Vintage Posters Island Style
December 9, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Maui Sunrise over Lanai
If you are a vintage poster enthusiast, you probably look for galleries whenever you travel. You are liable to find poster dealers in major cities- New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris. It is more of a surprise to find an enormous collection on a tiny Pacific Island. Alan Dickar started dealing in antique posters in New York in the early 1990s. He moved to California, where he established himself at shows. I met him in 1997, and we soon began to work together. We loved doing the now defunct PMA collectibles show, where we met actresses from Planet of the Apes, Michael Jackson and got a nice smile and a wave from Neil Young. Ever restless, Alan travelled to Maui Hawaii in the year 2001 and set up a temporary installation. His plan was to find a way to do shows there, and to return to the Bay Area after a few months.
Success changed that plan. Soon, I was busy culling the California collection and shipping enormous tubes of posters to him every month. Eventually, when it became clear that the island had it’s hold on Alan, we split up the businesses. I bought the California business and Alan went on to sign a lease in Maui. Today he still operates Vintage European Posters at 744 Front Street in Lahaina. We have remained great friends, and have independently continued to cultivate separate contacts in France. This is a tremendous asset to us because it means we turn up different posters and can share our finds.
The VEP Maui Storeroom
Alan, at the VEP Showroom, in his element
Last month I paid a visit to the Maui shop. The staff in the shop are friendly and helpful, and they have made some great improvements since my last trip. In addition to the gallery, VEP Maui now has a well organized storeroom and workshop, where I was able to comb through extra goodies. Also, there is a very professional linen backing studio on the other side of the island with an innovation I’ve not seen before- a lighted table. This is useful in looking at paper before backing to see hairline cracks and areas where paper may be thin. It helps avoid problems when the posters are wet to see the fragile areas ahead of time. Brilliant! While I was there, I saw a Parapluie Revel which had been de-zinced (Some posters were mounted onto zinc so they could be displayed outdoors for an extended period of time without disintegrating.) and was about to be mounted and restored.
Parapluie Revel, de-zinced
Lighted linen backing table
I also got to visit with our Framer, Glenn Young of Artscapes framing who lives upcountry in Maui and commutes to the Bay Area to run the Campbell shop. He took us on a beautiful hike to Twin Falls where we swam under the waterfall.
Artscapes' Glenn Young on a hike to Twin Falls
Family Photo, Twin Falls
Santa Monica Travelogue
May 12, 2010 § 3 Comments
San Francisco Cable Car by Galli c. 1955
Heading out of town for a show is a lot of work! Charly and I make checklists of what we need, so that when we hit the ground in a new city there is no scrambling for supplies.
Years ago, I remember driving around the sprawl of Sacramento searching for ACCO brand binder clips. I have wandered the aisles of the Foster City Home Depot looking for sawhorses, found parking in Cow Hollow to buy receipt books at Walgreens, and found cheap pens at the dollar store in Anaheim. No more! After 13 years doing shows, we have the packing down to a science.
On our last trip to LA, for www.lamodernism.com we did something new. For the first time ever, we left our Ford Econoline (lovingly referred to as “The Beast”) at home. The show promoters provided free tables, we edited the collection down to just modern posters – (so hard to leave all the art nouveau behind!) and we packed my Volvo Wagon for the trip. It was such a treat to be in LA with a car! Although I have to admit it is a giggle to pull up to valet parking with an enormous white cargo van.
We stayed in Santa Monica, a city we adore and now know well. The show was in a new venue, the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Air Center www.barkerhangar.com . What an amazing place! Old prop planes fly in and out of the SM Air Center, and you can also visit The Museum of Flying http://www.museumofflying.com or one of the restaurants on the property. We wanted to go to Typhoon www.typhoon.biz but only had time for the Spitfire Grill www.spitfiregrill.net
When we got to our booth, we discovered that the walls were different than we had become accustomed to at the old venue. Luckily, our neighbors from Mantiques Modern www.mantiquesmodern.com loaned us their drill- a Makita with a light in the handle, and it made hanging our booth a snap. (I want this drill!) The new venue is a big improvement over the Santa Monica Civic. It has high ceilings, and lots of room- the exact opposite of the cramped and poorly ventilated Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
After set up, we always go and get a salad from Mrs. Winston’s which is the unquestionably the best salad bar in the world. This healthy power lunch makes it possible for us to do a three day show smiling. At the checkout, they ask you to guess the weight/price of your salad and if you do, it’s free. This time I guessed $9.78 and the salad was $9.87. So close!
Charly wanted to see Venice Beach so we checked that out. Having gone to school in Santa Cruz, I think it felt familiar to her. We walked down Abbott Kinney, and decided it was the 4th Street of LA. We had dinner at Hama Sushi www.hamasushi.com The city of Venice is redoing the giant circle where Abottt Kinney meets Main, and Hama has photos of what the circle used to look like in the 1960’s.
Opening Night, Charly and E
Opening night was gorgeous. The show was sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka, so there was a great Goose Ice Sculpture. Our Framer Allan Jeffries came to the show www.Allanjeffriesframing.com and we had a chance to catch up in REFORM gallery’s beautiful booth www.reform-modern.com .
The rest of the weekend was exciting. LA loves posters, so many of our loyal clients came for a spin through our table, and we met new clients as well. There were celebrities at the show, which is still a thrill for girls from up North.
We made it a point to swim each morning before the show, and we really enjoyed the Southern California sun.
Sunny Southern California by Stan Galli
On Sunday night we tore down the show (always exhausting) and then for a treat, we ate at Top Chef CJ Jacobson’s Gastropub ‘The Yard’.
Allan Jeffries in Reform's Booth
We dashed out of town in time to catch the sunset on the grapevine, and collapsed at a tiny little hotel that we like in the heartland. Charly and I slept soundly and made it home on Monday by noon.
All in all, LA Modernism 2010 was the most fun we’ve ever had at an out of town show. I chalk it up to the expert packing lists……
Vintage Posters ‘Trunk Show’ in Berkeley April 16-18
March 24, 2010 § Leave a Comment
It is with great excitement that I announce the 8th Annual Wooden Duck Trunk Show April 16-18, 2010. Please mark your calendar and save the date for the biggest and best poster event of the season. 
We have amazing new things to share – Disneyland posters, a collection of posters related to agriculture, a stack of mid century travel posters and much more. The stream of things we have been offered this year has been truly stellar, posters that collectors have been hiding under their beds have been offered for sale, and I’ve bought them all.
For added excitement, there will be special door prizes! We will give away a beautiful original poster every day in the second hour of the show to one lucky guest.
Please bring your friends and neighbors, share the secret of vintage posters at this once a year fun and FREE event.
Don’t miss all of the new spring treats – our new Acquisitions will be held OFF the web to debut them at the Duck on 4/16.
I hope to see you there!
Elizabeth Norris
The Inveterate Collector
DETAILS
8th Annual Trunk Show at the Wooden Duck
1,000 Original Vintage Posters from Europe and the US
The Wooden Duck Furniture Store
1823 Eastshore Hwy in Berkeley
University Avenue Exit
preview our collection www.vepca.com
