Buildings, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News

BOB KNEISEL SBCS LEGACY AUCTION

February 15, 2021 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

January 16, 2021January 16, 2021 Bookend Collector

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.

Buildings, Events, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News, People

ZOOM In for the October SBCS “MEET and GREET”

October 10, 2020October 10, 2020 Bookend Collector

The newly published REPLICA BUILDINGS, A VISUAL HISTORY will be the focus as Jon Merwine is interviewed by Mark Fine, ZOOM Master.

You will have an opportunity to ask your own questions of Jon.

Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 2 PM EDT, 1 PM CDT, 12 Noon MDT, and 11 AM PDT.

This opportunity is open to current members of SBCS. Check your October 7 emails for your invitation and directions on how to respond to confirm your attendance.

Jon has graciously provided printable downloads of the KEY and INDEX pages of REPLICA BUILDINGS, A VISUAL HISTORY. These are available in the MEMBERS ONLY section of this website.

Buildings, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News, People

A RESPITE from VIRUS, FIRE, HURRICANES and MEDIA !

September 15, 2020 Bookend Collector

SBCS members Mike and Jon Merwine have produced a book for us to savor in our hunkered down, isolated state.

“Replica Buildings: A Visual History”, contains over 2400 items cataloged with clear, high resolution images along with material, maker, size, location, function and age information per piece. It is over 340 pages with a hard cover – detailing pieces from the Grand Tour all the way to the modern miniatures made by InFocusTech.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“What started as a hobby in 1998, quickly became the Merwine family business – what many collect today as Cast Metal Buildings by InFocusTech. Over these past 22 years, the company has created over 1000 building replicas from all over the world in various shapes and sizes. This hobby was greatly influenced by the souvenir building collecting obsession – one held by both Mike and Jon. While the collection was around 300 very common pieces in 1998, it rapidly grew over the past two decades and currently sits above 4000 items. Being a family of collectors and creators we felt a great way to express our passion for the hobby was to create a guide using our collection. And also to inspire others to take up the mantle of collecting as “Monumental Miniatures” by Majua and Weingarten did for us 21 years ago.” Jon Merwine.

Link to Book: https://www.replicabuildings.com/book/index.html

Buildings, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News, RECENT FINDS

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! SBCS ZOOMERS

September 3, 2020 Bookend Collector

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! SBCS September ZOOM Meet & Greet is cancelled.

These friendly monthly ZOOM gatherings will resume on Sunday, October 11th. Mark your calendars.

An official invitation to this upcoming meeting, with more information, will be sent via email to all current SBCS members in early October. Remember that you must respond to the email to be included in ZOOM meeting.

In the meantime, the Souvenir Building Collectors Society Facebook group continues to engage with photos, conversations, and collections, everything from a Sunsphere throwdown to a staid Lincoln Memorial. Check it out.

Sunsphere, Knoxville

Lincoln Memorial

Nani Nani, Tokyo

San Francisco

Buildings, Events, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News, People

SUNDAY BUNCH ! …………Meet your fellow collectors.

August 3, 2020August 4, 2020 Bookend Collector

It’s a Sunday Bunch! Join with fellow SBCS members on ZOOM in a virtual “MEET & GREET” at 2PM Eastern on Sunday, August 9.

Not wishing the Society’s camaraderie to languish during the 2020 Pandemic, cancellation of Convention 2020 and the long wait for Convention 2021, the Executive Team started this monthly virtual gathering. Join us for our third monthly Sunday meet and greet.

The platform is ZOOM. The moderator is Mark Fine. The length of time is 45 to 60 minutes. The loose plan for the initial meeting includes:

EMAIL INVITATION: An invitation to all paid-up members will be sent via EMAIL from Joe Kopitz on Wednesday, August 5th. Members wishing to participate will need to use the ‘register in advance” link in Joe’s email to indicate their interest in attending the virtual “MEET & GREET.” This initial email will explain how to sign up for free ZOOM (if not already a user), and the steps you will need to take when you sign into the meeting.
EMAIL REGISTRATION: A 2nd EMAIL, which will come from AMY MATCHEN (Account holder), is generated by ZOOM and sent to only those members who used the link within the 1st email to indicate their interest. This 2nd email will contain the LINK and PASSWORD needed to join the meeting. On the day of the meeting sign in at 2PM EDT or a few minutes earlier. Refer to the instructions in your first email.

3. This month’s Show & Tell continues the theme of a Great Story. Where you found it, how you found it, a special moment, a story about the piece itself, etc. Please do not plan to take us on a tour of your collection.

THIS “EXPERIENCE” IS LIMITED TO CURRENT MEMBERS OF the SOUVENIR BUILDING COLLECTORS SOCIETY. If you are not current with your membership or are interested in joining, click here to be taken to the Membership Application page.

THERE ARE PLANS FOR FURTHER MEETINGS. Please let us know your recommendations for themes or topics. As of now the recurring date and time is the 2nd Sunday of the Month at 2PM Eastern. Be sure to stay tuned.

Buildings, Events, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News, People

HIT THE ROAD, BOB! Courtesy of Chris Spry

July 18, 2020July 18, 2020 Bookend Collector

148…149…150…151…152…Done!

Lots of Boxes! Chris got a work-out loading them.

Grafitti notwithstanding Chris rocked the trip.

The last box was loaded onto the U-Haul rental. All items fit snugly in the 10’ Box truck. The Bob Kneisel Collection was ready to travel 2600 miles across country from Los Angeles to Oldwick, New Jersey. The trip was planned and executed to complete the planned dispersal of the Collection four years after it was bequeathed to SBCS by Bob Kneisel.

The destination was RSL Auctioneers in Oldwick, where Leon Weiss and his Associates, Julian and Andrea will take over and prepare the items for a “cyber” auction later this year.

The travel plan included a drive-by stop at Steven and Ethan Chevalier’s home in Ridgewood outside of Jackson MS. There, eight of the boxes were unloaded to await the 2021 SBCS Convention in Jackson.

The route was simple but a jumble of interstate routes. First it was I-10 to I-20 straight into Jackson. Then, back on I-20 to Birmingham, northeast on I-59. East on I-40, northeast again on I-81 and then due east on I-78 to New Jersey. The road trip included several picturesque parts of the country, including the Mississippi and Alabama forests, The New Mexico and Arizona Sonoran Desert, and the Shenandoah Valley.

All this done in 5 days. And yes, we were employing best social-distancing practices in accordance with our current National situation.

51..huff…99….huff….118…..huff…..135……hufff……144……HHUUFF….YEAH!

The STAIRS and the RSL crew plus Joe Kopitz

At the New Jersey location, Joe Kopitz met me, and we unloaded the truck along with Leon Weiss, his son Julian, and Andrea Abernethy. But, as a surprise to Joe and me, it included unloading and moving those 144 boxes up a flight of stairs. Yes, RSL Auctions is on the second floor of a commercial building with no elevator. Even though fitness centers are starting to reopen nationally, no StairMasters were needed that day.

After the delivery, Joe started his meandering way back to Brooklyn, intending to stop at several New Jersey thrift shops that he had not visited in the past.

Me? I chose to relax until my flight from Newark to Los Angeles the next day. Up to that point the trip was extremely satisfying. However, commercial flying today is challenging… but that it another story.

RSL intends to issue the Kneisel Collection as an exclusive two-day cyber-sale, meaning that is will be on-line only for two days and only include items from Bob’s Collection. Look for announcements regarding the sale on the SBCS and RSL websites and by email blasts from SBCS.

Update from Chris Spry. The Kneisel Collection Committee Mediator, Moderator, Maintainer of Decorum, Boxes, Documents, and Long-Haul Deliverer! Thank you!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Buildings, Events, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News

2020 Souvenir Building Collectors Society Convention Postponed !

May 25, 2020 Bookend Collector

The 2020 Annual SBCS Convention scheduled for October 23-25 in Jackson, MS has been postponed until October 2021, exact dates TBD (to be determined).

Stay tuned for further information regarding the Convention and what plans are brewing to keep SBCS Members engaged with each other. Fun events using new technology are in the works.

In the meantime there are the FaceBook Follies over on the SBCS Facebook page to keep us entertained. They started with the ABCs and before the group got to Z(ed) the National Building Museum followed suit with an A-Z Tour of the David Weingarten Collection of 20th Century Buildings. When it seemed the ABCs were exhausted new categories for sharing sprung up: Real buildings that look funny, Multiples, Masked Statues (Right On!), Postcards paired with their miniature buildings.

Take a trip over to Facebook and feast your jealous eyes on those “look but don’t touch” gems.

Buildings, Events, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News

CHALLENGING TIMES – Solace in Souvenir Buildings

May 2, 2020 Bookend Collector

Souvenir Building Collectors under “STAY SAFE” guidelines are finding a myriad of ways to stay busy. Are you one of those surfing the netways to find the next acquistion? Are you actually dusting your collection? Or maybe you are organizing it into themes, or countries, or materials, or by size. Some are even going to the effort of cataloging.

The participants in the Souvenir Building Facebook Group are finding ways to share their collections with other members via various challenges: the A-B-C challenge, a castle challenge, a multiples challenge. Come join the fun.

Dover Dam

Boym

Castles

Castle

Brussels

Braniff

E is For!

Daniel Boone’s House

Buffalo

Recently shared in Facebook Challenges

Buildings, Miscellaneous, Monuments, News, People

FLASH SALE # 6: more of BOB’S BETTER BUILDINGS!

March 11, 2020March 11, 2020 Bookend Collector

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow consists of photos taken at Bob Kneisel’s home during the 2009 SBCS Convention in Pasadena and of photos taken in 2016 of the emptied cases. Some of the buildings depicted could be in your FLASH SALE Box.

If you missed out on the Bob’s Better Buildings sale last year – here is your chance to score! And for those who did score – a second opportunity to add more wonderful buildings to your collections.

The up-coming Kneisel Collection Flash Sale #6 is Monday, March 16th. This Flash Sale will consist of more of Bob’s Better Buildings and be limited to 30 boxes (with an average of 4 items per box). The cost will be $60 by check or $65 by PayPal ($60 plus $5 processing fee) per box.

As a reminder, each SBCS Member in good standing (membership paid through 2020) can order only ONE box. If you are part of a Family Membership and wish to purchase TWO boxes (one box for each Member), please include BOTH names and pay double the box price.

Keep an eye out for the official FLASH SALE Notice on March 16th and remember to follow the instructions.