade Center replica, a shelf with Michigan buildings, a shelf with US buildings, a shelf with foreign buildings, and a shelf with a variety of buildings made from materials other than metal, the Souvenir Buildings Miniature Buildings book, the latest SBCS newsletter, and the text below.  The pictures are of set up and Michigan buildings I have on display.

Some background to the display.  I saw a Facebook post from the museum about their then current Community Curators display asking if anyone had a collection they wanted to share.  I told them I did, and we scheduled a time frame for my display.  I found out I had 5 shelves to work with.  I then decided to dedicate one shelf to a historical overview of souvenir buildings, one to Michigan structures, one to United States structures, one to foreign structures, and one to souvenirs made with other materials than metal along with books, SBCS newsletter and other paperwork.  Most of the structures that I chose to include were vintage metal pieces, since those are the ones that interest me the most.  I selected a wide range of types of structures and locations.  I did not just include my best pieces, but ones I thought would be interesting to someone who was just being introduced to souvenir buildings.  I limited myself to 18 per shelf because I was able to include information about that many on a printed page that I mounted behind the replicas.  I included a key to what was on each shelf that listed what the structure is, where it is, the time frame that the replica was made and the material the replica was made from.

Enjoy a walkthrough of the individual shelves

Miscellaneous

Coming up!!! Feb 2022 SBCS Zoom Meet up

tarunverma82

SBCS MEMBERS ONLY!

Invitations will be sent out via Email.  If you are not a member and want to join us, here is a link to the membership application. 

Our Zoom meeting host , Mark Fine is back with this season’s first Zoom Sunday and following are the details straight out from his pen :

It will be on Sunday February 20, 2022, at 2PM EDT.

Our First-of-2022 Zoom Sunday Special Guest Speaker will be none other than the renowned Mississippi Pediatrician and our host at the SBCS Jackson 202One convention, Dr. Steven Chevalier.

Steven has always been a collector. (Does that sound familiar?) As a child he collected sports cards, comic books, and stamps. Steven started collecting souvenir buildings with his son Ethan in 2003. He also collects contemporary art, and books, and is a die-hard Rush fan.

Steven and Ethan attended their first convention in Toronto in 2012.

Nine years later Steven hosted the SBCS Convention in Jackson, Mississippi.

And the topic? A surprise! We’ll just have to tune in find out.

But one thing is for sure that you will get to see a lot of SOUVENIR BUILDINGS , some of which might be the ones which you might have not seen ever before.

Zoom details to follow in the mail of SBCS Members. Stay tuned!!!!

Put that in your calendar folks. You will not want to miss it!

Stay well and healthy

Here’s how SBCS Zoom Meet ups bring smiles on the faces of souvenir building collectors.

Miscellaneous

SBCS Convention 202ONE

Bookend Collector

SBCS Convention 202ONE

Jackson, MS

Oct. 8 & 9 

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WHERE MEMORIES WILL BE MADE, FRIENDSHIPS RENEWED, and BUILDINGS SWAPPED, BOUGHT, and  AUCTIONED!

Items from the Bob Kneisel Collection will be for sale and auction, including highlights from his MICROCOSMS trove.  

There is still time to register for SBCS 202ONE !

Health and Safety:

Many SBCS members have voiced health safety concerns about the upcoming convention.  The SBCS Executive Committee has made the decision to go forward with the convention with some sensible health safety protocols in place.  Hopefully these guidelines will give comfort to all attendees. 

We expect ALL attendees to be fully vaccinated.  We will ask for your proof of vaccination at check in.  Make sure to bring it with you.   No proof of vaccination – no entry to any convention events.

A Covid PCR test will be available on site if interested. Registrants can receive further information regarding this. 

ALL attendees must wear masks during the Friday bus tour and at all inside events.  At outside events and with indoor informal contacts – please social distance at least 3’ – use good judgment and wear or have masks available at all times.

Our hope is that these safety protocols will help us feel safe while enjoying each other’s company during the convention.   We will continue to monitor the health situation and these guidelines are subject to modification if necessary.

Our hosts have planned a full schedule.  Buildings, Buildings, Buildings will be the focus. 

Thursday October 7:

5pm – 7pm Convention check in.  Hotel lobby.

Friday October 8: 

10am – 12pm Convention check in. Hotel lobby

1pm – 5pm bus tour of Downtown and guided tour of the Capitol building (Bus will leave from hotel)

 6:30pm – 9pm Dinner and Show & Tell at our host’s home

Saturday October 9: 

9am – 10am Business meeting in hotel

10:15am – 12pm Swap Meet in hotel

1pm – 3:30pm walking tour/museum tours 

6pm – 10pm Dinner/Raffle/Auction at local restaurant near hotel

Our hotel is the Hampton Inn & Suites in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Click here for more information and the link to make reservations. 

It’s also time to send in your convention registration form. Click here for the blank form. 

Miscellaneous

SBCS 202ONE Convention Update

Bookend Collector

 

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, here we come!

Health and Safety update:
Ridgeland, MS is in Madison County, which has a higher vaccination rate than the rest of the State.  We respectfully ask that all attendees be fully vaccinated.  For everyone’s safety, we will encourage all to wear masks for indoor events.  Here is a link to COVID safety at Hilton:  Hilton.com/en/corporate/cleanstay/

 

Our hosts have planned a full schedule.  Buildings, Buildings, Buildings will be the focus. 

Thursday October 7th from 5-7pm Convention check in.  Hotel lobby.

Friday October 8th from 10am -12pm Convention check in
                     1-5pm bus tour of Downtown and guided tour of the Capitol building.
                                  Bus will leave from hotel
                      6:30-9pm Dinner and Show & Tell at our host’s home
Saturday October 9th from 9-10am Business meeting in hotel
                           10:15am – 12pm Swap Meet in hotel
                            1-3:30pm walking tour/museum tours 
                            6-10pm Dinner/Raffle/Auction at local restaurant near hotel

Our hotel is the Hampton Inn & Suites in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Click here for more information and the link to make reservations. 

It’s also time to send in your convention registration form. Click here for the blank form. 

We look forward to catching up with old friends and welcoming new ones.  This will be a terrific opportunity to buy and sell little buildings.  Hope to see you there.

Miscellaneous

A June ZOOM ……… Sunday, June 13

Bookend Collector

GUEST SPEAKER: Ronnette Riley, FAIA

Convention 2021 Update: Steven Chevalier

SBCS MEMBERS ONLY!  June 13, 2PM EDT, bi-monthly Zoom Meet-up.  Invitations sent out via Email.  If you are not a member and want to join us, here is a link to the membership application. 

Sunday, June 13 -Zoom Guest Speaker – Ronnette Riley, FAIA

Long-time souvenir building collector & accumulator, SBCS member and Architect Extraordinaire, Ronnette Riley, will be our Special Guest Speaker at our next Sunday Zoom, on Sunday June 13 at 2PM Eastern time.

Ronnette is principal of her eponymous Architectural firm since 1987. A graduate of University of California, Berkeley and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, she spent eight years at the office of Phillip Johnson and John Burgee Architects. Ronette served as Project Architect for the iconic Lipstick Building in Manhattan, the Bank of America Center in Houston, 33 Maiden Lane in Manhattan and worked on projects at Johnson’s Glass House estate.

2021 SBCS Convention, Jackson, Mississippi – October 8-9-10

Steven Chevalier, our host of October’s Jackson, Mississippi 2021 convention will also join us. Don’t miss Steven talk for a few minutes about what he has planned for us this fall. Live on Zoom.

Zoom space limited to the first 100 people to respond to email invitation.

COVID19 Vaccine:  Please, in advance of October’s convention, get yourself fully vaccinated so that we can gather safely this year! 

Perhaps some moments from Conventions Past will watch over our 2021 gathering.

Boston
Boston
Nashville
Nashville
Orlando
Orlando
Chicago
Chicago

Miscellaneous

ZOOM into Spring, 2021 !!!!! There is lots going on with miniature building collectors.

Bookend Collector

ZOOM………..

SBCS MEMBERS ONLY!  April 11, 2PM EDT, bi-monthly Zoom Meet-up.  Invitations sent out via Email. 

Our April special guest will be long-time member Chris Spry. Chris is a docent for the Los Angeles County Conservancy, a local historic building preservation organization that is a smaller version of the US National Trust for Historic Preservation. Prior to the pandemic, he led walking tours of Historic Downtown Los Angeles and Union Station; and Art Deco, Mid Century Modern, and the Victorian Angeleno Heights neighborhoods on a regular basis, as well as helping with special tour events that the Conservancy hosted. Chris is planning on bringing a long a few guests of his own. 

This promises to be an informative and evocative presentation.

Don’t miss it. Look for the invitation in your email box. See you soon on Zoom – Mark

 FACEBOOK

The Souvenir Building Collectors Society Facebook group is “building”.  SBCS membership not required – but approved application to the FB group is.  If you are interested, check it out at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/47920772123

Many photos of interesting buildings and monuments have been appearing.  Our FB posts and commentaries are ranging from successful scores in the  Bob Kneisel Building Collection Auction last month, to recent finds, to requests for identification, to links to special opportunities. 

Buildings, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News

BOB KNEISEL SBCS LEGACY AUCTION

Bookend Collector 

 

At Last

The SBCS has just heard from RSL Auction Company that the Bob Kneisel Collection auction is scheduled for

Friday 26 February 2021 starting at 12 noon EST.

The auction will be hosted by Cyber Toy Auctions (a subsidiary of RSL Auctions) on LiveAuctioneers. This auction will feature a fantastic variety of Souvenir Buildings, Still & Mechanical Banks, Boats, Automotive, Trains, Wind-ups and more!

Here is the link to LiveAuctioneers where you can register for this auction and view the nearly 600 lots: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/193388_architectural-souvenir-building-banks-and- toys/

Please note that this auction will contain items from the Bob Kneisel Collection along with other souvenirs, banks and toys. It will feature almost half of Bob’s total collection. The remaining items in Bob’s Collection will be featured in another auction later on in the year. We will be sure to let you know when that auction is scheduled.

The good news is that there are 100’s of wonderful souvenir buildings in this auction. The more good news is that we all will have yet another opportunity to bid on even more wonderful souvenir buildings at the next auction.

So use the above link to visit the LiveAuctioneers site and register for this auction. Then join us on Friday, 26 February 2021 starting at 12pm EST for Cyber Toy Auction’s 14th sale entitled :

Architectural Souvenir Banks & Toys!

Check out all of the delightful little buildings awaiting your bids on February 26, 2021.

Good luck!

Buildings, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News

A SBCS VALENTINE: Paul Goldberger

Bookend Collector

 

Paul Goldberger

 

Celebrate Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14, 2021.  SBCS’s first Zoom meeting of the year features a very special guest, Paul Goldberger, Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair, former Architecture Critic for the New Yorker, recipient of the Pulitizer Prize for Distinguished Criticism, and souvenir building collector. Learn more about Paul here https://www.paulgoldberger.com/biography/

Congratulations to Mark Fine, SBCS Zoom Ringmaster, for starting the 2021 ZOOM Calendar with this distinguished guest.  Mark’s stewardship of the Zoom gatherings that were established to bridge the loss of 2020 activities has morphed into a well-received benefit of membership in the Souvenir Building Collectors Society.   The 2021 Zoom meetings are scheduled bimonthly on the 2nd Sunday at 2PM Eastern Time.  The 2021 Calendar is below. 

The first Zoom meetings in 2020 were based in our classic Show & Tell format from the annual meetings.  Participants shared stories about their new finds and long held treasures.  In October Mark interviewed Jon Merwine soon after his publication of Replica Buildings – A Visual History was published.  Then in December Anton Tremblay, long-time member and founder of Microcosms was featured.  

These interactive Zoom meetings are only open to current members of the Souvenir Building Collectors Society.  All current members are sent an email a few days before the event.  Registration is by reply to the email.  The emails contain instructions for registration and for accessing Zoom.   Memberships are now due for 2021. 

2021 Zoom Bi Monthly Meeting Calendar

 

Miscellaneous

Upcoming Events

buildinglady

Mark your calendars now.

Sunday December 13 2pm Eastern Time

Zoom Meeting with special guest, Anton Tremblay.

Anton, founder and the creative force behind Microcosms Architectural Miniatures, will speak for 15-20 minutes. You will be able to ask questions, afterwards as well as participate in the Show and Tell portion of the broadcast.

December 31, 2020

Memberships expire. Please send in dues for 2021. It promises to be an exciting year.

Update: Auction date delayed. New proposed dates February 20-21

RSL Auctions will have the Bob Kneisel Auction. It is a two day event!

October 8 – 10, 2021

SBCS Convention will be in Jackson, Mississippi with our host Steven Chevalier.