Back from Chicago - what a great week! It went by super fast but I had a fantastic time getting to see a bunch of glove-crazed people and talking about the things we love about the leather we collect.
Started the journey last Sunday with my two boys in tow - my wife was lucky she had to work and got to fly solo a day later. We hit a few antique malls along our travels and bought a few modern gloves to sell on eBay at a later time. Traffic was cooperative and we made it to Indiana to stay overnight before heading to Chicago on Monday. Josh and Tom Maddox were kind enough to host me and the kids at the house for a bit and I got to see all of their great new additions since the previous trip out there. Josh had found a nice Sonnett glove that I didn't have so I was happy to take it off of his hands.
After that, the boys and I headed to hotel for some swimming and some rest. Monday morning we awoke and headed up into Michigan to hit a few antique stores before working our way into Chicago. Crossing into central time gave us an extra hour to play with but we weren't able to find anything worthwhile at our stops. We drove to Midway airport to pick up my wife and Glovecrazy Rob - they just beat the thunderstorms that wreaked havoc with a lot of other people's travel itineraries that day. Packed to the gills in the car, we drove up to Rosemont, picked up the National packet at the convention center and went to the hotel. Dinner was some delicious pizza at Lou Malnati's and lots of glove talk.
Tuesday is a setup day and is usually my most stressful one. In years past, I've driven my vehicle into the venue and unloaded. This year, I had two large tubs with wheels and decided to just carry in. It was super easy and gave me more time to work on getting the booth up and going. While I was getting my setup to my liking, Rob was hauling butt around the floor looking to scoop up any good gloves. Business was brisk during setup time but I only sold 2 gloves the first day. We cut out early to head downtown to Chicago and meet my family for dinner and a walk. Had a great time at Safehouse Chicago (learned that Rob's nickname back in the day was Shredder), which is a spy themed restaurant with a bunch of fun things for kids and adults alike. Walked around Michigan Ave. and thru Millenium Park as the weather was perfect.
Wednesday is a long day at the National - 8am to 8pm. There is continued dealer setup until about 3pm when the first wave of shoppers hit the floor. At 4 pm, the floodgates open and it gets busy. Once that time arrived, gloves started flying out of the booth at a fast pace. I had a chance to walk around earlier in the day and picked up a few gloves, one which is a surprise keeper for me - i think it was the only time Rob was jealous of a purchase I made. Picture below, it is gorgeous Wilson A2010 with great patch and shooting star logo.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday all turned out to be great selling days. Richie B. hung out with us for a good portion of Friday and I had a super time exchanging stories about our search in the wild for vintage gloves. Gloves continued to sell and I was happy to give people information about our hobby when they inquired. After doing shows for so many years, the most frequent comment/questions I get are:
-"How did they catch with these things?"
-"I had this glove when I was a kid."
-"People actually collect these?"
Overall, I was very happy with the show and the outcome. I brought 72 gloves to the show and sold 40 (I gave one away to a 6 year old who was thrilled to take a Rawlings Mr. Shortstop home). During the trip I purchased 16 gloves and sold 2 of those at the show. My friend, long-time collector Doug Wolk, joined Rob and I in the booth and he sold 30 gloves over the course of the week. Rob sold a handful as well. There were people interested in gloves from all eras and I was a bit surprised that so many of my higher end 60's and 70's gloves sold there. Besides glove collectors, we sold some to people decorating their collection room, people who just thought they were cool and a few who had the model when they were younger. The booth got lots of compliments and I think everyone enjoys seeing a big pile of gloves they can go thru.
Big thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth and said hi. I know it's expensive to travel to the show and you may not find what you are looking for but the comraderie of glove collectors is something that can't be measured in dollars. Each glove has a story, not only when it was being used, but where it was found and how it got to the show - glove nerds like us really enjoy swapping those stories. Next year the National is in Atlantic City which I know is not a desirable travel destination. In 2021, it is back in Chicago and Rob and I discussed how we'd really like to get as many glove enthusiasts there as possible. Start your planning now!
My two other acquisitions at the show for my collection are below - a mint Sonnett Harmon Killebrew in box (Thanks Doug!) and a Wm. Read & Sons baseball cap that matches the uniform I got at Brimfield in May.