From Mix International  : First, my apologies to those of you that I have not yet responded to regarding last week's  extensive bottle offer.  I did not expect such an overwhelming response and did not realize how long it takes to pull all the bottles (just finding them in the stacks can be a chore!!) and replying to everyone...in addition to managing the ebay auctions and doing my real job!! (both of which have to get top priority)

If you sent in a request for bottles, please be assured I will get back to you. I am taking them in the order received and am trying to make the best deals I can for each person!!  I will try to do so by end of this weekend.  Thanks for your patience and understanding.
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This week's bottle offer is limited (so I can catch up with it all!!)...Two new bottles - both are $3 each and as always can be combined with your ebay auctions to save shipping, etc.!!!

--Ohio State Fair - Celebrating the 150th--
--NASCAR 2003 - Kurt Busch #97--
--ebay--click here to see Richard Mix's auctions--

From Blair Matthews, Editor of Soda Pop Dreams Magazine : Back Issue CD Vol.5 is now available (contains Issues #24-28) and for the month of August, if you BUY 1 BACK ISSUES CD FOR $9.95 (US), YOU CAN GET ANY OTHER BACK ISSUES CD FOR FREE!! All you have to do is click on over to our online store, purchase your BI CD and then under special instructions, tell us which FREE CD you'd like (please purchase only one though, and then notify us as to which freebie you'd like). Limited supply, so don't delay! Store can be found at: http://www.pww.on.ca/store.htm

Also if anyone else has bottles or other soda-related items to offer, E-mail and let us all know.

Be sure to send me your UP FOR GRABS item listings! E-mail to: Up For Grabs 

From Mike Bryant : $REWARD$ Will pay top dollar for a 30 BELOW acl soda from San Diego, California. Also want other San Diego area bottles - embossed or acl. Contact by phone: (828) 581-2787 or by E-mail.

From Esma Irvine : I am looking for old bottles from Bogalusa La., especially square, dated 1923 or round, dated Dec 25th and a round bottle made by Root Bottling Company, New Orleans, that says "Bogalusa" on the side and any info is appreciated. Thanks.

There are also WANTED and FOR SALE items listed <here> toward the bottom of the page.

Do you have a particular item, or items, that you have been looking for a long time to complete part of your collection, or something you want - but have not as yet been able to find? Send it so all of us can help you look. You never know where it may turn up! E-mail it to My Missing Item

When talk turns to the topic of "destination weddings," vintage school buses and Ozzfest aren’t usually at the top of the popular venue list. For Pennsylvania residents Patrick Beirne and Laurie Hawley, however, both destinations were incorporated into their less-than-traditional wedding plans. The pair exchanged vows atop a SoBe Love Bus during Ozzfest at Ford Pavilion in Scranton, Pa. on Tuesday, August 5^th. Why Ozzfest? Why SoBe? The couple selected Ozzfest for the site of their wedding because the groom is a diehard Ozzy Ozbourne fan. SoBe Adrenaline Rush is a sponsor of the 30-city music tour. The SoBe Love Bus was chosen as the site for the actual wedding ceremony, since the unique green flamed-out bus boasts a stage on its roof on which the ceremony was performed -- high above the Ozzfest crowd.

Although not as exciting as a bus-top wedding, SoBe Beverages announced that the company will pair exclusively with 7-Eleven, Inc. to offer SoBe Energy with a frozen citrus flavor as a new Slurpee flavor at participating 7-Eleven retail stores. 

Pepsi-Cola North America and its bottling partners begin distributing Pepsi Vanilla today.

Sbarro, the Italian Eatery, with over 900 locations in the US will be rolling out an industry first in promoting this unique method of delivering a CD-ROM premium, featuring four chart topping music singles. Consumers that order a large 32oz. drink and pay $1.99 will receive the CD-ROM packaged in the lid of the drink. This unique packaging was developed by Strategic Integration. The exclusive patented delivery system is an innovation that is the first major change in the delivery of a premium and one that is sure to be used by many in the future. The promotion will run August 4^th. thru Oct. 31^st. 2003.

New bottles or cans, or anything soda, in your area ?
Please send the info so all of us can know @ Whats New

AUGUST 15-16  -  ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville’s 12^th Annual Antique Bottle Show & Sale (Fri. 12 noon – 7 PM, Sat. 8 AM – 2 PM) at the Waynesville Fairgrounds, Routes 19/23 South exit 105, Asheville, North Carolina. INFO: LARRY GLENN, PH: (828) 667-2049 (days), (828) 667-0529 (nights), E-mail: lglenn@webtv.net or TIM BRANCH, PH: (828) 669-5486, E-mail: redheadbriana@cs.com. .

AUGUST 16  -  ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA
G.L.A.S.S. and W.R.I.C. Insulator Clubs’ Show/Swap Meet (Sat.) in a tent just off I-90, Erie, Pennsylvania area. Final details of the show to be published in forthcoming months. INFO: LEE BREWER, E-mail: Lbrewer42@tbscc.com.

AUGUST 16  -  MADISONVILLE, TENNESSEE
Dixie Jewels Insulator Club’s Summer Swap Meet (Sat. 9:30 AM - late afternoon) at the home of Gary & Elizabeth Tilson, Madisonville, Tennessee. INFO: GARY & ELIZABETH TILSON, 342 Cedar Lane Rd., Madisonville, TN  37354, PH: (423) 442-3775.

AUGUST 17  -  MILLBROOK, NEW YORK 
Hudson Valley Bottle Club’s 16^th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM – 3 PM, early admission 8 AM) at the Millbrook Firehouse, Route 44 (4 miles east of Taconic State Parkway), Millbrook, New York. INFO: KEVIN DeMARTINE, R. R. 1 Box 180, Salt Point, NY  12578, PH: (845) 677-3638 or ART CHURCH, 411 Hillside Lake Rd., Wappingers Falls, NY  12590, PH: (845) 221-4259.

AUGUST 17   -  NORTH READING, ENGLAND
Reading Bottle & Collector’s 5^th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 10:30 AM – 3 PM, early admission 9:30 AM) at Loddon Hall, Twyford, North Reading, Yorkshire, England. INFO: STEVE WALKER, PH: 011 44 1189 691466.

A vintage advertising show will be hosted by the Space City Chapter of the Coca-Cola Collectors Club on August 22 from 6PM to 10PM and on August 23 from 9AM to 5PM. The show will be held at the Radisson Hotel Astrodome Convention Center, 8686 Kirby Drive @ 610 Loop South, Houston, Texas. For information contact Charlotte Edwards at +1-713-464-6911.

If you would like to view the full 'events calendar,' I now maintain  < click here>.
Any new events  in your area? E-mail it so all of us can know, to: Upcoming Events

I am in the middle of doing the Fall issue of Bottles & Extras, as well as planning my first issue of the Soda Fizz Magazine, so right now -  time is a precious commodity.

Chris is still working the "bugs" out of the collector database. He just mailed minutes ago and said he was a few hours away from having it ready-to-go. So, I suppose in next week's newsletter, I'll be able to announce the link. Yippee! 

I have mentioned before thoughts about what the future collectors will think about the items we are collecting now, and along comes the article you can read below. Comments? Do send them - I'd love to know your thoughts.

Until next time, Happy Collecting! CokeGirl

Years from now, will 20th century items be considered antiques?

What, exactly, can be defined as an “antique?” Is that revered term reserved only for items 100 years old or more — as some purists staunchly believe? Or is there room for flexibility?

Several antiques industry experts have considerably different theories on this semantic issue, and their theories provide some perspective into the history of antiques.

Larry McCool, newly elected president of the National Auctioneers Association [NAA] has strong feelings about reevaluating what is and isn’t considered an antique.

McCool theorized that “the market for antiques may be finite.” What, then, is the demarcation line for defining an antique?

“I think World War II will become that demarcation line, as what have we produced since World War II that will replace the creative genius of the American mid- and late 19th century?” For years, 1830 was the date used in the highbrow definition of antiques. As the years passed and Victorian furniture and the fanciful rococo styles of the mid-19th century became more valued and accepted, they became accepted as antiques, though produced long after 1830. After a while, the criteria became 100 years.

“With the 20th century, I believe the 100-year mark is somewhat ineffective in determining what’s antique because the pace of life in production of consumer goods increased exponentially with the development of new production technology. Injection molding and the war efforts of the 20th century demanded quick production of specified goods.

Today, McCool said, manufacturers are not producing things at any level comparable..., except those things produced strictly as art. Paintings and bronzes may be exceptions. “We’ve become a culture driven by mass production,” McCool said.

“The nature of our time-conscious culture inhibits the creativity of the individual artist, whether a glass blower or furniture maker. Most of the time, artists have to mass produce whatever they’re going to market just to survive. I don’t know when we’ll again see people take the time to focus and produce the types of items made in the past. People should invest in the past as those objects are more aesthetically enjoyable.”

In McCool’s opinion, the Internet also has an impact on availability of antiques — and whether or not items will be considered as such years from now.

“Now, in this age of information with the Internet and eBay..., parallel and regional markets are gone. Everybody out there has the same information. This situation is more difficult on dealers and auctioneers because consensus of value didn’t exist in the past,” McCool said.

Time may march on, but demand continues to drive the market.

“Demand may not be as great now because the supply is more predictable and evenly valued in the marketplace. It used to be people would haul loads from here to there, but availability is disappearing because markets are equalizing nationwide.”

Like the Internet, reproductions made their mark on the market.

“Reproductions of European antiques have had an effect on the market. They’ve been produced in such numbers, the marketplace has a confused definition of what an antique is because we would have long ago, in our desire to acquire quality..., exhausted the supply of creditable antiques.

“Today we accept a very loose standard of quality and design, as evidenced by the reproductions that abound...,” McCool said.

Harry Rinker disagrees with using WWII as the new line denoting what is and isn’t an antique. He would push it even further forward.

“I’ve been touting the 1945 theory for almost 10 years. I divide the antique market into three parts — antique: pre-1945, collectible: 1945 to 1980 and desirable: 1980 to present. What separates antiques and collectibles from desirables is a stable secondary market. I can trust secondary market prices I see and track them; with desirables the market can swing on a dime.”

“Think of life in America between 1938 and 1948. In comes war, new technology, melamine plastic — out comes 1950s plastic items. Injection molding comes out of WWII, then comes Barbie. WWII takes America out of isolation. WWII put women in the workforce, changed our social dynamics. Suburbia arrives on the scene with formica tabletops and flying saucer grills. These are enormous changes, but they all pale compared to the impact of television,” Rinker surmised.

The first major television network didn’t come into being until 1948, creating the first TV generation. This forever separates the prewar and postwar periods. Thus, Rinker said, 1945 is the logical break for determining what is and isn’t antique.

Rinker now proposes changing the definition of antiques to include anything made before 1963 — the year of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Two thirds of the population — 2/3 of the potential collecting base — don’t recall that day. And, according to Rinker, 1963 works for two reasons — there were major lifestyle changes after WWII, and the next big lifestyle change was the mid-1960s hippie/psychedelic era. This marked the end of the nuclear family. Generations are now taking 32 to 33 years to turn, much longer than before.

Leslie Hindman, auction house owner in Chicago, responded with good cheer to the debate about changing the definition of antiques.

“That’s a good thing. In terms of collecting these days, it’s more about quality than about how old something is," said Hindman. "So many fascinating things were made mid-century, even into the 1970s, that are tremendous. In our antique show we have no timeline, it’s more about quality and how interesting the object is than whether it’s antique. A lot of junk was made 100 years ago, and much was made in 1950 also."

Kyle Husfloen, editor of Antique Trader books, holds a more historical perspective. He doesn’t believe the definition of antique needs changing.

“Basically the 100-year rule is based on federal government import laws created by the U.S. customs service in the 1930s," said Husfloen. "Originally, the law said that antiques had to have been produced before 1830, the beginning of the mechanized age.

"This especially related to furniture, as when the bandsaw and jigsaw came into use that meant parts could be turned out much faster and cheaper," said Husfloen. "This is why the law is the way it was. 1830 also marked the end of the early era of hand craftsmanship, as at that time glass pressing machines were coming into play, and there was less blown glass in the marketplace.

“But by the 1960s, people realized that 1830 didn’t work any more, so that’s when the 100-year old guideline came into play,” he added.

“There are many valuable and collectible items less than 100 years old, but I would not change the rule. I wouldn’t call a 50-year-old comic book an antique.

“Most of the time the word ‘antique’ is overused. So-called antique malls are full of collectibles; it’s hard to find one today that has a large percentage of antiques compared to collectibles,” Husfloen said.

In Husfloen’s opinion, the benefit to keeping the 100-year guideline means something is always evolving to keep collectors’ interest in place. Age isn’t necessarily a factor in value, but from the general public’s viewpoint, 100 years is a long time, and they can relate to that.

“In Europe I don’t think they even deal with the term ‘antique’ per se, as far as I know, they just advertise things as from certain centuries or eras.

(Condensed from an article at collect.com.)
Your opinion? 

If you have a soda-related subject that you would like to see here as an "FYI" article, or have information you yourself would like to contribute, don't be shy, send it to: FYI Idea