Antique show draws out collectors, enlivens history

A very special fishbowl had to manage not getting broken since the Victorian Age - even surviving the great San Francisco earthquake - just to make its grand appearance in Yuma this weekend.

The $3,800 piece certainly made heads spin and jaws drop Saturday during the annual Yuma Antique Show and Sale.

"It's absolutely unreal - just gorgeous," said shopper Vicky Shaban, a winter visitor from Canada. "I'd love to have it for my living room."

That particular fishbowl is made of glass and bronze, while others on display were beautifully perched on top of stately pedestals made of metal.

But antique dealer Carol Mitchell's booth featuring the Victorian fishbowls and other antique glass was just one of 52 booths showcased at the show, which continues 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Yuma Civic Center, 1440 W. Desert Hills Drive. The cost is $3 for general admission and $2 for seniors.

This show has been held in Yuma for the past 35 years, according to event owner Wanda Jones, who boasted that antique dealers from as far away as Florida and Nebraska have traveled to Yuma this weekend.

"We have a great variety of items here, too. Our shows always have a great diversity for every pocketbook," Jones said. "We have everything from tin to Tiffany's."

Speaking of Tiffany's, the event organizers pointed to an old glass and metal centerpiece made by the famed company. The piece is appraised at $45,000, but Jones said she'd part with it for much less.

It was not, however, the most expensive in Jones' booth. That honor would go to a large begemmed ring appraised at $85,000.

Shelves and tables filled with antiques of all kinds and shapes were swarmed by a steady stream of customers Saturday.

Antiques represent big business these days, and antique hunting amounts to a major, growing hobby. That was the word from various dealers, including one from Yuma.

"I think it's the old-fashioned value and feelings. Everyone wants that again," said Jill Rodriguez, assistant manager for the booth run by Coyote Coin and Pawn. "Antiques remind people of a simpler life, a time that was more calm, more relaxed. There is a hometown feeling with antiques."

Rodriguez herself collects Corningware, carnival glass, Asian items and old bottles. Her favorite bottles are glass baby bottles from the 1800s.

"People also like collecting things from their childhood," she said. "You always hear 'Oh, I used to have this as a child.'"

She added that the physical quality of many antique items also explains their popularity.

"It seems that antiques are made a lot stronger, too," she added. "The materials were a lot more solid than what you see today."

Jones, the event's organizer, said that interest in antiques may be rising, but a "tough economy" is certainly putting the pinch on folks' penchant for antique goodies. She pointed out that many antique stores around Arizona have been forced to close their doors. She stressed that antique shows have also suffered from the cost of gas.

"My mom used to say that when the economy gets hard, the first things to go are the acrylic nails and the antiques," she said, laughing. "You can live without them. You can't live without groceries."

But even the price tags didn't scare people away from Mitchell's Victorian fishbowls, which she said were made in England and France. They were most popular from 1890 to 1930 and were mostly found in very affluent homes. Today, though, they are pretty hard to find at all.

"It's difficult," Mitchell said, grinning. "I have people all over the country looking for me."

She added that few antique shows ever feature even one of the Victorian bowls.

Buyers and collectors today snap up the bowls quite quickly, but Mitchell said few people probably put live fish inside the delicate beauties these days.

"Today people don't want to contend with cleaning a fishbowl. People use them for candy dishes a lot. During the holidays I've displayed them with Christmas balls. Regardless, people always love them."

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Darin Fenger can be reached at

dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.