Fanciers of Unusual Items Meet to Exchange Ideas

One of the most pleasant ways for a collector to learn about what to collect is to join a club that brings together others who share the same passion.

It seems there’s a club for almost every collectible. Some are national or international, and members keep in touch through magazines, newsletters and periodic conventions.

Others are local groups that sponsor potluck suppers, picnics and meetings to share information and swap items that might range from miniature bottles to buttons.

Here is a sampling of some in the Southland. If your collectible isn’t here, check “The Encyclopedia of Associations,” Volume I, which lists other organizations.

Toy Train Operating Society, 25 W. Walnut St., Suite 408, Pasadena, Calif. 91103, (818) 578-0673.

Train enthusiasts from 9 to 90 meet on the fourth Sunday of each month at the Anaheim Bowl, 1925 W. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim, and on the second Sunday of each month from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pickwick Banquet & Entertainment Center, 1001 Riverside Drive, Burbank, to swap toy trains, attend clinics on restoration of antique mechanical trains and to operate their trains.

Nationally, the society has 4,500 members. Dues are $20 a year; local dues, which vary by chapter, are an additional $10. There is also a one-time $15 initiation fee.

Goebel Collector’s Club, 105 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, N.Y. 10591-5582. For information on either the national club or local chapters, call Maryann, (818) 848-9520.

Goebel Collector’s Club is a national organization that assists 250,000 members in developing collections of Hummel figurines. Members of the national association may also join local chapters in Whittier, San Gabriel, San Diego, Glendale and Camarillo. National Dues are $20 a year, $17.50 to renew. Local chapter dues are $10 or less. Members receive a white bisque plaque with the “Merry Wanderer” Hummel motif, a quarterly publication, binder and a Goebel calendar.

American Society of Camera Collectors, 4918 Alcove Ave., North Hollywood, Calif. 91607, (818) 769-6160.

“Love of photography leads to the collecting of cameras,” says Gene Lester, president of the American Society of Camera Collectors. Collectible cameras are those that are considered rare, such as daguerreotype cameras.

The society has more than 200 members, including those in Japan, England, Switzerland and Germany. Camera enthusiasts from throughout the world attend biannual shows at the Machinists’ Hall in Burbank (at Victory Boulevard and Buena Vista Street).

Antique Bottles, Glass and Collectibles Club of Orange County, 1120 N. Westwood Ave., Santa Ana, Calif. 92703, (714) 547-1355.

Evalene Pulati, a charter member, says: “A great advantage of joining a collectors’ club is to become a knowledgeable collector. You’ll be less likely to fall prey to buying reproductions and making other expensive mistakes.” Members gather on the fourth Monday of each month at Republic Federal Savings and Loan, 2400 East 17th St., Santa Ana, to discuss a different category of collectible. Items are shown and dealer-collectors aid in identification. Dues are $7.50 for families; $5 for singles.

Self-Winding Clock Assn., P.O. Box 7704, Long Beach, Calif. 90807, (213) 427-8001 or (213) 427-4202.

According to Dr. Bengt R. Honning: “Self-winding clocks kept the country on time from 1886 to 1971.” Honning says the clocks can be as large as six or seven feet in height. Smaller mantle versions were manufactured by the Self-Winding Clock Co.

Members gather four or five times a year. Some write scholarly papers about their hobbies. Dues are $10 a year.

Expo Collectors Historiana Organization (ECHO), 1436 Killarney Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90065, (213) 223-1939.

“The goal of this club is to investigate the history and statistics of expositions,” says Edward Orth, founder and secretary-treasurer of ECHO. Orth, who collects memorabilia from expositions and world fairs of 1935-1958, organized the club as a network for fans of exposition artifacts. The 1,600-plus members buy and sell through a quarterly newsletter. There are no organized meetings. Dues are $9 a year.

Lilliputian Bottle Club, P.O. Box 2161, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif. 90274. For information, call Jay Love, (213) 641-1928.

According to Lee Weiss, editor of the bimonthly newsletter, members collect small liquor bottles, miniature figural bottles, tiny ceramic jugs and small bottles of cut glass or other materials. The club’s 300 collectors live throughout the world, including New Zealand and South Africa. Local members meet on the first Saturday of even numbered months at Mercury Savings and Loan, 22939 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, at 7 p.m. The group goes on outings and holds an annual show, which is set for Oct. 10 and 11 this year.

Miniature Guild of California, 22516 S. Normandy Ave., Space A3, Torrance, Calif. 90502, (213) 320-3623.

In 1967, Margaret Manger founded a club of 110 enthusiasts who gather the first Saturday of each month at Mercury Savings, 20715 S. Avalon Blvd., Carson, at 7:30 p.m.

All types of miniatures are discussed, but members are particularly interested in items that fit into doll houses.

There are no dues and no officers. Money collected from door prizes finances the organization’s activities and the newsletter, which is free to those who join. Members, who must be 16 or older, bring kits to make small items at the workshops and discuss objects from their collections.

Peanut Pals, Associated Collectors of Planters’ Peanuts Memorabilia, Leonard Calabrese, 3967 Rumsey Drive, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48105. Locally, contact Steve Slater, (818) 248-0416 or (818) 767-7202.

“We’re nuts about Planters” is the motto of this national association’s 280 members, who collect everything made by Planters since the early 1900s, including pennants, peanut-shape cars, American Flyer train cars, banks, hand puppets and jewelry.

There is a bimonthly newsletter and an annual national convention. Dues are $10 a year. Members are organizing a local chapter to meet regularly.

National Button Society, 2733 Juna Place, Akron, Ohio 44313, (216) 864-3296. On the West Coast, contact Jane Ford Adams, 4131 Marlborough Ave., San Diego, Calif. 92105, (619) 282-2603.

Intricate design and fine workmanship make the otherwise mundane button an avidly sought item for close to 2,500 collectors of this society. Annual dues are $15. Members receive a buyer’s guide, membership directory, list of local clubs and an illustrated magazine on the history of buttons.

Southern California button clubs meet as follows: the first Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m., 2522 West Baseline, San Bernardino; third Sunday, 10 a.m., Fidelity Federal Savings Building, 1380 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach; fourth Wednesday, 10 a.m., Republic Federal Savings Building, 2400 East 17th St., Santa Ana; third Wednesday, Plummer Park, Hall A, 7400 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, and first Tuesday, 1 p.m., Great American First Savings Bank on the corner of Fort Stockton and Hawk streets, San Diego.