[base_ball]

How good was the Atlantique City antiques and collectibles show back in the day?

While traipsing through the aisles – probably in the early 90s – I stopped by Josh Evans’s booth. “You see this?” he said, pointing to large glass display case filled with sports collectibles of the Carlton Hendricks variety. “Everything in there is from the show.”

In its relatively short life (it started in 1986) Atlantique City became the de facto “National” for the world of antiques, especially the collectibles side of the business. The show was particularly strong in the areas of toys and jewelry, but every single genre of stuff was well represented at the massive event. What did I get there? Oh, a Dizzy Dean pocket watch, a Jackie Robinson doll, dozens of baseball board games and advertising pieces....I can't even remember some. Of course the seismic shift created by the Internet is chiefly responsible for the death of the show, which was announced last week. But frankly, I somehow feel that if the show were being run by anyone else but F&W Media (parent company of -- ta-dah! -- Krause Publications) it would still be very much alive. How sad.