Retro-Rama collectibles show coming in Gulfport

GULFPORT

Christmas makes everyone a little nostalgic.

Is it nostalgic enough to pay $185 for a brand-new 3-foot blue-and-green aluminum Christmas tree in a box dated 1959?

The tree, not unlike the one Lucy and Ricky Ricardo of I Love Lucy might have had in their living room, will be among thousands of items for sale Saturday at the sixth annual Retro-Rama Antiques and Collectibles Show.

Billed as a sale of "everything old, but cool," the show will have items dated from 1900 to the 1960s but the bulk will be from the midcentury, said Annette Vedsegaard-Ross, owner of Hula Hula Productions, which sponsors the show.

"It has more fun stuff than a typical antique show," Vedsegaard-Ross said.

"There will be 38 booths with everything retro — home decor, movie memorabilia, toys, lots of Christmas stuff, Bakelite jewelry, ceramics and art," she said.

For those interested in learning more about the period, collector-experts will give lectures on tin toys, collecting vintage Christmas items and rock 'n' roll memorabilia.

The blue-and-green aluminum tree will be among the items offered by John Herrmann, a noted collector and dealer from San Antonio, Fla.

This time of year, he is usually busy decorating the trees he lends to Tampa's Henry B. Plant Museum for its Victorian Christmas Stroll.

But, he said, this year, for the first time in more than 20 years, he wasn't able to participate.

Herrmann said he just returned after participating in four back-to-back shows, with the most recent stop in West Palm Beach.

The 59-year-old collector buys and sells his wares in a way as old-fashioned as they are: without a computer.

"I don't use a computer and I don't put stuff on eBay," he said in a tone neither condemning nor condoning the practice.

"I just don't need it. I've had so much business in the last 15 years."

What's hot in Christmas collectibles?

Things that are hard to find because people threw them away thinking they had no value, Herrmann said.

Like cardboard ornaments gilded in gold or silver or cardboard Christmas villages that used to be set up around the base of the tree.

And advice for antique shoppers?

"Buy what you like when you see it because it might not be there when you turn around," Herrmann said.

"And go in the morning. What you want might not be there later in the day," he said.

The 29-year antique dealer also offered some tips for dealing with the sellers.

"Never say, 'I'll give you so-much for something,' " Herrmann said. "You're better off saying, 'Is there a chance you can do a little better?' "