Antique toys to be displayed at annual world trade show
George Burns and Gracie Allen, Caroline Kennedy, Groucho Marx and other notable personalities can be found on display throughout the lower level of Pauline and Paulette Fahnestock's home in St. Charles.
These collectible dolls keep company with Shirley Temple dolls from the late 1950s, an assortment of porcelain-faced baby dolls from the 1960s and more, all lovingly displayed by these twin sisters, whose mother got them started when she gave them a pair of twin dolls in 1958.
Unlike some of the die-hard collectors who will be attending this year's 35th annual Antique-Collectible Toy and Doll World Show Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Kane County Fairgrounds, the Fahnestock sisters collect dolls they truly love and aren't driven by the investment value.
"If you keep the original box, they're more valuable. We didn't know that until recently, but we're going to start to keep the boxes," Pauline said.
The Fahnestocks attended last year's Toy and Doll World Show for the first time and they "were impressed with it," Pauline said. "There were some big dolls."
"And some really old dolls from the 1800s," Paulette added. "There were lots of baby dolls. They had them displayed so neat, with some in little rockers."
Families and folks of all ages will find all sorts of rare and unique dolls and toys that no computer can compete with at this year's show.
"We have dolls and toys from the turn of the century to collectible of the 1990s; pre-World War II, postwar and up to modern day collectibles. There's a little something for everyone," said event organizer Valerie Kelley.
Although much of the day's crowd is composed of serious collectors, this is a popular event for families who want to show younger children the trends of the past.
"It's almost a museum of sorts, where even the casual person can come and take a look," Kelley said.
Tales about toys
This is the largest doll and toy show in the world, according to Kelley. Featuring approximately 500 dealers, this show grew out of Antique Toy World Magazine, published in Chicago by Kelley's husband, Dale Kelley, for the past 38 years.
If you go, you'll be able to visit with vendors who have plenty of tales to tell about their antiques.
Toy exhibits include everything from action figures, banks, cast iron and lunch boxes, to lithographed toys, windups and more.
Among the doll exhibits you will find Barbies, bisque dolls, and character dolls, along with doll houses and doll furniture from the past.
Displays are grouped together in huge immaculate halls, where customers can easily travel from one section to another, surrounded by improved lighting and air circulation.
Visitors who return to the show each year will appreciate the new 32,000-square-foot exhibition space, which opened this summer on the fairgrounds. The show will also offer a shuttle within the fairgrounds to transport people from the new space filled with toys to the updated existing exhibit building filled with dolls, as well as to outdoor booths, where more antiques and collectibles will be found.
Plenty of food vendors will also be on hand, including a new vendor offering old-fashioned root beer floats. And you can enjoy your refreshments at one of the many eating tables that have been added to the fairgrounds.
This International Show with exhibitors from throughout the United States, as well as England, Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Switzerland and Belgium, is presented by Antique World Shows, Inc., which offers this show each spring and fall at the Kane County Fairgrounds.
If you go
What: Antique-Collectible Toy & Doll World Show
When: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26
Where: Kane County Fairgrounds, 525 S. Randall Road, St. Charles
Cost: $7 for adults, free for ages 12 and younger
Parking: Free
Details: chicagotoyshow.com