The Monday After: MAPS show is calling all collectors

Ted Hake of York, Pennsylvania, whose collectibles auction house is the sponsor of "The Big Show" coming Oct. 27-28 to MAPS Air Museum, could be called the ultimate authority of the annual Canton-Akron event.

"He's kind of the king of collectibles," said Jack Dixey, organizer of the show brought to the area each autumn by American Political Items Collectors.

Hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 27 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 28, with the $7.50 admission price also allowing visitors to tour the MAPS military aircraft museum.

"We've been to every (Canton-Akron) show," Hake recalled. "We haven't missed one."

Dixey said 65 dealers from Ohio and nearby states, as well as states as far away as North Carolina and Texas, will set up 250 tables at the museum and will provide a multitude of items for a silent auction from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 28.

Hake will man six tables – with Scott Mussell, the young man he has mentored to take over Hake's Auctions – and he promises to provide "a ton of items" for the silent auction.

The author and auction dealer developed his knowledge about the things we collect from his 55 years of offering Hake's Auctions by mail, over the telephone and on the internet. He has written 18 books – illustrated price guides that have become basic collector references – to solidify his reputation as an expert in such categories as political promotions, sports memorabilia, military items, advertising giveaways, radio premiums and comic book characters.

Hake's latest text, "Button Power: 125 Years of Saying It With Buttons," which he co-wrote in 2020 with Christen Carter, is a "highly edited visual survey of the world of button," he said, "covering a range of buttons in 12 categories." It includes about than 2,000 photos.

"Button Power" will be sold at the MAPS show, and will provide an appropriate tie between the Akron-Canton area and the world of buttons, ribbons and other political items.

Caught on during McKinley's campaign

President William McKinley's campaign in 1896 was the first political contest during which candidates relied on "pinback buttons" to promote themselves to voters, Hake explained.

"That's when the pinback button as we know it took hold," Hake recalled, noting that a company in Newark, N.J., Whitehead & Hoag, patented the pieces of pinback buttons and put them on the market with their popular ribbons.

"They were up and running early in 1896 and the political conventions came along in the summer," he explained. "By November they had produced 1,000 different designs of buttons for each candidate. Both candidates jumped on the bandwagon. McKinley spent a lot of money with Whitehead & Hoag. Buttons were a great trend in 1896."

The Republican McKinley obviously took the most advantage of that trend as well as other political campaign items during his "Front Porch" campaign, beating Democrat William Jennings Bryan in their race for the presidency.

A local collector, attorney Raymond T. Bules, will be offering a selection of McKinley- and Canton-related items to give the show a local flavor. He said he's attended all the shows since it was held in downtown Canton, and this is his third time displaying and selling items he has collected since the 1980s.

"I'll be bringing McKinley political campaign ribbons and photographs of the campaign," said Bules, who will be setting up six tables at the show. "I'll also have historical documents, some of them signed by McKinley, and some 3-D items – glassware, ceramics – related to Canton."

Show expands into popular culture

Dixey noted that "The Big Show" has expanded its scope since it moved from Columbus to the former McKinley Grand hotel in downtown Canton about 15 years ago. Originally, it was mostly a show and sale of political items.

"This is our third year at MAPS and when we went there and had more room we expanded to 250 tables and had more room to display different categories," explained Dixey. "When the show started it was predominantly political and military items and now it's probably 60 percent items in other categories."

Attendance last year at MAPS grew to about 400 individuals, he said. Some came to buy, some came to sell to dealers and other came merely to look or talk to other collectors.

"We can also give them appraisals," said Dixey. "They can bring in their items and we can tell them what we think they're worth."

Dixey noted that interest in collecting – like the name of "The Big Show" – has increased in size during the years the Canton-Akron show has been held, but longtime visitors to the dealer tables can notice that the size of the individual items being collected has decreased.

"I think the internet has grown the industry," he explained, "but one of the advantages of coming to a show is you get to meet people, talk to other collectors, see dealers face-to-face and actually hold items. The small stuff has become quite popular. You can have more items in a frame of things, instead of just one big item.

"Things like antique furniture are a tough sell these days."

Reach Gary at gary.brown.rep@gmail.com. On Twitter: @gbrownREP.

About the show

WHAT – The Big Show

WHEN – Oct. 27-28

WHERE – MAPS Air Museum at 2260 International Parkway, Green

WHO – Show organized by American Political Items Collectors and sponsored by Hake's Auctions.

WHO – To display, sell and appraise popular culture collectibles set up on 250 tables from about 65 dealers from throughout the country.

HOW – Show hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 27, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 28, with a silent auction Saturday morning. Admission is $7.50, which includes admission to MAPS Air Museum. For information, call Jack Dixey 419-610-9270 or write DixeyCityLimits@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: The Monday After: MAPS show is calling all collectors